TheGrand Prix in the competition for the Architectural Award of the Wielkopolska Voivodeship was won by the Social Activation Center Tlenownia in Czempin. Its authors from the J. P. Woźny Design Studio were also recognized in the field of "common space." Two statuettes also went to Ultra Architects - for a single-family and multi-family building.
However, in the Wielkopolska competition the lucky ones are not only these two, the most honored studios. There were seven competitive categories, and in some of them not only prizes were awarded , but also honorable mentions. The competition's jury, headed by Natalia Paszkowska (full composition here), also created an additional category.
This was the third edition of NAWW, organized from the beginning by the Poznań branch of SARP and the Wielkopolska Regional Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland. The awards ceremony took place on Thursday, November 17. The results were announced by Wojciech Krawczuk, president of the Poznan SARP. This year 65 submitted projects were considered. For the second stage, the jurors qualified 30 objects and spaces, which they later checked during local inspections.
outside of Poznań
The Grand Prix was selected from among the realizations awarded in each category. Recognized with this main award, the Social Activation Center Tlenownia in Czempin from the J. P Woźny Design Studio first received a statuette in the field of "public building". It is worth mentioning that this category was heavily fringed by other successful proposals (more: here) - mainly from outside the capital of Wielkopolska (with the exception of the New Market office building in Poznan).
Social Activation Center TLENOWNIA, Czempin, proj. Pracownia Projektowa J. P. Woźny
photo: Przemyslaw Wozny
We described the oxygen room from the studio of Joanna and Przemyslaw W ozny in detail more than a year ago. It is a careful and sensitive adaptation of a former oxygen plant on Czempin Street, near the train station, next to the town office, school and kindergarten. The building, which was in danger of being demolished due to its deplorable condition, was creatively used for cultural, social and educational purposes . The architects preserved the old block and incorporated new elements into it. They also created a friendly wooded foreground for social integration. The NAWW Chapter justified its selection this way:
The preservation of the historic mass and such enrichment of it with new elements, which enhances the compositional and utilitarian qualities of the building, deserve recognition (...). The variety of functions and numerous activities recorded in the Oxygen Plant one year after opening indicates that the building properly allows the institutions located there to operate.
In the "public building" category, an honorable mention was also awarded: for a modest and carefully inscribed in the wooded surroundings garden yoga pavilion in Przeźmierowo, near Poznań, by the Mili Młodzi Ludzie studio .
Garden yoga pavilion, Przeźmierowo (near Poznań), designed by Mili Młodzi ludzie - Honorable mention in the PUBLIC UTILITY BUILDING category.
Photo: Paulina Masternak
weak and strong categories
Who got the other awards and for what, and how can we assess the level of this year's competition? It all depended on the category. As in previous years, the level of single-family houses stood very high. The choice was so difficult that additional local inspections were needed so as not to overlook any strengths or shortcomings of the nominated buildings. In the end, the award went to Ultra Architects, a well-known studio that has been holding a high standard for years - for its exceptionally refined "Broken House" in Poznań. The justification reads, among other things:
From the concrete structure, to the ubiquitous wood, to the minimalist steel handle, here everything is in place. The building allows the environment to peek inside through its numerous windows and terraces, itself seemingly an indispensable part of its "equipment."
Broken house, Poznań, proj. Ultra Architects - award in the HOUSE category
Photo: 1. Dawid Majewski, 2. Przemysław TurleJ
The judges also added an honorable mention for the house from Leszno, wanting to emphasize the importance of skillful transformation of existing buildings. This honored the reconstruction of a house whose postmodern forms were replaced in a sensitive way by the studio de.materia.
Reconstruction of a single-family house, Leszno, design: studio de.materia - honorable mention in the HOUSE category
outstanding team
The abundance of good single-family houses is probably evidence of the growing architectural awareness of individual investors with a fatter wallet. It's nice, but still such realizations are only a counterpoint to the deluge of chaotic developments in the suburbs and towns forming the "periphery" of large cities. To emphasize the importance of more careful composition of this type of housing estates, the chapter therefore established an additional category "single-family housing complex". This is because among the nominees was an outstanding example of such an enclave: the second stage of the Nowy Strzeszyn estate from Poznań by Szymon Januszewski's Insomia studio. The opinion reads, among other things, that
sensitivity related to the preservation of the existing lush greenery, as well as deep awareness of the users' needs expressed [...] through the optimal floor plans of the apartments deserve recognition.
Osiedle Nowy Strzeszyn, stage 2, Poznań, designed by Insomia/Szymon Januszewski - award in the category SINGLE-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION.
photo: Przemyslaw Turlej
tenement and long nothing
The situation was much worse for multifamily housing. As in the rest of the country, it has turned into a mass production of poor residential meters in Greater Poland. Thus, despite the significant increase in this type of buildings, there were disproportionately few submissions (were architects ashamed to send in their works?), and only four projects made it to the second stage. And this time the designers from Ultra Architects won for a very positively distinguished tenement house at Poznań's Wildecki Market Square, contemporary and at the same time aptly integrated into the historical and spatial context (we wrote more about it here).
Tenement house at Rynek Wildecki, Poznań, proj.: Ultra Architects
photo: Przemyslaw Turlej
The poor was also, unfortunately, in the "common space" category. The judges even gave up on awarding the prize and limited themselves to an honorable mention - again for the J. P. Woźny design studio (in cooperation with Archiglass)- for the spatial installation "Spirit of the Palatium" commemorating the relics of the seat of the first Polish ruler, discovered by archaeologists. This intimate and successful site on Poznań's Ostrow Tumski, by the way, was recently awarded twice: in the J. B. Quadro competition and CODAwards. We wrote about it here and here, among others.
Spirit of Mieszko I's palatium and Dobrawa chapel, Poznań, proj. Pracownia Projektowa J.P. Woźny - honorable mention in the COMMON SPACE category
photo: Tomasz Urbanowicz
export, interior, youth
In the NAWW competition there is also a category of "export work," for an object completed by a Wielkopolska studio outside the province. The choice fell on the reconstruction of the Paderewski amphitheater in Koszalin, the work of Jacek Bulat's Authorial Architectural Studio.
The actions of the designers definitely improved the functionality of the building while preserving the character of its architecture. They showed how important [...] are conscious, balanced design decisions and respect for predecessors.
Reconstruction of the Paderewski Amphitheater, Koszalin, designed by APA Jacek Bulat - Award in the category EXPORT WORK.
Photo: Dron Koszalin - Marcin Domowicz, Cultural Center CK105 in Koszalin.
In the "interior" category, in turn, the award went to designers from the Tekktura studio for activities in the exhibition and office building of the Blum Polska company in Jasin, near Poznań.
Blum Polska's exhibition and office building, Jasin, Swarzedz municipality. design: Tekktura Sp. z o.o. - award in the INTERIOR category
photo: creative studio Katarzyna Seliga-Wróblewska
Finally, two equal prizes were awarded not for objects, but for past activities - in the "young artist" category. They were given to Bartosz Gurawski and Piotr Kaminski, who, as we read in the verdict:
"they can boast interesting realizations in their output, and talented architects can be recognized not by good projects, but precisely by their successful realizations [...]. The chapter also appreciated the commitment of Peter's colleague in active activities for the architectural community.
Now that the professional verdict has been announced, it's time for the audience poll co-organized by our editorial board . The competition will award the Audience Awards in the competition categories. You can cast one vote in each category. The studios whose facilities win the highest number of votes in their category will receive a one-year subscription to our monthly magazine. Votes can be cast until December 15 here.
