In a prominent location near one of Gdansk's main arteries, a building will be constructed to house sports, entertainment and conference space. Gdansk University of Technology has just announced a competition to develop an architectural and urban planning concept.
The building, which will serve as a sports and entertainment hall and convention center, will stand at 12 Zwycięstwa Avenue in Gdansk on the grounds of the Gdansk University of Technology's Academic Sports Center. The university wants it to host sports, cultural and business events. The concept will be selected in an architectural and urban planning competition, which was announced on October 24.
"Taking into account the prestigious location and the function of the designed building, the proposed solutions should present the highest level in terms of the spatial form of the object as well as the material solutions used, so that the object, by blending into the space of the Gdansk agglomeration, becomes a timeless icon of modern architecture," the competition organizers said.
sports separated by an artery
Today the site of the Academic Sports Center houses a swimming pool, sports halls and playing fields. The trouble is that the area is separated from the main part of the PG campus, stretching across Traugutta and Do Studzienki Streets, by an urban thoroughfare.
The area of the Academic Sports Center is separated from the main part of the PG campus by Zwycięstwa Avenue
© Gdansk University of Technology
"Due to their location, the two areas currently function, as it were, independently, separated by Zwycięstwa Avenue, which is one of the main thoroughfares of the city of Gdansk. The aim of the competition study should be to design the building and its surroundings in such a way that, being an integrator between the main part of the campus, which is a center of science, technology and art, and the academic sports center, it will enable the academic community to function harmoniously and unhindered in the urban fabric," reads the competition materials.
Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, rector of PG, explains that the need for the new building is primarily due to the high occupancy of the sports facilities.
The old hall is used from morning until 11 pm seven days a week, the rector says. - We want to put even more emphasis on academic games: basketball, handball, volleyball and badminton, and without a new hall this will not be possible. We dream of events of international rank. In 2027 we will be the organizers of the 3X3 Academic Basketball Championships, and even if we don't manage to build a new facility by then, in the future the new hall will not only be an arena for sports competitions, but also for artistic events, exhibitions, conferences, fairs or symposiums.
The project will be selected in the competition
The cost of construction - without equipment - estimated in the competition specifications is PLN 60 million.
However, this is not our first major investment, so we expect that this cost may be higher. We are raising funds for this investment from external funds," says Prof. Wilde. - The construction of the hall is part of the important strategic directions of the university's development, which certainly include the development of mass sports for students and employees of the Gdansk University of Technology. We dream that the ribbon-cutting at the opening of the new hall will take place in just four years.
The deadline for submitting applications for the competition is November 20. The results will be known in mid-April 2025.The winner of the competition will receive 100 thousand zlotys, while the entire prize pool is 200 thousand zlotys.
This is not the only change planned for the university grounds. In the summer, PG authorities announced theopening and revitalization of the campus space. Big ones are to take place in the front part of the university grounds, the dividing fences will disappear, the plans include parks, recreation zones, new greenery.
- We will renovate some of the university's buildings in the area and open stores and restaurants there, so that the place will also be alive outside study hours," the rector of Gdansk University of Technology noted. - I am convinced that the open Polytechnic will thus become one of the academic landmarks of Gdansk, and I am directly looking forward to the launch of this project.
