The future face of Krakow

Krakow Congress Centre. Image: Ingarden&Ewy

In this report, Polish Radio correspondent Nick Hodge finds out about the Krakow Congress Centre, and the new headquarters of Cricoteka, the centre devoted to promoting the work of avant-garde theatre guru Tadeusz Kantor.

The Krakow Congress Centre will be the largest building to be raised in the city centre since the National Museum was built in the 1930s.

“Of course it is always a challenge to build a building of this scale in front of Wawel Castle,” says architect Krzysztof Ingarden.

“But we were thinking about creating a form which is not dominant – a form which is undulating and getting lower the closer it gets to the riverbank.”

Cricoteka: Stanislaw Denko/ Moon Studio

Meanwhile, the new headquarters for Cricoteka, designed by Stanislaw Denko and Moon Studio, take in a former power station spanned by a striking bridge-like structure.

Cricoteka's Tomasz Tomaszewski says that the building is a fitting tribute to the genius of Tadeusz Kantor.

“[Kantor's art] gives people a very special consciousness about art,” he says.

“He never was satisfied with himself as an artist – he was always looking for a wall he can break and go further.”