AGORA Cultural Center and a Library- Information Center
location: Wroclaw, Serbska 5a
investor: Zarząd Inwestycji Miejskich we Wrocławiu
area: 2932,5 m²
project year: 2007
completion: 2007- 2008
general contractor: PW Bud-Trans
The new headquarters of the AGORA Cultural Centre and the Library-Information Centre will be built on the site of a preschool built in the 1980s by soldiers doing community work. The building was left unfinished for more than 20 years and has slowly fallen into ruin.
The main design problem was to make optimum use of the existing shell and to reconstruct it so that it can be used safely by a new generation. However, the necessity of meeting the programme requirements of the investor, modern legal and technical requirements, and of creating an adequate functional standard meant that the original shape of the building had to be significantly altered. The new building has an open and accessible public space which seems to invite local residents to participation in the Centre’s events. The architecture of the building has been made more uniform and unobtrusive, inspired by Scandinavian style.
The new AGORA Cultural Centre includes an arts workshop (drawing, painting, ceramics, glasswork, photography), a music workshop (recording studio, rehearsal room), a ballet and dance room, a multifunctional room with a capacity for 200 spectators intended for concerts, displays, presentations, conferences, seasonal events etc., a theatre stage with a capacity for 100 spectators, a multimedia library, and an independently functioning cafe which can also provide catering services for events.