In the evolving urban fabric of Jastrzębie-Zdrój, a city in southern Poland with a dual identity as a former spa town and industrial hub, SLAS Architekci has delivered a bold architectural intervention: a new concert hall wrapped in a mirror-polished steel façade, designed as a contemporary counterpart to the traditional Józef Świder State Music School.
The cube-shaped extension integrates seamlessly with the school’s existing facilities while asserting a distinct modern character. Situated on a constrained corner plot with no setback from the street, the structure responds with an all-encompassing reflective façade, both a formal solution to its tight urban context and a strategy for long-term durability.
“The façade material was intended not only to shine and neutralize the volume of the facility with reflections of the surroundings, but above all to withstand the test of time and be resistant to vandalism,” said Mariusz Komraus, co-founder of SLAS Architekci.
The building’s primary function is educational, housing a 362-seat naturally acoustic auditorium tailored for music practice and student performances. Beyond its academic utility, it also serves as a multipurpose cultural venue for the city, with a publicly accessible café space that doubles as a gallery for local art exhibitions.
The concert hall is constructed with reinforced concrete, chosen for its inherent mass and acoustic performance. Internally, the auditorium walls are shaped using wavy formwork, with the raw concrete left exposed and treated with a black glaze finish. This surface treatment not only enhances the visual depth of the material but also negates the need for supplementary acoustic cladding, ensuring both material efficiency and acoustic integrity.
Externally, the façade is composed of corrugated stainless-steel panels with a mirror finish. The rippled surface subtly echoes the interior wall geometry, establishing a material and morphological continuity between exterior and interior. This design approach is not merely aesthetic; it also contributes to the hall’s passive thermal performance by reflecting solar radiation and reducing surface heat absorption.
At 17 m tall, the building fully occupies its site footprint. The ground floor includes the main public entrance, cloakrooms, and backstage zones including dressing rooms. Vertical circulation leads to the first-floor foyer and café, which offer access to the elevated auditorium. Despite its dense form, the building incorporates slim vertical window strips that provide strategic daylighting while maintaining a controlled thermal envelope.
