Student participants:
Simon Kos, Paweł Kuczyński, Dominika Lis, Agata Ceglińska, Marek Svoboda, Veronika Muzikářová, Alicja Dziedziela, Markéta Müllerová, Aleksandra Dzienniak
Location: ZAMEK Culture Centre
ZAMEK Culture Centre is an interdisciplinary institution presenting the most interesting phenomena occurring in the contemporary culture, including visual arts, theatre, movies, music and literature. The goal of this dynamic institution is to satisfy the different needs of people interested in culture and arts (regardless of their age) as well as the development of their individual competence and sensitivity. Zamek is an organizer of multiple exhibitions, concerts and festivals, the most popular of which are: the literary festival – Poznań Poetów (Poznań of the Poets) and Ethno Port – a festival familiarizing the citizens of Poznań with the geographically most distant cultures. Since 20 years Zamek holds the name-day of St. Martin – the street’s patron – which takes place on the 11th November – the same date as the national holiday in Poland. Zamek Culture Centre is located in the former Imperial Castle built in 1905-1910, which served a residence of the last emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II. The castle was designed by Franz Heinrich Schwechten, who gave the building the appearance of a medieval castle.
ORGANIZERS
ZAMEK is a municipal institution Anna Hryniewiecka is the director of the institution A large number of specialists divided into smaller teams deals with substantial matters: Event Department, Team for Interdisciplinary Projects, Team for Exhibitions, Team for Literature, Art Education Department, Film Department, Educational Practices Centre, as well as two galleries: PF and PROFIL.
USERS
The users of this space are numerous, of various age and, more importantly, of varied physical ability. Currently, the only pieces of furniture they can sit down, or perhaps lie down on, are the colourful pouffes. Those are quite comfortable for children, teenagers and young adults. However, the Great Hall lacks furniture on which elderly people or people with physical disabilities could comfortably sit down and rest. Also, elegantly dressed guests might find it rather uncomfortable to sit down on the ground level.
NEEDS
The general idea for Mood for wood is to create furniture for people who cannot or do not want to sit down on pouffes in main Hall. Both the practical as well as the aesthetic aspect of the design and creation of seats for ZAMEK CC are equally important. The target recipient expects to receive seats, both with or without backrests, in different shape variants. The new seats shall be placed in the area under the pillars next to the pouffes. The structure of the walls and the floor cannot be modified. Both the geometry of the furniture and its convenience are crucial and have to answer the needs of the elderly or disabled people. It is also important, that the furniture is finished in such a manner as to not jag the clothes. The seats need to be thoroughly polished or painted. Cushions are also a viable option. The construction should be solid and resilient as the furniture could potentially be in use for the most part of the day. However, it should also be mobile and not too heavy, so that two adults could carry each piece of furniture with ease.
FINAL RESULTS
Zamek was the most demanding location of this edition.The clearly defined expectations resulted in creating twenty four seats which can be folded in the form of a cube. It was very important for the team to co-create the design with the users – creating interactions and the variability of form. Thus the name GRZYBOBRANIE (mushroom picking), which in a whimsical manner refers to the form of the constituent elements resembling mushrooms, and suggest and active participation of the user in developing the form. The construction of each module is constituted by a MDF base filled with twenty five blocks, referred to by the students as mushrooms, which create the seat. Various sizes of the blocks-mushrooms allow to crate seats adjusted to the user’s height. The mobile mushrooms may be repositioned, creating new designs. There is no end to the possibilities. The seats may be set together in any arrangement or placed individually over the entire hall space. The used materials ensure that the furniture is durable and resistant to any possible damages.
Nils Oliver Wenk
Architect from Germany
Founder of Wenk Architekten architecture studio in Berlin. Assistant professor at the chair of Buliding Construction and Design at Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus – Senftenberg. The architect is a winner of numerous awards, e.g.: Hans-Schaefers-Preis (2010), Heinze Architekten AWARD (2010), DEUBAU- Preis and Best Architects 14.