Carbon Pillars : Information + Images

Carbon Pillars, Katowice, Silesia Konior Studio The building emerges from the carbon-rich soil of Silesia -the regions 'black gold'. The texture of its external walls resembles the porous surface of the ribbed coal pillars found in the nearby coalfield below the Katowice cola mine. The crystalline form brings to mind other carbonic forms, such as graphite and diamond. The bold, dynamic strokes within the tower's façade reveal the core of this dark cob - gleaming, crystalline, snow-white tower walls. They emphasise the building's dualistic construction - the contrast between chaos and order, rawness and refinement, nature and culture. The structure aspires to become the icon of the new Silesia, a modern region, rich in state-of-the-art technology, with a bold outlook on the future, which at the same retains a vivid recollection of its history and is conscious of its unique character. The building is located on the intersection of two of the city's functional axes. One axis crosses the other to constitute the building's structure. The Axis of Science runs between the two towers, and the Axis of Culture divides the podium, shaping an atrium within its mass. The two axes also create a traffic framework - on the Axis of Science, there is a vehicle thoroughfare and a pedestrian walkway leading straight through the building. The main entrance to the building is found on the Axis of Culture, in tandem with the footbridge over the neighbouring DTS expressway. Through this, the revitalised site of the old Katowice coal mine is connected with the core city centre. The site, due to its location on the DTS expressway (Pol. 'Drogowa Trasa Srednicowa' - the city's major road traffic thoroughfare - transl.) constitutes a gateway into the city. For those driving into the city, it is the first big building in Katowice. For those in transit, driving down into the tunnel under Katowice's centre, it becomes a symbol of the city, its only truly unforgettable structure. Carbon Pillars - Building Information Design Team: Tomasz M. Konior, Andrzej Witkowski, Aleksander Nowacki, Wojciech Czapnik, Dominik Czajkowski, Piotr Zowada, Maciej Niewiadomski Investor: LC Corp Area: 186 820 m2 Also by Konior studio: Carbon Pillars, Katowice Konior Studio SYMPHONY Katowice