On December 9, during an online gala, we announced the winners of the sixth edition of the Architectural Award of the President of the Capital City of Warsaw. Distinguished were buildings and initiatives in six main categories. Three special awards were given - the grand prix, the audience award and a special mention for pro-environmental solutions. What do the awarded projects tell us about the condition of contemporary architecture in Warsaw?
Architectural Award of the President of the City of Warsaw.
Awarded for the sixth time this year, the prize recognizes the best architectural projects and cultural events thematically related to architecture, which were commissioned or held in 2019. A ten-member jury, consisting of city officials (Marlena Happach, Michal Olszewski), politicians (Ewa Janczar), urban planners and architects (Tomasz Majda, Agnieszka Cieśla, Robert Szumielewicz, Marcin Grzyb, Piotr Jurkiewicz) and critics (Ewa P. Porębska, Grzegorz Piątek) selected eighteen finalists and winners in all categories from among applications submitted by all interested parties.
We award the best buildings, public spaces and events. Pandemic turned everything upside down this year. We have to work differently, use public spaces and buildings in a different way. Many plans and investment projects are changing. The pandemic has hit the architecture and investment industry hard. I talk to designers and investors. I know how this is a difficult time for everyone.
Rafał Trzaskowski, President of the City of Warsaw.
Best public building
photo: Marcin Czechowicz / organizer materials
The award in the best public building category, the Grand Prix of the entire competition and the audience award went to the small and architecturally restrained building of the Public Nursery No. 67 in Warsaw - Wesola. Designed by xystudio, the building was built on a densely wooded plot in a green part of the city. In accordance with the provisions of the development plan, the architects preserved the required 60% of biologically active area, inscribing the one-story pavilion into the natural landscape. The centrally located higher block is surrounded by a spacious terrace opening the building to the surroundings. Large glazing reflecting the natural landscape and rhythms of supports alluding to the trees bond the visually geometrized building with the almost wild nature. The clear, simple layout of the interiors and lack of barriers for people with disabilities make the building usable by any audience.
The other nominees in the category:
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Headquarters of Transportowy Dozór Techniczny, JEMS Architekci
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Subway stations: Szwedzka, Targówek Mieszkaniowy, Trocka, ILF Consulting
Residential architecture
photo: Piotr Krajewski/organizer materials
The best housing development in the residential architecture category was the Mickiewicza II complex designed by HRA Architekci. Located on the border of Żoliborz and Bielany districts, the Skanska Polska investment consists of nine buildings of various sizes, forming an open and unfenced residential complex. Semi-private zones were separated using landscaping elements by Urbandesign.pl. The large trees overgrowing the plot were preserved, and the buildings tried to climb between them. A community center was also designed for events organized by residents. The use of sustainable materials and architectural solutions was confirmed by obtaining a BREEAM certificate.
Other nominees in the category:
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Dom przy Potockiej, POLE
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Jasmine Mokotow II, Rolfe Judd
Commercial architecture
photo: JEMS/organizer materials
TheP4 complex with the Vienna House Mokotow WarsawHotel proved to be the best commercial building commissioned in Warsaw in 2019. The project by JEMS Architekci studio is distinguished primarily by the concrete structure used to build the architectural expression of the buildings, which is based on a system of reinforced concrete frames and columns with a characteristic "V" shape. The raw architectural concrete and dynamic, post-tensioned forms create an almost industrial expression of the buildings. Interestingly, the building had to change its function already at the construction stage. The building originally intended for offices was redesigned into a hotel. This operation would not have succeeded had it not been for the flexible, open to change premise of the original design.
The other nominees in the category:
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Hotel Puro, JEMS Architekci
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Vector+ office building, JSK Architects
Public space design
photo: Piotr Krajewski/organizer materials
EKOpark in Ursus turned out to be the winner of the public spaces category and the winner of a special award for pro-environmental solutions. The green space designed by ABIES studio was created in the vicinity of a degraded area of a former tractor factory, which is currently undergoing strong transformation into a new residential district of Warsaw. The model park was equipped with such solutions as photovoltaic installations to power lighting and rainwater retention tanks. Rubble from buildings previously located on the site was used to underpin the paths and alleys. Residents have at their disposal an outdoor gym, a nature trail, street workout equipment and a barbecue area. Nesting boxes, flower meadows and special houses are also expected to attract insects and birds to the site.
