Centre for Literature and Language – Planet Lem

The architectural and urban development competition was aimed at selecting a project for Poland’s first multi-functional literature centre devoted to language itself. It involved revitalising an 18th-century salt depository and erecting a new structure to the east of it.

The old salt depository building serves as a source of inspiration for the new complex. The structure of the former stables has been multiplied to stretch all across the plot, penetrating the gardens and creating a sensation of infinity. In this way, the modular interior can be adapted to various arrangement needs. The silhouette of the complex is created by the existing Salt Warehouse and the towers over it – periscopes of sorts that signal the presence of the complex in Kraków’s landscape. The interiors of the new building refer to the nature of the work of their patron: they are logical and mathematical, and from simple elements create a very complicated reality. Structural deformations link the two levels of Planet Lem, creating a clearly visible ”narrative axis” around which every element of the exhibition is positioned. They find their continuation in the green hillocks that isolate the complex from the noisy streets and create a serene enclave inside a buzzing city. "Planeta Lem" will be built around the green Vistula boulevards and in the vicinity of other cultural institutions.