Name: Museum of Art in Łódź
Location: Łódź, ul. Gdańska 43
Area: 723m2
Design Team: Karolina Taczalska, Maciej Taczalski, Marek Solnica PUiA
Photography:
Exterior: 4wymiar Rafał Tomczyk
Interior: Jacek Olszewski
The outbuilding of the former palace of Maurycy Poznański and Sara Salomea née Silberstein was erected in Łódź at 43 Gdańska Street. It was designed by a well-known architect from Łódź, privately a friend of Maurycy, Adolf Zeligson. According to sources, the palace’s construction concluded in 902. After Maurycy’s death, his nephew, Maurycy Ignacy, took over the palace. During the war, the building was taken over by the German occupants, and after the war, by the communist authorities, who transformed it into flats for the University’s professors. Since 1945 (or actually from 1948, when the adaptation works were completed), the building has been the seat of the Museum of Art (previously operating under the name of the Museum of History and Art). The buildings are entered in the register of monuments of the Łódź Province under the number A/42 by the decision of January 20, 1971.
In 2014, according to our design, a comprehensive renovation and reconstruction was carried out, aimed at, on the one hand, adapting the facility to modern requirements for museums, exhibitions and offices, and, on the other hand, preserving the remaining and restoring missing or degraded elements of the décor of both the lavishly ornated elevations and the interiors.
Elements of interior design have been preserved and highlighted. Antique window woodwork and door fittings, ornamental lattices, metal valances on the first floor windows, internal panelling, doors to wall cabinets among many others have been subjected to conservation. Based on the research carried out by the restorers, the original colours of the facades, doors and windows were restored. The original metal windows and doors in the former orangery (now the Director's office) have been preserved and restored. The installations have been modernized and the facility has been adapted to the meet the requirements of fire safety regulations.
The interiors were intentionally fitted with modern furniture, in a style not referencing the historical style, which was to be a form of dialogue between the Museum of Art presenting modern art and the historical spirit of the place where it happened to be located.
