Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music

The architectural competition for the new Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan envisioned a facility dedicated to cultural, scientific, and educational purposes. Renowned Polish architectural design studio WXCA clinched the top prize. The architects’ design introduces a modern, sculptural silhouette while respecting traditional architectural expressions, proportionally echoing the 19th-century urban context.

The competition organized by the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan in collaboration with the Association of Polish Architects, aimed to create a new cultural and educational centre, catering to both students and residents of Poznan. The investment includes academic spaces as well as a regional music hub featuring an opera and theatre hall. Additionally, the facility will house a playhouse and performance stage, a chamber hall, an ambisonic hall, recording studios, and ballet and drama studios, among many others. Studio WXCA’s award-winning proposal embodies a timeless structure harmoniously integrating with Poznan’s traditional architecture and urban fabric while addressing the city’s contemporary needs.

A contemporary spatial landmark amidst traditional urban development

WXCA architects aimed to design a building whose form serves as a medium between Poznan’s past and present. The structure continues the street’s historic alignment, while breaking down its mass into smaller functional blocks of varying heights, injecting dynamism into the composition. Gaps between these blocks engage with the surrounding environment, inviting pedestrians inside. Transitioning from a compact arrangement at the city’s core to a more open composition, the boundary between interior and exterior is blurred, emphasizing the building’s public utility. The dominant composition at the street intersection acts as a spatial marker, asserting the institution’s presence in the city. The volumes of individual blocks scale in reference to adjacent 19th-century buildings and their restrained expression is achieved through geometric simplicity and rhythmic façade articulation reminiscent of traditional urban townhouses.

WXCA also proposed niches and openings across different levels, integrating the academy with its surroundings. In the concept of the architectural design studio, a green roof becomes a serene meeting place for both students and academia, offering a welcoming retreat. Glass canopies and a green plaza encourage observation of daily life at the institution, with evenings dedicated to cultural events for the local community. Thus, the building fully embodies its role as a public asset that is open to the city.

The building’s form reflects its internal functional layout, where academy life revolves around a centrally located opera and theatre hall equipped with state-of-the-art stage technology. This space serves both educational and social functions, forming the heart of the entire complex. Addressing diverse user needs, public, educational, and technical spaces are carefully segregated into zones with varied access to ensure independent operation.