Manggha Japanese Art and Technology Museum
Two purposes were housed in one expressive, conceptual form – the museum housing the collection of Japanese art amassed by Feliks Jasieński [called Manggha] and the cultural-cum-conference centre. The building is softly ad respectfully inscribed into the context of the Vistula River and the Wawel Hill and, while not interfering with the genius loci, it leads the Polish-Japanese intercultural dialogue. The philosophical point of view was presented by the architect himself: “just like the Jasieński collection transcended the frame of Japanese art – this building also transcended the Japan-ness and it rooted itself in the Polish soil”. The structure is discerned by its sculptural shape and the undulating surfaces of the roof which symbolically connect it to the river and with the flow of time. The wide stairs and ramps are leading to the unaccentuated main entrance. One finds sparse means of expression, sandstone cladding and understated tectonics that are reflect in the pool, as well as a Japanese mini-garden.