Architectural Competition for the Main Building of the Museum

The Architectural Competition for the new building of the Polish Aviation Museum was won by a German-Polish team of architects: Pysall.Ruge Architekten. The design team consists of Justus Pysall and Peter Ruge from Germany and Bartłomiej Kisielewski from Poland.

The design team working on the concept for the new building of the Polish Aviation Museum established four priorities that the project should meet:

• creating a building with architecture unmistakably associated with a museum function while simultaneously reflecting the character of the exhibits presented within,
• creating a modern form that could become a symbol of the Polish Aviation Museum on the contemporary cultural scene of Krakow,
• creating a structure that, despite its size, would not dominate the neighbouring buildings and which, through its openness, would provide a “soft transition” between the built-up area and the green landscape of the emerging Aviation Cultural Park,
• a logical and economically efficient layout of functions.

Spatial and Architectural Concept

The building mass has been divided into three elements. Individual wings house separate functions as specified in the programme. Two of them, reserved for exhibition purposes, feature 10-metre-high spaces, allowing flying objects to be suspended and exhibition life to unfold on several levels. The western wing has 3 storeys, each 3.5 metres high. The wings converge at a central point on the platform on which the building is placed. This part, conceived as the main hub of the structure, houses the most public functions: the entrance hall on the ground floor, the foyer of the multi-purpose hall, and a restaurant on the 1st floor.

Functional Layout

The three levels of the building reflect its three basic functions: museum, scientific-conference, and office. On the ground floor, there is an entrance area with a publicly accessible temporary exhibition space and workshops where, among other things, flying models are made, treated as part of the building’s attractions.

The hall contains the entrance to the exhibition area, located in two wings.

The aircraft exhibition space adjoins the educational exhibition to ensure a single visiting route.

On the first floor, there is a multi-purpose hall with a foyer capable of seating 150 people and a bar serving the museum. This floor also houses the museum library with a reading room and computer stations with internet access.
The top floor is designated for office space.