Other nominees in the category:
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Boulevards on the Vistula - stage III, RS Landscape Architecture Dorota Rudawa
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Modernization of the square on Szymanowskiego Street, JAZ+ Architects
New life of buildings
photo: Piotr Krajewski/organizer materials
Architects from the Chmielewski Skała office were awarded for the successful modernization of building "A" of the Warsaw Children's Hospital. The history of the listed building dates back to 1875. It is also the oldest continuously functioning hospital building in Warsaw. The investment included the renovation of the historic part and extending it with a new extension. The functional layout and purpose of the interiors were changed. Based on historical documentation and photographs, original details and sculptures were restored.
Other nominees in the category:
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Fort Sluzew, Turret Architects
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Modernization of the Wola Museum, Zera 2 Architects, ARE Stiasny/Waclawek, Compono
Architectural event
photo: Tomasz Kubaczyk/organizer materials
The book "CIAM Archipelago. Letters of Helena Syrkus" by Aleksandra Kędziorek, Katarzyna Uchowicz and Maja Wirkus published by the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, in the opinion of the jury, turned out to be the biggest architectural event in the capital last year. The publication is a collection of Helena Syrkus' correspondence with friends and representatives of the architectural community of the first half of the 20th century associated mainly with the Bauhaus. The addressees of the book's heroine's letters include Walter and Ise Gropius, Dutch urban planner Cornelis van Eesteren and his wife Frida Fluck or Sigfried Giedion, Swiss art historian and secretary general of CIAM (International Congresses of Modern Architecture). In the correspondence one can read the realities of life in the complicated political history of Poland and the world, which also affected the architectural community - the anti-Semitism of the 1930s, the tragedy of World War II or the delusions associated with the introduction of socialism.
The other nominees in the category:
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Architects for Climate Initiative
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"PAOJ. Architectural Guide to the Jazdów Estate," Academic Association of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology.
Summary
The sixth edition of the Architectural Award of the President of the Capital City of Warsaw was dominated primarily by investments carried out by the city itself - a nursery, a hospital, a park. These are restrained in expression projects, in which one can see above all thinking about the comfort of users and concern for the landscape context or the environment. Spectacular spaces have not been awarded, but small projects that mean much more and are closer to the daily lives of residents. They have a chance to pave the way and become a reference point for future projects. Such announcements were made, by the way, in the case of the awarded nursery, whose authors were asked by the city to create guidelines for future investments. The commercial architecture category also brought an award for a building that stands out positively against the majority of office buildings and hotels currently being erected in the capital. The architects managed to achieve an extremely distinctive effect using very simple treatments and materials. Also important is the design approach, which made it possible to change the function of the building already at an advanced stage of construction. Solutions that enable such moves are extremely important in the context of discussions about reusing existing buildings and reducing unnecessary architectural production that adversely affects the environment. Somewhat disappointing seem all the nominations in the residential architecture category, where the jury chose very typical developer investments. Their almost generic architecture, replicated today by most investors and their architects, was therefore not the main feature to be evaluated. The justification for awarding the main prize was the spatial features of the estate - the lack of fences, preservation of greenery and the use of certificated ecological solutions. All of these treatments should be the standard, not the exception. Another nomination in this category was for a housing development erected on wasteland. As part of the development, by the way, in accordance with the local development plan, part of the land was developed into a park. Semi-wild greenery, being a habitat for many animals, had to give way in this place to greenery designed to the line, understood as infrastructure for recreation and fun for residents of the developer's project. The architectural event of the year was hailed as the first book published by the National Institute of Architecture and Urbanism. With the publication, which was described during the gala as a "monumental" one, both the authors, publishers and the jury are pinning their hopes not only to popularize the knowledge of Helena Syrkus in the country, but to break through with the message to the international circle of researchers of architectural history.
compiled by: Kacper Kępiński
