T for ToploCentral

The former Toplocentral is a beautiful ensemble of buildings – clean, robust, light-filled spaces are already recognized by the art community for relentless graceful simplicity. In a way these buildings are already a multipurpose art complex, and the only thing an architect can do is recognize the potential and offer several minor tweaks and details on the scale of building and the city. Luckily the budget is very minimal, so this is exactly what we will propose: The buildings need to be cleaned, re-glazed, re-roofed, re-wired. Green roof, new plumbing and new vertical circulation (stair and elevator) will be added. The main space will receive a suspended ceiling grid capable of carrying curtains (ranging from light filtering, to acoustic and black-out), dropped ceilings, and seating, which can then be deployed to create a concert, a gallery, a reception and multiple other possibilities. The existing trenches in the floors that were used to access the old heat-producing equipment, offer an opportunity for artist installations, temporary occupation or programming. They will be covered with removable floor panels.

Thus, these minimal interventions – moveable ceilings, curtains and floor panels, all subject to commission from local and international artists, provide for a flexible art space without changing dramatically this mysterious ruin from the recent but now very different and foreign life.
Finally, on the urban scale, we see the necessity in making it known to the rest of the city that Toplocentral exists and it is now a new art space, open for all. The needed stair and elevator connecting buildings 1A and 1B will become a new marker, a sign, in a form of a T, allowing visitors to locate the art complex from far away, and to access art installations on the roof, view surrounding park, and the city beyond.