Revitalisation of the Stara Octownia for the Regional Museum in Leszno

Description

The competition concept for revitalising the Stara Octownia (Old Vinegar Factory) and extending it for the Regional Museum in Leszno rests on one fundamental gesture: the new part is raised on columns over a publicly accessible courtyard entered from Chrobrego Street and Jana Pawła II Avenue. The museum stops being a closed edifice and joins the city’s fine-grained fabric, its volume deliberately broken down to match the rhythm of the neighbouring tenements. A mini amphitheatre occupies the site of the former earth ramparts, and the former brewery area houses technical facilities. The Chrobrego Street entrance is marked by a cantilevered multimedia room with an LED screen set into the facade between copper fins. The programme spans three floors: on the ground floor, the lobby, café with shop, reception, education room, double-height library reading room, garage, and conservation and digitisation studios; on the first, permanent exhibitions on Leszno’s history, crafts and genre painting, plus temporary exhibitions in the Stara Octownia; on the second, management offices, a conference room in the tower and exhibitions opening onto roof terraces. The tall, open-plan exhibition rooms allow free arrangement of displays, and the soffit above the temporary exhibition room is exposed. The new part meets passive-house insulation standards and uses sustainable design solutions.