Banialuka Puppet Theatre in Bielsko-Biała

Nizio Design International developed the concept for the concours for the new home of the Banialuka Puppet Theatre in Bielsko-Biała — an institution that for decades has pushed beyond the boundaries of conventional theatre, treating the urban fabric as an active stage.

The building comprises three volumes arranged along Broniewskiego Street, unified by a vertical facade of cross-laminated timber — a deliberate reference to the vernacular architecture of the Podbeskidzie region and its local building traditions. A square module, running through both the urban layout and the individual architectural forms, transfers the logic of the stage to the scale of the city. Four functional zones — a main stage, a foyer with smaller stages, a library and an open agora — establish a clear order in which each part can operate independently. The agora, equipped with a central support structure for the free staging of artistic and social events, is the spatial expression of a theatre that extends beyond its own walls. The colour red — marking the stage interiors, the foyer staircase and the agora structure — intuitively identifies the places of creative energy throughout the building.

Timber is the building’s primary material: sensual, local and ecological. The open, latticed facade of vertical timber divisions reveals interiors finished in natural plaster and wood. Green roof terraces — including the theatre roof functioning as an additional performance space — complete the programme of a building conceived not only as a cultural centre but as an active symbol of sustainable architecture.