BUILDING OF TVP INFORMATION AGENCIES (TAI)
ARCHITECTURE: MAKA SOJKA ARCHITECTS
2019 WARSAW

 

The task was to create a lighting design for the new TVP information agency building, located within the TVP building complex on Woronicza Street in Warsaw.

 

The façade of the building was composed based on the principle of contrast: the horizontal mass of the building is contrasted with the vertical divisions of the façade elements: window frames and external louvres.

 

The main body of the building is dominated by a tower with a characteristic glazed panoramic studio, which is reminiscent of a giant television screen - a metaphorical 'window to the world'. Strong vertical elements are the rust-coloured staircase shafts, which set the tone and reveal the functional structure of the building. The last important element shaping the image of the building is the load-bearing truss visible on the two top floors. Illuminated from the inside, it creates a negative effect: a dark structure against a light interior background.

 

Thanks to the external louvres, the perception of the TVP building changes with the point of observation. From a distance, the louvres obscure the light seeping in from the interior, giving the illusion of a full wall. Most accentuated are the TAI newsroom and the staff canteen space, which have no external blinds. The brightly lit ceilings are perfectly perceived from the pedestrian level.

 

Above the main building is a tower with a panoramic studio. A huge window in the studio opens up onto the panorama of Warsaw, which is the perfect backdrop for the news and current affairs programmes carried out inside the studio. During the recording or transmission of the programme, the gaze of passers-by will be drawn to the brilliantly lit studio space. A red signal light then lights up on the façade - like a camera.

 

Once the lights and cameras in the studio are switched off, the glass façade of the studio becomes a huge television screen towering over the city, where static or moving images are projected using multimedia projectors. In this way, instead of the classic illumination of the façade, we get a dynamic, illuminated surface that is the vehicle for the visual message - that is what constitutes the real 'magic of television'.

 

The most famous shots, historical moments, heroes of the collective imagination, emotions, laughter and tears. All this, stored in the TVP archives, can appear on the façade of the panoramic studio. Just like signs or symbols referring to current events of paramount importance for all citizens. A combination of function and symbolism: the mega-window of the TV studio as a mega-TV dominating the city.