There are flavours we remember not only through our taste buds, but above all through our emotions. The scent of Baryłki, a slice of Wedel cake at a family celebration, and a box of Ptasie Mleczko brought by Grandma for a special occasion. These little chocolate rituals have long since become part of our everyday lives, and Wedel’s products have become part of our history, accompanying both important moments and those that are completely ordinary. Today, it’s worth exploring these stories from a different perspective. At the E.Wedel Chocolate Factory, chocolate becomes a story of immense passion. The exhibition, designed by the WWAA studio, takes visitors on a journey from the cocoa bean to the iconic packaging, revealing just how much unseen work and ingenuity lies behind the flavour we’ve known for years.
The summer months, when many residents and tourists are looking for worthwhile places to explore in Warsaw, are the perfect opportunity to visit the exhibition at the E.Wedel Chocolate Factory. The Warsaw-based WWAA studio is responsible for the concept and design of the exhibition. Together with the building’s architects, it has designed a space that opens the door to a chocolate universe full of flavours, aromas and the stories of the people behind the creation of these iconic products.
The exhibition design marks a significant departure from the classic corporate museum model. Instead of a chronological history of the brand, WWAA has proposed a multi-threaded, interactive narrative about our favourite treats. The narrative covers the entire chocolate-making process; from cocoa beans and plantations, through production, the history of the Wedel family and the factory’s development, right up to packaging design. The stars of the exhibition are not only the finished products, but also the farmers, technologists, designers and factory workers, whose knowledge and experience are essential to the creation of these chocolate treats.
The central aim of the project was to move away from an exhibition based solely on viewing artefacts. Instead of display cases and static presentations, a space was created that engages visitors through movement, touch, smell, sound, light and tasting. Designed by WWAA, the exhibition draws on contemporary research into perception and education, treating the experience of space as a fundamental tool for conveying knowledge. Visitors are not merely passive observers; they become full participants in the narrative.
A key element of the concept is the integration of the museum with an operational factory. Thanks to the glazed walls, visitors can observe actual production lines, rather than reconstructions of them. The authentic production process becomes part of the narrative, reinforcing its credibility and highlighting the connection between the exhibition and the place where the chocolate is made. The design also avoids a single, linear visitor route. The exhibition has been designed as an open structure, allowing for various ways of exploring the content. Individual zones are dedicated to the brand’s history, production technology, design, chocolate culture and sensory experiences. The scenography plays a role here on a par with the content on display. Each part of the exhibition has been given its own spatial language, distinct colour scheme, lighting and materials corresponding to the successive stages of the chocolate narratives. The design deliberately utilises techniques characteristic of contemporary exhibition design, creating an interactive environment in which multimedia and scenography function as a single system.
The close collaboration between WWAA and the architectural firm, BiM Architekci, is also significant. The exhibition was not simply fitted into an existing building, but developed in parallel with its design. The museum is housed in converted cocoa silos, and the visitor route leads through successive storeys. The industrial character of the interiors has been utilised as an integral part of the narrative, whilst the building’s architecture, whose form evokes a chocolate bar, reinforces the narrative of the entire project.
“When designing this exhibition, we wanted to show just how much work goes into creating a single bar of chocolate – how much time and how many kilometres it takes – and, most importantly, that there are people behind it all. A person who devotes their entire life to ensuring that, when we go to the shop, we can buy our favourite chocolate without a second thought. A person who handwrites a message on every little cake. A taster who, for years, has been making sure that every box of chocolates that ends up in our hands tastes exactly the same. “The team of people behind the pleasure of eating chocolate comprises not only those working today, but above all those who were there at the very beginning of this story,” say Natalia Paszkowska and Marcin Mostafa, owners of the WWAA studio.
The exhibition created by WWAA is part of a shift in museum design observed in recent years. It demonstrates that an exhibition can be a place full of emotion and pleasure. It is an invitation for those who wish to rediscover the flavours familiar from childhood from a completely new perspective.
E. Wedel Chocolate Factory
5 Aleja Emila Wedla, Warsaw
source: press materials
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