Blog BUILDING OF THE WEEK

6 / 8 Described by those in the industry as “a film within a film”. (Photo: Alexander Belenkiy)

3 / 8 Inspired by the art of H. R. Giger, decorative motifs that adorn the interiors float somewhere between science fiction and Art Nouveau. (Photo courtesy Alvernia Studios)

Alvernia Studios is a bizarre, futuristic wonderland, home to the largest modern film studio in Poland. Set in the countryside 18 kilometres from Krakow airport, it was designed and built in 2002 by media entrepreneur Stanislaw Tyczyński, the founder of Poland’s first private radio station, RMF FM. Inspired by the art of H. R. Giger, the distinctly alien-looking 13,000-square-metre facility is comprised of an interconnected web of metallic domes that house sound stages, film scoring studios, and high-tech facilities for visual effects.

Described by those in the industry as “a film within a film”, every inch of the facility reflects the spirit of a sci-fi movie set: thick tubes of glass corridors stretch between the shiny metal domes – while the interior, decorated from floor to ceiling with futuristic motifs, evokes the feeling of walking through a monumental spaceship.

Described by those in the industry as “a film within a film”. (Photo: Alexander Belenkiy)

Technical features at Alvernia Studios include door handles operated by fingerprint readers and a dome containing the world’s largest shade-less spherical blue screen. In the recording studio, a special device opens and closes like a flower, changing the acoustic parameters of the space. The main structure of reinforced concrete, polyurethane foam, and compressed PVC air balloons, is resistant to rain, frost, and wind and probably recycling as well, which means these space-colony style “domes from the future” may outlive us all.

- Susie S. Lee