Kezmarok Cultural Centre

The project for the new Cultural Center stems from a tectonic dialogue with the Kežmarok Fortress, through a semantic inversion that reinterprets the massive imagery of the defensive enclosure, yet returns to the community an open and porous citadel. The intervention consolidates the complex functional program into a sculptural monolith punctuated by zenithal lanterns that mark the main spaces, while freeing up the ground level for a continuous public park. Here, the memory of the ancient walls becomes a pretext for the landscape design, tracing their footprint with rain gardens and retention basins. The permeable ground floor, traversed by a pedestrian foyer-street, hosts two main halls (seating 450 and 150) alongside flexible amenities. Inside, the extensive use of wood establishes a tactile and acoustic resonance with the nearby church.