Kengo Kuma & Associates and Ingarden & Ewý Architects Merge Cinematography and Architecture for the CAMERIMAGE Film Festival Competition

Along with the center, the proposal introduces a public square that combines all activities of the new cultural center of Toruń. The design team wanted to focus on the sensory experiences that the site can generate, particularly through vision and touch, so they integrated a selection of materials, such as ceramics and wood, accompanied by the different views generated by the organic shape of the block and the multidirectional structure of access points. The main direction and access route of the building from al. Solidarności provides visitors with the most prominent visual access, as it introduces them to the space of the art world through the stairs to the piano, on which a red carpet will appear during the ceremonial inauguration. 

Crossing the public square, visitors see the green hill of the amphitheater on the right and the dynamic form of the film studio on the left. This sequence of experiences aims to build anticipation for further architectural elements of the exterior and interior. The project aims to become a new focal point for residents, designed not only for the purposes of the festival, but also for everyday informal meetings, as well as cultural events carried out by all partners participating in the cultural life of Toruń.

A new icon of the city The CAMERIMAGE festival is a festival of cinematography, gathering people associated with the film industry in the world. Both film and architecture are important and universal forms of expression, as well as a source of entertainment and a powerful medium. Both fields create works of visual art that convey ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty or atmosphere through moving images or created spaces. Our goal was to capture this wide range of possible messages in the new arrangement of the building of the European Film Festival CAMERIMAGE in Toruń. — Kengo Kuma & Associates

The European Film Center CAMERIMAGE (ECFC) is a state cultural institution founded in 2019 by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the City of Toruń, and the Tumult Foundation in Poland. Its mission is to build a permanent seat of the EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival in the city, and to put together exhibitions, as well as cultural and educational projects related to the world of audiovisuals. Austrian architectural office Baumschlager Eberle Lustenau won the CAMERIMAGE architectural concept competition. The award included a cash prize of PLN 1,500,000, and an invitation to negotiate the construction of the competition entry. Honorable Mentions of the competition include Zaha Hadid Architects, Wenzel + Wenzel, and KOZIEŃ ARCHITECTS SC.

The project team included Kengo Kuma (Principal), Marcin Sapeta (Partner), Zachary D. Reichert, Sebastiano Caruso, Marcel Dawid, Ong Yong Siang, Jiang Xianfeng, Jagoda Joanna Krawczyk (KAE), and Alicja Kubicka(KAE) from Kengo Kuma & Associates, and Krzysztof Ingarden (Principal), Piotr Urbanowicz, Adrian Kasperski, Karolina Midro, and Katarzyna Pikiewicz-Derus from Ingarden & Ewy Architekci (IEA). Ladscape Consulting was held by MASU: Sune Oslev, Gauthier Durey; Acoustic Consulting was held by Pracownia Akustyczna Kozłowski: Piotr Kozlowski, and Bartosz Zawieja; MEP Consulting was held by ARUP Poland.