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Hortus Conclusus: Nowa Huta Steelworks Observatory and the Museum of the Steel Workers

Part 2 Project 2024
Mateusz Binda
Cracow University of Technology | Poland
A Sanctuary of Remembrance and Renewal

Hortus Conclusus - enclosed garden - symbolises the rejuvenation of a neglected industrial area, transforming it into a public garden and museum honouring the workers of Nowa Huta's steelworks. Amid rapid urban development and the decline of industrial sites, preserving post-industrial architecture is vital to safeguarding our heritage.

Reclaiming a segregated industrial zone, this project repurposes the former steelworks into a dynamic public space. Defined by existing ramps and new volumes, the garden features freely growing plants and symbolic mounds of rubble from demolished buildings, reflecting the site's complex history and transformation. In a perverse twist, this enclosed garden opens to the public, transforming exclusion into inclusion.

Emphasizing environmental responsibility, the design uses demolition debris for construction and aligns with Gilles Clément's Third Landscape concept. Nature reclaims the area, fostering biodiversity with minimal human intervention. The museum engages visitors with preserved heritage, offering spaces for cultural events and personal narratives of steelworkers. Viewing terraces and the Observatory provide panoramic insights into the site's evolution, bridging the past and future. Hortus Conclusus stands as a refuge for unwanted heritage, a testament to the enduring value of post-industrial landscapes, and a beacon of sustainable regeneration.


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2024
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