ABOUT EUROPEAN FILM CENTRE

Urban Context

The city of Torun, where the project is located, continues to maintain its intactness with its many historical buildings and attracts the influx of tourists brought by this unspoiled city. For the new projects to be built in this city to survive, it must be included in the life of this city. By using the given site advantages, the masses in which functional distributions will be found are settled in the north, south and west directions of the parcel and it is aimed to keep up with the texture of the city on the master plan by creating a square in the east direction. The main entrances of the different functional masses within the project are taken from the square that will establish the most contact with the city and its inhabitants. Many activities and seating areas to be found in the square, which will establish the most connection with the pedestrian, will flow into the mass together with the main entrance to the buildings. The point where the second pedestrian entrance will be taken is the entrance point given to meet the possible pedestrian potential from the tram line in the north direction. Finally, there is a service entrance that can meet the needs of the building and a parking lot opposite the square that will allow for car entrance.

Context

As mentioned before, the historical texture of the city is the most important point that makes this city stand out. Adapting to this environment becomes an important element, especially because Torun is within the UNESCO World Heritage Site, for the project design with the surrounding buildings of important historical value such as The Old Town and Znki Czasu Centrum Sztuki Wspolczesnej (CSW). For this purpose, design decisions were taken at different points of the project to adapt to the surrounding tissue.

Roof- Wall Setup

Angled roofs with many different forms on the project roof were used as an indicator of the gothic architecture dominating the city. The repetition of these angled roofs was made in order to better fit this form into the large-scale mass and to break the large perception. It is aimed to add a new interpretation and modernize this gothic architecture by breaking the roof and wall separation and working the exterior wall and roof together.

Structural Fiction

Instead of working as a single piece, the project mass was divided according to functions and the passage of the citizens was ensured. Another reason for this fragmentation is to catch the dominant mass scale in the urban fabric and to keep it at human friendly scale. It is aimed to unite the different functional masses using the mega-structure together with this fragmentation. Additionally, the mega-structure is used to emphasize the pedestrian promenades using arcades through the slits given in between the masses. In addition, it wasdesired to add a modern section by overlapping the gothic effect given on the roof with a structure.

Streets - Pedestrian flow

Based on the narrow streets in the city and the way those streets bring people to wide squares, a small scale of this was reflected in the project. The crevices given in the mass have been transformed into a street form and the mass has become permeable and these streets have ensured the continuity of the streets in the city. Streets in the mass; By connecting the square to a lower street from the front of the foyer located in the mass, or by taking the citizens around in the market area, it both ensured that the square became a passage point and made the mass public.

Function

Square

The square has a large number and variety of users; it should be designed to serve different needs according to the event taking place. The square, the amphitheatre and the park on the west of the site forms a triangle for the main public usage; their links are designed to support each other during events. The square and the park provide a pedestrian axis in between so that the Main Festival Centre can be served by both of the public spaces. Additionally, the amphitheatre is designed in a circular shape so that the users can join from all the corners, serving both of the public squares. To conclude, the vast density of users can be distributed and collected by the axis formed between the structure.

Circulation

The circulation at the foyers of all the separate masses are linked to each other using the arcade formed by the mega-structure which enables the maximum user density at the foyers. There is a gradual transition to the square, common foyer area and offices in the building, so that the building continues its private and public functions accordingly. Additionally, the pedestrian promenade supported with the arcade lead to a surprising public area at each end which arouses curiosity to the users of the ECFC building. The pedestrian circulation is emphasized with the axis formed by the steel structure.

Building Technique

Material

The principal aim of the design in terms of the useof material was to keep Torun's silhouette so the main material usage was designed to be brick, a material which becomes more valuable as it ages. However, as a building at such a scale designed with only a brick fac;ade would result to a heavy mass, the building was aimed to be made more environmentally friendly by adding large glass opening and steel details, including the steel structure wrapping the whole building. Additionally, a modern perception has been captured by using steel on the structure that surrounds it joining the old and the new.

Function

Unlike the heavy masses that are produced and finished today, this structure has been formed with a replication logic that canbeeasily adjusted by adding and removing. Located at an important point of the city, this symbolic structure will take an important place in the city's memory and will also ensure urban sustainability. As the needs of the programme changes in time the structure can easily be modified by adding new modules, designed at different scales to serve different functions, concluding to a life-time building.