State Archives Building

The plot is located near the Old Town, on S. Batorego Street, which leads toward the Market Square. This street lacks a classic, compact urban character—the surrounding urban fabric is weakly defined. In contrast to the clearly structured urban context of the Old Town, the simple forms of the Royal Castle and the tower of St. James’s Basilica exert a strong presence. Therefore, within this varied and chaotic context, the planned Archive building should influence its surroundings with a clear, legible form.

The building mass has been divided into two parts, one of which is set back. This shift made it possible to shape a clearly defined entrance zone and to create the space needed to connect the ground-floor level with the sloping sidewalk grade.

The inspiration for shaping the relationship between the publicly accessible and restricted zones within the building was the conceptual message of the monochromatic logo of the State Archives. The logo encloses space in the form of a square, leaving one edge more transparent—open and accessible. In a similar way, as expressed by the logo, we aim to shape the space on the ground floor of the building and the area in front of it so that it is secure while remaining open to the city.

The designed Archive building is a compact, energy-efficient volume. The southern part of the building contains the storage block, while the northern part—closer to the city center—houses the office and conference functions. Both zones are connected by a central communication core.

Squares and plazas serving various functions are arranged around the building. Each of them is partially covered by canopies, creating a welcoming space along the façade. The designed facility also includes a public space within the building. At the heart of the conference and office block, a covered courtyard has been proposed—the core of the non-storage part of the building. The courtyard is intended as a space for integration and creativity, serving as the Archive’s “urban living room” and becoming an important point on the cultural map of Piotrków Trybunalski.

We decided to use brick on the façade as a material that enters into dialogue with significant buildings present in the skyline of Piotrków Trybunalski. The method of laying the brick is meant to highlight its beauty and simplicity; a brick wall with a thickness of one brick (25 cm) allows for the accumulation and presentation of various brick bonding patterns on the Archive’s façade.

On the tower of the Minor Basilica and on the Royal Castle in Piotrków Trybunalski, brick walls reveal bands corresponding to successive phases of construction. These bands allow one to read the history of these structures—their alterations, reconstructions, and restorations. This banded approach to brick as a material, constituting a record of history, served as inspiration for how brick, including reclaimed brick, could also be used in the construction of the new State Archives in Piotrków Trybunalski.

The plot is located near the Old Town, on S. Batorego Street, which leads toward the Market Square. This street lacks a classic, compact urban character—the surrounding urban fabric is weakly defined. In contrast to the clearly structured urban context of the Old Town, the simple forms of the Royal Castle and the tower of St. James’s Basilica exert a strong presence. Therefore, within this varied and chaotic context, the planned Archive building should influence its surroundings with a clear, legible form.

The building mass has been divided into two parts, one of which is set back. This shift made it possible to shape a clearly defined entrance zone and to create the space needed to connect the ground-floor level with the sloping sidewalk grade.

The inspiration for shaping the relationship between the publicly accessible and restricted zones within the building was the conceptual message of the monochromatic logo of the State Archives. The logo encloses space in the form of a square, leaving one edge more transparent—open and accessible. In a similar way, as expressed by the logo, we aim to shape the space on the ground floor of the building and the area in front of it so that it is secure while remaining open to the city.

The designed Archive building is a compact, energy-efficient volume. The southern part of the building contains the storage block, while the northern part—closer to the city center—houses the office and conference functions. Both zones are connected by a central communication core.

Squares and plazas serving various functions are arranged around the building. Each of them is partially covered by canopies, creating a welcoming space along the façade. The designed facility also includes a public space within the building. At the heart of the conference and office block, a covered courtyard has been proposed—the core of the non-storage part of the building. The courtyard is intended as a space for integration and creativity, serving as the Archive’s “urban living room” and becoming an important point on the cultural map of Piotrków Trybunalski.

We decided to use brick on the façade as a material that enters into dialogue with significant buildings present in the skyline of Piotrków Trybunalski. The method of laying the brick is meant to highlight its beauty and simplicity; a brick wall with a thickness of one brick (25 cm) allows for the accumulation and presentation of various brick bonding patterns on the Archive’s façade.

On the tower of the Minor Basilica and on the Royal Castle in Piotrków Trybunalski, brick walls reveal bands corresponding to successive phases of construction. These bands allow one to read the history of these structures—their alterations, reconstructions, and restorations. This banded approach to brick as a material, constituting a record of history, served as inspiration for how brick, including reclaimed brick, could also be used in the construction of the new State Archives in Piotrków Trybunalski.