Prolog Gallery at the Fine Arts High School in Nałęczów

Nizio Design International has developed the concept for Prolog Gallery — an exhibition pavilion at the Jozéf Chełmoński Fine Arts High School in Nałęczów. The new structure completes the composition of the school’s modernist campus, becoming a space for the presentation of art, education, and public engagement open to the wider region.

The existing school building was designed by Marek Leykam and completed in 1966. Its architecture — defined by rhythmic facade divisions and expansive glazing — embodies the idea of the atelier: a space in which natural light and the surrounding greenery become integral to the creative process. The new pavilion continues this language while translating it into a contemporary form.

The pavilion closes the vista of one of the school’s two internal courtyards. The courtyard-facing facade is largely glazed, keeping the gallery interior in constant visual dialogue with the surrounding greenery. The broad exterior wall surfaces will serve as projection and display screens for outdoor performances, events, and multimedia presentations.

The defining motif of the facade is a series of horizontal, dynamically projecting planes, whose rhythm echoes the articulation of the existing campus buildings. The volume is rectilinear and restrained — the white wall surfaces can be read as a reference to the painter’s canvas: a blank field that an artist fills according to their own will. The modular facade composition draws on a straightforward logic of supports and bonds, lending the geometric form a subtle dynamism. Several wall planes deliberately extend beyond the building’s footprint, breaking the stillness of the volume.

– It was at the high school in Nałęczów that I gained my first artistic grounding. It was here that my creative sensibility took shape — a sensibility that continues to inform my work. Nałęczów was my own prologue. Returning to the city of my youth, and having the opportunity to realise a project in the very place where my artistic journey began, is something that matters to me deeply. – says Mirosław Nizio, principal of the practice.

At the heart of the building is a tall main exhibition hall, designed for flexibility and capable of accommodating a wide range of presentation formats — from painting and sculpture to spatial installations and multimedia works. It is flanked by two smaller galleries for temporary exhibitions. Across the remaining floors, the programme includes a library with a reading room, a café, and a multipurpose conference hall at basement level for lectures, screenings, and meetings. Workshop spaces extend the school’s educational offering, while dedicated storage supports a rotating exhibition programme. Throughout, open, glazed interiors maintain a continuous connection with natural light and the surrounding landscape.

The scheme is completed by a green roof — a viewing terrace with a pergola and photovoltaic panels, extending the pavilion’s programme into the open air. The project as a whole adheres to the principles of sustainable architecture: natural materials, energy-efficient building systems, and a shading strategy that maximises daylight while minimising environmental impact.

– The expansion of my former school feels like a natural continuation of its history. In returning here with this project, I am closing a circle — and trying to play some part in furthering the mission of an institution dedicated to nurturing talented, courageous young people. – adds Mirosław Nizio.

“Prolog” Gallery will become a place where students, educators, and invited artists show their work to a broad public for the first time. The pavilion opens the Fine Arts High School in Nałęczów to a dialogue with its city and region, building something new on the foundation of more than half a century of the school’s history.