In the '60s between important wroclawian Szewska Street and the representative Świdnicka Street there was a building raised, that in the late '80s became a legendary bar of the city converting itself to a vibrant place of the cultural exchange and interpersonal relations. Bar Barbara was designed by Anna Tarnawska and Jerzy Tarnawski and was a part of the bigger residential project being worked on between 1957 and 1962. After the best prosperity time the building lost its importance because of much negligence and many reconstructions. Before the newest architectural intervention there appeared, among others, a fur coat shop, lottery office or fast food and for a longer time the building was standing empty and forgotten.
The concept of the newest reconstruction is based on new purpose and functional solutions of the place. The interior space is provided above all for the art, culture and for young artists, as well as for the headquarters of Festival Office for European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016. The ground floor is foreseen as a multifunctional space, workshop room and a cafe. On the first floor there are offices and conference rooms. In the basement there are warehouse and technical infrustucture located.
The interior is mainly white, it refers strongly to the old character of the bar, leaving however space for modern accents and up-to-date veneer materials. We reconstructed the old black and white mosaic on the pillars and left the characteristic wall covered with stones. The whole should play a background role for all of the artistic initiatives planned inside of the building and at the same time thanks to high-tech glass facade spacially affect the square in front of the building.
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