Bolko-Loft / mH1 (House on the Coal Mine)

The bolko loft is an example of – still rare in Silesia – adaptation of postindustrial architecture. After extraction was discontinued at Zaklady Gorniczo – Hutnicze “Orzel Bialy” (a mining and steelworks complex) in Bytom, the lamp room and time clock room were scheduled for demolition. Suspended on eight reinforced-concrete posts, derelict and ‘half-disintegrated’, the structure intrigue me right away. Its unique location, ‘frank’ form and adequate cubic content made me think about it as of my future home. I decided to sand and paint the existing steel structure, juxtaposing it with the ceiling where the concrete was exposed after other layers were removed. The colour schem of the interior and of the elevation was intended to fit well into the typical spectrum of grayish hews used in heavy industry, with deliberate avoidance of the popular silver. It is only the new-built content – the toilette and dressing room – that has been accentuated with some red.