SPACE September 2025 (No. 694)
Kim Bokyoung (Kim): Plato Contemporary Art Gallery (hereinafter Plato Gallery) was built by renovating a cultural heritage site that has been designated for conservation. What were the guidelines from the design competition organisers and conservation committee?
Robert Konieczny (Konieczny): The heritage conservator recommended bricking up the existing, random openings – as if they had never been there – and cleaning all the soot-blackened brickwork. But even then, we knew that was not the path we wanted to take. First of all, those ‘holes’ held enormous potential; I felt it immediately. And second, we had no intention of covering up Ostrava’s complex, ambiguous history. We wanted to add our own, contemporary layer to this story.
Kim: How did you decide which parts to retain and which parts to reenact using different materials? What principles did you follow?
Konieczny: The design principle was simple: everything original that could be preserved, we preserved. That was the general rule, though of course, in practice, it required a more nuanced approach and case-by-case decisions. On the other hand, any elements that no longer existed – sections of walls with large gaps, collapsed roofs or staircases – were reconstructed using new, contemporary materials. As a result, when you look at the building, it’s immediately clear what is old and what has been newly added, and that’s exactly what we intended. During the construction process, when the project was nearly complete, part of the building collapsed. Rebuilding it with brick – especially new brick – would have simply felt dishonest. So, we stayed true to our guiding principle: anything reconstructed should be clearly contemporary. We used modern materials, but preserved the original ornamentation—not as imitation, but as a deliberate reference to what once stood there. Ornamentation also appears on the revolving walls and not just as a gesture towards architectural history. It was, in fact, a highly pragmatic solution. These torn, wounded walls needed to be secured somehow, and continuing the ornamental motif turned out to be the simpl...
KWK Promes (Robert Konieczny, Michał Lisińsk
author cooperation – Tadeáš Goryc
Porážková 3395/26, 702 00 Moravsk&#
art gallery
11,417.5m²
2,137m²
3,601m²
technical tower – 5F / others – 2F
7
technical tower – 15.52m / others – f
18.71%
37%
old – brick / new – RC, steel frame
micro-concrete, brick, light-coloured membrane (r
micro-concrete, lime plaster over mineral insulat
MS-Projekce (Jaroslav Habrnal, Petr Hanko)
MS-Projekce (Jaroslav Habrnal, Petr Hanko)
2017 – 2019
Apr. 2020 – Sep. 2022
Statutory City of Ostrava
Denisa Tomášková
KWK Promes (Robert Konieczny), TUKEJ (Justyna Kuc
230 million CZK (gallery) + 48.6 million CZK (gre
KWK Promes (Robert Konieczny)
general contractor – Zlínstav a.s. / p
Plato Contemporary Art Gallery (2022) was among the best 5 buildings in Europe for EUmies Awards 2024. Konieczny’s Ark (2015) won the title of Best New Private House – Wallpaper Design Award 2017, museum Przełomy Dialogue Center (2016) won the titles of World Building of the Year 2016 (WAF in Berlin) and European Prize for Urban Public Space 2016 (CCCB in Barcelona). Konieczny was awarded by the Minister of Culture in Poland for his achievements in the field of architecture.