NEW SILESIAN MUSEUM
ARCHITECTURE: RIEGLER RIEWE ARCHITEKTEN
2012 KATOWICE

The new building complex of the Silesian Museum, located on the site of the former Katowice Coal Mine, together with other institutions being developed here, creates the Cultural Zone - the new centre of the city's cultural life. The modern structure, designed by the Austrian architectural practice Riegler Riewe Architekten from Graz, envisages maximum use of the space below ground and thus minimal interference with the post-industrial landscape.

The core of the Silesian Museum's architectural complex is a seven-storey building with as many as three levels below ground.

The most striking elements of the building are the glass lightboxes illuminated at night, but equally important are the historic buildings of the former mine, which, together with the original hoist tower, have been painstakingly restored and incorporated into the museum structure.

The lighting design for the building included general lighting as well as illumination of the above-ground parts and the surrounding area.