Client: Centuria Wellness & Spa Hotel

Overview

Unique glass discs near the archeological site of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland refer to the character of the richness of the fossils of organisms living in this area in past geological eras. Centuria Wellness & Spa Hotel in Ogrodzieniec, designed by architect Agnieszka Kaczmarska, is located in the heart of this region, which served as an inspiration for the artworks by Tomasz Urbanowicz.
Almost 200 million years ago the area was covered in a warm sea and the ammonites living in it dropped to the bottom. Their petrified remains created an entire upland. An ammonite found in the area is 147 cm in diameter and is the largest in Poland.
The 3-disc wall hanging installation by the swimming pool is made of kiln-formed glass elements cast in 850°C, coated with metal oxides in 600°C. The diameter of each disc measures 150cm / 5ft.

Goals

Tomasz Urbanowicz, invited in 2008 to design glass artwork for the hotel's swimming pool, decided to create larger ammonites out of glass.
The 3-disc wall hanging installation is made of kiln-formed glass elements cast in 850°C, coated with metal oxides in 600°C. The diameter of each disc measures 150cm / 5ft.
The composition reflects in the water and ceiling, serving as a focal point of the interior.

Process

The innovative glass technique is based on casting with a burned calcium surface background which passes into spatial glass ammonites and belemnites. The technology used to create this unique objects was described in the book “Contemporary Kiln-formed Glass” by Keith Cummings, London/Philadelphia, 2009.