Although on the market of residential buildings there is stagnation, the market of office buildings thrives. Currently almost 180,000 msq of modern office space is being realised in Kraków. It is not surprising that because of such competition, the investors try different ideas to distinguish their objects. An interesting concept is that of the GD&K company, which has decided to put a monument in front of its investment, located on the intersection of Mogilska and Cystersów streets. For a long time we were wondering what to do to make Meduza building more unique – said Henryk Gertner, Member of the Board of GD&K Consulting during the event of unveiling the sculpture – and we decided that a cultural event would be the best. Why not combine a commercial building with a work of art?
The sculpture, depicting a man diving into water, was found in 2007 in an Italian quarry. It is signed, but the signature is difficult to decipher. “The Swimmer” is made from plate welded from contrasting planes. A part of the head and the arm is filled by the plastic mass. Exposing the not so precise welding, bringing together planes of plate (making an impression of basting) makes the sculpture more emphatic. “The Swimmer” is a part of Romantic and expressive trend in European sculpture. It has probably been made in the second part of XXth century. The first welded sculpture, made in 1910 by Spanish artist Julio Gonzales, was an artistic sensation. The artists of that trend, called the welders, paid attention to the expressing of texture, which was a result of physical qualities of the metal.
„The Swimmer” will be located in front of the building, most probably in the corner near Mogilska street. It is hard to believe, that the sculpture was not made on order, because it goes really well with the building’s opalescent facade. The facade resembles a jellyfish (Polish: meduza) because of a 3d effect, caused by sunrays, reflected in different directions. The authors of the design are Łukasz Żak and Wojtek Stanczykiewicz from the Ovotz Design Lab studio, with the cooperation of Pierre van den Berg.
The facade, aside from aesthetic functions, provides thermal isolation toghether with the decrease in volume of the surroundings. Meduza office building combines modern architectonic idea with a great attention to aesthetic factors. On eight storeys there is over 4,600 msq of A class office space, 80% of which has already been leased. The investment will be put into operation in December 2008.
The swimmer will not be a sole artistic accent in the building – announced Henryk Gertner. – In the spring of the following year, we will have a big, renovated Dutch painting in one of our conference rooms. The painting, created at the turn of XVIth and XVIIth century, depicts a fest on the market square of Antwerp, commemorating human victory over giants.