#03 Old place, new world

“Browar Obywatelski” is a place known to every resident of Tychy and many people in Silesia. At the same time, it is a space that is an important part of the city's cultural heritage. Unfortunately, when the facility ceased its industrial function in the late 1990s, it started to deteriorate. In order to save this unusual complex, we decided to renovate it. The inspiration came from revitalization projects of technical monuments conducted in the Ruhr area, but also in our region.

Thanks to an EU subsidy we carried out a comprehensive modernization of the former brewhouse together with its engine room and tar room buildings. We also demolished modern buildings that distorted the shape of the monument. Along the way we were surprised a few times. It turned out that the building was in much worse condition than the expert reports indicated. Slipping walls, lack of bearing capacity of ceilings, collapse of the attic are just some of the problems we had to face. Fortunately, the object was eventually saved and given new cultural and tourist functions.

The Old Brewhouse is now a state-of-the-art center for non-elite multimedia art. It houses four exhibition halls, which impress with beautifully preserved details of industrial architecture and carefully restored, arched, almost Gothic windows in some of the rooms. Their names: Dark, Weizen, Free and Lage draw on the traditions of the old brewing industry. For over a year now, the Tichauer Art Gallery has been operating here and regularly organizing events and exhibitions of artists working with painting, graphics, photography, sculpture, fashion or multimedia. The gallery also has "Colours of Silesia" naive art collection. Apart from that, the facility includes workshop spaces, a conference room and offices for design work. The courtyard hosts concerts and other artistic events.

Thanks to the revitalization, Tychy has gained a new artistic venue which enriches the program of the city's cultural institutions. The building is located on the Industrial Monuments Route, so every year this place is visited by more and more enthusiasts of post-industrial spaces.

I have been working as an architect for over twenty years, and I have been running my own studio for twelve. It's not just my job, but more importantly my passion. I try to design unusual objects, but with respect for the context of the place and attention to the best functional solutions. I want my heritage to enrich the space and meet the expectations of future users. Recently, I have started working with sites that need revitalization. This is quite a challenge, requiring frequent consultation with conservationists and even archaeologists. It is not easy to adapt old, often historic, buildings to new functions and to meet many technical requirements, such as fire safety just to give you an example.

When revitalizing old buildings, we should not copy the existing solutions at all costs, but skillfully weave modern elements into the historical fabric, so that they harmonize with the space or, as a contrast, emphasize historical details. We live in the 21st century, so the trace of our times should be marked in the modernized buildings. In the Old Brewery, the proportions of the past and modernity have been perfectly balanced. I noticed it already during my first visit, when I was a guest of the International MEDS Workshop Silesia Revival 2021. Great care has been taken to protect old buildings and a great deal of effort has gone into bringing them back to life while respecting the history of the place. Contemporary architectural solutions do not overwhelm the characteristic historic buildings. On the contrary, modernity is discreetly yet clearly signaled here, which makes the space of the Brewery so coherent. Preserved brick walls and steel and ceramic Klein ceilings enhance the aesthetic quality of the Tychy complex.

In the walls that have been preserved and restored lives history, and it’s the key value for us, the inhabitants of the region. The revitalization of the Old Brewhouse deserves recognition.