The Krakow Academy of Music recently announced Gehry Partners as the winner of a competition to design the school's new complex of educational facilities and main concert hall, which will be built on a former military site in the southern part of Krakow's Grzegórzki district.

When the Krakow Academy of Music, a Polish higher-ed institution, launched the two-stage competition last year, they sought a “lively” design that presented the most fitting architectural, functional, and acoustic solutions.

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The initial renderings depict a campus of silver cubic buildings with slightly skewed edges, and it looks pretty typical of the Gehry brand to anyone already familiar with his work. In explaining their decision, the jury noted how the winning proposal has “good integration” with the site and realizes its full potential, allowing room for future developments. “The composition of the designed buildings of the Academy is created with a complex of pavilions respectfully introduced among the existing high vegetation. The proper zoning of the building and placement of entrances favor a clear separation between the public and educational spheres,” they wrote.

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The jury also cited Gehry's “original” approach to designing the concert hall, which would present spiraling aerial views for the audience and “provide new functional and acoustical possibilities” that can leave a lasting impression on visitors. Finalization of the winning concept is expected to take two years, followed by another two years of construction. The project is currently estimated to cost 160 million zł (approx. $40 million).

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Out of the 10 anonymously submitted finalist entries, Gehry — who is surely no stranger to designing iconic music concert halls — won the commission over many locally based designers and firms. Second prize went to Krakow-based team Elżbieta Hellstein, Tomasz Janus, Maciej Kiewel, and Mariusz Pawlus, while third prize went to Maciej Siuda Design Studio + Marta Tomasiak Landscape Architecture of Warsaw. Finally, an honorable mention was awarded to Artur Jasiński i Wspónicy Biuro Architektoniczne of Krakow. 

Image via afasiaarchzine.com.

The Academy's new complex is part of an urban-revival masterplan to create “a music park”. Next to Gehry's proposal, another building complex that will house the Kraków Philharmonic, Sinfonietta Cracovia, and Capella Cracoviensis is being planned.