Students and young architects, we would like to invite you to participate in the 22nd edition of the KOŁO competition for the conceptual design of a building with a public toilet function for the Royal Baths in Warsaw.
The next edition of the KOŁO competition, organized jointly with the Royal Lazienki Museum, runs under the slogan "Concept Merlini." Participants have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Dominick Merlini, the court architect of King Stanislaw August, who had a key influence on the final shape of the Lazienki Park. The opportunity to design a pavilion, on the grounds of the former royal summer residence, is a great opportunity to look at his work. The architect was responsible for the creation of such buildings as the Palace on the Island, the White House and the Myślewicki Palace.
competition task
The main objective of the competition is to combine tradition and modernity, as well as remembrance of history and respect for the value of monuments with creative freedom. The location of the proposed facility near Agricola, in the area of the Northern Baths, provides great design potential not only because of the number of visitors, but also the space available to create additional functions. Because of the visitor service, the project should include:
- a special area with ticket machines (for at least three devices),
- point of sale,
- self-service information with touch screen and leaflet racks.
Equally important is the use of solutions that allow access to the building for all audiences, including audiences with special needs - people with disabilities, the elderly or caregivers with young children. Concepts should take into account the use of renewable and environmentally friendly materials, and propose solutions to change the non-environmental behavior of residents and tourists.
According to Justyna Zborowska, PR and advertising manager at Geberit Group:
For the 22nd time, the KOŁO competition is a pretext for discussing the deficit of public toilets in urban space in Poland. We are strongly rooting for the #zostańwdomu action, and since the competition is held almost entirely online and requires remote work on materials provided by the organizers, I believe that this is a very good time to encourage young people, to take creative action [...]. The unique nature of the location of this year's competition will also pose an important challenge to the participants - how to design in a historic space? We hope that this is a theme that will make the current edition even more popular.
competition categories
The KOŁO competition gives budding architects the opportunity to compete in three competition categories:
- main competition, in which projects are evaluated by a jury,
- online competition, the project is subject to evaluation by Internet users,
- the competition entitled. "Debut of the Year", in which the jury will select two participants who will be given the opportunity to complete a month-long internship in an architectural office selected by the organizer.
jury
- Prof. Ewa Kuryłowicz - Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology, Kuryłowicz & Associates,
- Robert Konieczny - KWK Promes,
- Marta Sękulska Wrońska - WXCA, president of the Warsaw Branch of SARP,
- Aleksandra Kozłowska - winner of the KOŁO competition,
- Przemysław Powalacz - CEO of Geberit Sp. z o.o.,
- Kamilla Pereta - chief conservator, Royal Łazienki Museum,
- Dorota Knopp - deputy head of the Investment Department, Royal Łazienki Museum,
- Marzena Jasczak - deputy head of the Public Service Department, Royal Łazienki Museum.
Examples of completed competition works from previous years include the Beach Pavilion in Warsaw, a restroom in Kazimierz Dolny, a restroom at the Mogilskie Roundabout in Krakow, or a restroom building in Plock overgrown with living greenery. In 2019, the contestants undertook to design a play garden with a public restroom building on Lake Dlugi in Olsztyn.
Details and regulations can be found on the contest website.
compiled by: {tag:AuthorAiB}
illustrations provided courtesy of the organizers.
