The Animated Film Studio in Poland’s Bielsko-Biała kickstarted the careers of several Polish artists and entertained generations of the nation through their iconic cartoons and films since its founding in 1947. "The goal we had in mind when creating the centre was to uphold tradition, while at the same time telling the story of the Bielsko-Biała Animated Film Studio in an interesting and modern way over the past few decades,” says the studio’s deputy director Karolina Lorenc to the Polish press agency, with an intent of redefining the studio to intrigue the young generation that hardly recognises the characters their parents and grandparents grew up with.

“We aimed to create a harmonious connection between the new structure and the historic, decorated façade,” says Polish architect Mirosław Nizio, founder of Nizio Design International Studio. A sculptor and a patron of the arts, Nizio established the architecture firm, Nizio Gallery and Nizio Foundation in 2002 in a heritage building in Warsaw. Renowned for public architecture and museum design in Poland, the architect devised innovative urban design solutions for the renovation and extension of the Animated Film Studio’s home, the Roth Villa and won the architecture competition in 2016. The construction of the new building and the surrounding landscape began after the completion of Roth Villa’s renovation, which took over four years to complete and open to the public. The plans for the villa’s interior design did not include any major changes except the replacements of wall plasters and flooring, along with necessary installations such as heating, plumbing, lighting, electrical and telecommunications fixtures.

The historic Roth Villa’s restored facade exudes a sense of familiarity as one approaches the site, with access to the parking area on its left and the event square on its right. The new Interactive OKO Story and Animation Centre, as viewed from the street, is a building sporting concrete architecture with small perforations, concealing structural elements on the ground floor with glass walls to give visible lightness to the otherwise heavy-looking reinforced concrete facade. It can be accessed at multiple points from the square, with the primary access shaded by the small corridor that connects the two buildings. The event square is defined by an L-shaped amphitheatre-like seating and the linear wall of the new building, which extends to the entire length of the sloped green landscape. The square is equipped to host open-air screenings, art performances and creative workshops and the connecting open green space is a vibrant addition to the neighbourhood.

The ground floor of the new animation centre building facilitates the ingress of ample natural light that permeates its halls. The primary staircase is encased in glass, located in the narrowed south corner of the building, with areas such as the reception, souvenir shop, buffet area, director’s cabin, independent exhibition spaces, essential facilities and storage areas scattered across the footprint with wide corridors for circulation. The cinema hall Kreska is the highlight of the building, which can seat up to 120 people for multimedia and film screenings, lectures, conferences and other cultural events.

Educational spaces such as the primary exhibition space and digital archive rooms are located on the first floor, along with a conference room and a room for the animators. A small transition space entirely made of glass connects the corridors of the new building with the old, allowing the visitors views of the urban setting. The second floor has ample room for exhibitions and small gatherings in addition to a conference room and service areas on the north of the building.

The multimedia and interactive exhibition space presents the history of the studio and its animation process spanning scriptwriting, character creation, background creation and breathing life into images with sound integration. "We have prepared an opportunity for the children to create their own animated film. In the form of a game, it will be possible to go through the entire process of creating an animated film at several stations," says Lorenc to a regional Polish newspaper.

“I believe we succeeded in making a cohesive and balanced design that respects heritage while adding new quality. The same goes for fitting the minimalist building into the traditional urban setting: skillfully built contrasts add dynamism and make the project more interesting,” concludes the Polish architect. The new Interactive OKO Story and Animation Centre, together with the internal event square and the expansive, sloped urban landscape create a set of contemporary public space interventions and activity zones that form a relationship with the history and heritage of the Roth Villa and the Animation Centre’s legacy.

“It is a beautiful city, but when asked what its biggest attraction is, the residents of Bielsko-Biała themselves answer that it is the mountains,” said the director of the Studio Maciej Chmiel to a regional newspaper before the opening of the OKO centre,"...the tourists bypass the city and go to mountain resorts." The new Animation Center and its immersive green cover will perhaps serve as a catalyst in converging locals and tourists to the city and its magnificent landscape.