An angled tower wrapped in red concrete panels and glazing contains the entrance to this second world war museum, which is mostly housed beneath the surface of a public plaza in the Polish city of Gdansk.

A jury headed by Daniel Libeskind awarded Studio Architektoniczne Kwadrat the project for the Museum of the Second World War following an international competition in 2010.
The studio, which is based in the nearby town of Gdynia, said it put forward a proposal that was "a bit risky", but also "something unusual, very distinctive and memorable".

A tower rising 40.5 metres above the new public square provides the dominant feature of the building, which is located next to a canal in a district called Wiadrownia that was destroyed during fighting in 1945. "The idea behind [the design] is simple enough," said the architects, "to position the main part of the museum underground so as not to completely use up the small plot of land intended for investment."
"We have concealed the other functions in a sculptural form. In this way, it was possible to find space for a vast square, and the whole premise became symbolic."

The project comprises three distinct but connected parts, with the underground spaces dedicated to the past, the plaza representing the present, and the tower symbolising the future.
The monolithic tower features surfaces set at angles as much as 45 degrees from the vertical, lending it a dynamic appearance that a...