The historic brick buildings of the former mine are architectural monuments: the project involved their restoration and adaptation to a design center, a restaurant, a hall for social events and a tourist center, introducing visitors to the history of local coal mines. Two new "arms" have been added to the main T-shaped building in terms of the plan: they will house a large theater and a small concert hall, several exhibition spaces and related services, including offices.
Monolithic-looking old industrial buildings structurally consist of a 5-meter "base", reminiscent of a labyrinth in plan, with several engine rooms at the top. Their architecture is very diverse and "emotional", it has great qualities such as contrasts of light and shadow, high and low, spacious and closed. Therefore, the authors decided to make the center of the cultural complex precisely the "heart" of the former production - the compressor room and other industrial premises with light steel structures of ceilings and transitions with railings and stairs and red and white floor tiles. It was decided to leave the cars in them intact as monuments to the industrial era.
The historical core of the project has been maximized and supplemented with two new volumes of white concrete and metal, perfectly integrated into the functional and formal logic of the old complex. The modern theater and small concert halls were designed by architects in the spirit of the former engine rooms and represent a kind of "cultured machines". They are connected to the old industrial premises by open terraces paved with the same red and white tiles as the main production halls. The seats in the theater hall for 500 people are built in tiers; the small hall has a flat floor. Both of them are very light due to solid glazing, closed from the outside with metal blinds.
The main entrance to the new complex faces the square - from here the audience enters the gigantic foyer through a large steel volume, where they find the tourist center. Further, the streams of people are directed to various functional areas - exhibition spaces, cafes and restaurants, theater halls, a design center and new roof terraces, which offer views of the original landscape of the coal mining area.
N. K.
