Nikiszowiec is a former mining town, which is now one of the most interesting districts of Katowice, Poland. The town was adapted to the daily functioning of mining families. In Nikiszowiec, there are 9 residential buildings made of red brick called “familoki”. A church, hospital, police station, shops and schools were also built here.
In one of the houses there is a modern loft, designed by designers from the MUS ARCHIRECTS studio. The designers used, among others, Maple and Mannequin chairs.
One of the creators - Adam Zwierzyński - tells more about the project.
Is Silesia an inspiration for you at work?
Yes and no. It seems to us that everything that surrounds us, the people we meet, the architecture we pass every day on the way to work, all this has an impact on us, to a greater or lesser extent. However, we try to look much wider in our works than just Silesia, but of course where we live is inspiring for us. Silesia is inspiring, for us personally, in particular the industrial heritage and relics of old architecture - places that until recently were teeming with industrial life, and today often collapse and deteriorate. We see the incredible potential of such places, they are beautiful and valuable and should be made available to people.
What was your main idea when designing the NKSH loft? What inspired you to create this project? Which elements of the building’s old fabric did you want to keep?
This is a specific project, as is its location. Nikiszowiec is a very characteristic point on the map of Katowice. Its architecture and atmosphere is unique, strong and dominant. Of course, this also influences our interior design, although the architectural language we use is less painterly and less literal. The main priority in the project was the desire to obtain the largest possible space, openness, functionality and simplicity on an area of 50 m2.
The interior was supposed to be modern. It is a contemporary formal message anchored in a historical location. The existing elements that have been kept and exposed in the interior have been whitened - they impact through texture, but not with intense color. We have kept the original wooden floor, lightening it slightly and renovating it. We also discovered brick along the entire length of the wall with windows.
Did the NKSH implementation live up to your expectations after the plans became reality?
I think so. The budget was very limited, but nevertheless we believe that we managed to achieve the intended effect of simplicity and spaciousness that we wanted.
According to what key did you choose the furniture that was placed in the loft in Nikiszowiec?
The vast majority of our furniture is made to order. We wanted to avoid having to adjust the interior to the furniture. Furniture should complement and integrate with the interior. The vast majority forms the background, reduced to the plane of an element integrated with the architecture, others stand out more, are accents - lamps or chairs distinguished by their form against the background of uniform furniture.
You say about yourself that you want to be innovative and practical at the same time. How does this translate into specific solutions in your projects?
We deal with creating space, shaping function and form, regardless of the scale. We stimulate and follow our imagination to find the best creative and constructive solutions. In fact, this translates into projects which, through their shape, structure and form, tell contemporary reality in an individual manner, often succinct and synthetic, but nevertheless diverse. The superior value for us is always an accurate answer to the question asked, the function and the practical aspect of space are key, however, when designing, we also try to look for anchoring points in formal, symbolic or allegorical inspirations related to the subject of the study - such a combination from the beginning of the design process, of the pure logical function with a more poetic drive to look for metaphorical connections, it often results in an in-depth response to the question asked, in a form that is both practical, but also innovative and multidimensional.
Click HERE to see all the colors of the Mannequin 01 chairs
