Museum of Emotions as a form of land art - architecture of silence and reflection in the Żywiec Beskid

Project idea

The fast pace of life, the constant noise, both urban and informational, cause constant fatigue, tension and loss of contact with oneself. In response to this growing overload, more and more people are seeking an escape into nature as the simplest yet profound form of therapy.
It is this need to return to silence, to the primordial rhythm of nature, to breathe deeply in solitude that became the starting point for the Museum of Emotions project as a form of land art - an architecture of silence and reflection.
The project involves the creation of a space where it becomes possible not only to physically disconnect from everyday life, but also to make a true inner journey into oneself. The inspiration came from mountain hiking, the desire not only to reach the goal, but the process itself, the preparation and the hardship. The reasons why we choose to walk or climb, such as the views, fresh air, silence, birdsong, time spent alone or with loved ones.
The building has been blended into the slope of Pilsko Mountain, overlooking Babia Góra and the distant Tatra Mountains, and is meant to be a place to stop, breathe and focus on the landscape and oneself. It is a space where the brutalist austerity of concrete meets the delicacy of the landscape, creating a monumental monument that emphasizes the beauty of nature, light, shadow, silence, the sound of trees and the sky.
Subsequent sequences of rooms were designed as zones of contemplation with framed views of the mountains, places to observe the sky in seclusion, or rooms of silence where light plays a central role.
“Museum of Emotions” as a form of land art does not collect physical exhibits, instead becoming a backdrop for an emotional experience. It is an open space, accessible to anyone seeking silence, breath and a moment of solitude among nature.

Project description

The project involves hollowing out and encasing with native stones a “gully” about 200 meters long, in the upper part of the Yodlovtsy Hall, to a depth of 3.4m.
The facility consists of a stone gully, forming the boundaries of the project; a pedestrian tract, divided into three parts, separated by walls and bounded on the sides by rocks; platforms at the height of the site, serving the function of communication and being a canopy, as well as a series of cuboid volumes distributed along the premise.
The rocks that form the gorge, a natural frame for the overall composition, occur along the hiking trail. The rocks not only bind the space together and give it landscape character, but also have an important symbolic and functional function. They limit daylight, directing the user's gaze upward. The main axis of the establishment is a pedestrian tract, divided into three parallel sections partially separated by walls. This tract leads the user through the entire site, from the entrance, through successive zones of silence and contemplation, through points of opening to the landscape, to the exit on the other side of the clearing. The layout of the space is not static, the rhythm of walls, volumes and niches causes it to dynamically narrow and expand. In places where niches for observing the sky appear, the tract opens up and provides an opportunity to stop and soak in the atmosphere of silence. In other sections, concrete forms narrow the path, leading the user through more intimate, introspective spaces. This alternating rhythm sharpens perception and focus, guiding people through different emotions. At ground level, above the sunken path, concrete footbridges have been deployed. Their presence allows the user to observe the landscape and the premise from above, and provides the opportunity to leave the interior of the facility. These are places where the user regains a broader perspective, a view of the surrounding mountain ranges, the horizon, the lines of light and shadow moving across the concrete and stone surfaces. Along the entire premise, cubicles-enclosed, monolithic concrete forms-are arranged as points of stopping and intensifying the experience of space. Each of them has its own function, atmosphere and narrative; they are spaces of tranquility, solitude, contemplation and deep concentration.

Technical information

The dominant construction and finishing material is raw reinforced concrete, whose presence defines the character of the space. This fits in with the aesthetics of Brutalism, where the material does not pretend to be anything else, it is imperfect, massive, honest. In contrast and in addition, there is stone, native, locally sourced, used to create the edges of the stone “ravine”. It introduces organicness and irregularity, easing the weight of the concrete, its roughness, and fits into the experience of the space. Small stones were also used for the pedestrian paths. The foundation of the main part of the structure is a reinforced concrete slab, which supports two parallel runs of 30 cm thick reinforced concrete walls, spaced 230 cm apart. These walls form the load-bearing structural system for the central part of the 200-meter-long pedestrian route.

Documentation

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