WXCA

Baltic Sea Art Park . Pärnu

WXCA

The concept of the project starts with the idea for organizing the space of the southern bank of the river as an urban waterfront for the city. The new urban tissue is the missing link between the Old Town and the Pärnu river.

The urban role of the Baltic Sea Art Gallery is to be a new, visible sign in a panorama of the city in a form of a gate, which emphasizes the connection between the city center and a river.
The idea for the project of Baltic Sea Art Park is to create a square, which is the ending of the path leading from the Old Town towards the riverside. The square is surrounded by floating pavilions and the main building of the Gallery, while the whole park is an extension for the indoor exhibitions.

FORUM OF ART
The floating piazza is designed as a common space- a platform for exchange of the Baltic Sea culture that enables integration and interaction between all Baltic countries and their artistic heritage. It is a floating Forum of Art and a heart of the whole concept of the Park. It may become a new, clearly defined public space in a form of a market square that completes the urban structure of Pärnu.
The composition of the square lets us create a multifunctional space that has a variety of uses - it may be a stage for different kinds of cultural events - concerts, performances, spectacles or just a meeting point for city dwellers. It may be attached to the pales and stay on the river also during the winter, serving as a jetty. It can be transported to the other place together with all the pavilions- thanks to that it may function as an independent structure.

MAIN BUILDING - GALLERY
The functional scheme of the main building is a transformed structure typical for houses in a northern Europe. A popular among Baltic countries house was a combination of the living area in the ground floor and a warehouse (granary) in upper floors. The project for Pärnu Gallery replaces the living area with an open, public space on the ground and creates a "warehouse for art" that is elevated above.
The shape of the pavilions and the Gallery building reflects the traditional architecture of Pärnu as well as the architectural typology common for Baltic countries. The form of a pitched roof creates an interior with different heights of the ceiling in the exhibition hall. It enables arranging different kinds of exhibitions with various scale of exhibited pieces. The exhibition hall may be divided in sections along the division of the roof, each one with separate, natural lighting going through the membrane roof cladding.

PARK
The composition of the square and a main building is surrounded by a Park that may have a variety of uses. Besides being a green public space in a city it may serve as an extension of the exhibition in the main building and workshop area for visitors and inhabitants. It is designed as a rectangular grid of paths leading to a river bank. Each quarter may be used for different kinds of activities- they may serve as a zone for art workshops, outdoor exhibitions, playground for kids, book - zones, platforms for education- dancing, drawing classes or just recreational places. Some of the quarters are organized by a roofing that may enable an active usage of the park also during the rain.
A city- like pattern of a garden with the shape of the concept of the floating square and surrounding buildings lets us create a unique ambience of a small- scale Town of Art. It fits the scale of the city of Pärnu and adds a new sign in its structure, clearly visible in its panorama.

1ST prize in the international competition

TEAM
SZCZEPAN WROŃSKI
ZBIGNIEW WROŃSKI
MARTA SĘKULSKA- WROŃSKA
MAŁGORZATA DEMBOWSKA
KRZYSZTOF MOSKAŁA
MICHAŁ CZERWIŃSKI

VISUALIZATIONS
SEBASTIAN KOCHEL