Five projects have been selected for the finals of POLITYKA's annual Architectural Award. The purpose of the plebiscite is to promote architecture that is not only aesthetically pleasing, affecting the environment, but also user-friendly.
The jury that selects the finalists includes people who are not indifferent to the appearance of our cities and villages.They are the most prominent architects and urban planners, critics of architecture, representatives of associations working for order in public space or well-known artists. Małgorzata Tomczak editor-in-chief of A&B also submitted her nominations for this year's edition.
Categories
Official nominations for the award go to the four projects that collect the most indications. The fifth finalist is identified from among the remaining entries by POLITYKA's editors. The jury makes its selection in three categories:
Architectural realiz ations (so-called small and large architecture, collective and individual residential construction, office buildings, public buildings, churches, revitalized buildings, engineering construction (stadiums, bridges, etc.).
Urban planning solutions (settlements, road layouts, green areas, recreational areas, etc.).
Artin public space (art installations, monuments, etc.).
Finalists
Homefor the Homeless of the Bread of Life Community Homes Foundation in Jankowice designed by XYstudio.
The house was built on the initiative of Anna and Andrzej Formanowicz, owners of the Forte furniture factory, for the needs of the Catholic Community of the Bread of Life. The building was constructed with materials largely obtained from buildings no longer in use today - an old mill or barns. It is not only a low-cost investment, but also environmentally friendly - an ecological sewage treatment plant and rainwater harvesting tanks were installed. During construction, the surrounding greenery was treated with great care. The interior patio is decorated with a mural created by Marcin Czaja. The house was designed with its residents in mind. While creating cozy, simple rooms, the architects also responded to a social problem.
Home for the homeless in Jankowice
Photo: Xystudio
Quadrant House designed by KWK Promes Robert Konieczny.
The design of the single-family Quadrant House reveals new architectural possibilities and solutions. The specific body of the house, compared to a spaceship or a bunker, is fully accessible from the garden. Residents can enjoy the view of the greenery through fully glazed walls, which can be completely hidden. The {tag:Studio} project was awarded, among other prizes, the Architizer portal's award for the most beautiful single-family home in the world. Contributing to this was the central part of the building, which slides in a circle - protecting from the sun or opening individual rooms to it.
Quadrant House
photo by Jaroslaw Syrek
Nowy Targ - an office building in Wroclaw designed by Maćków Pracownia Projektowa.
The office building stands in the vicinity of the City Hall, on St. Catherine Street and Nowy Targ Square (hence its name). The distinctive facade corresponds to the pattern of squares on the square's surface. The lump, despite its sizable size - 120,000 cubic meters, does not overwhelm. This has been achieved mainly thanks to the glass patio, which separates the various modules of the edifice. The designers have created a modern building, which, however, does not violate the historical face of the city in an aggressive way.
Nowy Targ office building
photo by Maciej Luko
The New Żerniki estate in Wroclaw, designed by 44 different studios.
Wroclaw is eschewing the building of new estates, which has been practiced for some time now, in which the balconies of the neighbors across the street almost meet, and the green areas appear only in the advertisement. The spirit of WuWy is still alive - model buildings are still being built in this city today. Moreover, there were changes in the urban thinking of Wroclaw after it was the European Capital of Culture in 2016. It was then that the idea of New Żerniki was born, a housing development erected from scratch, but in accordance with the idea of thoughtful and people-friendly architecture.
New Żerniki
Photo: Maciej Luko
Water Sports Center - canoeing base in Augustow designed by PSBA Przemysław Sokołowski Biuro Architektoniczne, INOONI Jakub Zygmunt, Martyna Lenart-Zygmunt.
Reminiscent of the prow of a boat, the base is an example of modern architecture that neatly fits into its surroundings - here the greenery and the Netta River.The lump is not only intriguing, but also fulfills its function. We wrote more about the Augustow Water Sports Center here.
Canoeing Base
Photo by Bartosz Dworski
Jury
The Grand Prix winner will be chosen this year by a jury consisting of:
Grzegorz A. Buczek - architect, urban planner, member of the Council of the Society of Polish Urban Planners and former vice-president of the Warsaw Branch of SARP, lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology;
Paweł Dobrzycki - architect, stage designer, painter and pedagogue, dean of the Department of Stage Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw;
Feliks Falk - director, screenwriter, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw;
Marlena Happach - director of the Office of Architecture and Spatial Planning of the Warsaw City Hall;
Marek Kościkiewicz - musician, producer, graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw;
Jacek Michalak - vice president of the board of directors for development of ATLAS Group;
Ewa P. Porębska - editor-in-chief of the Architektura-Murator monthly;
Krzysztof Soloducha - editor-in-chief of the Sztuka Architektury portal;
Magdalena Staniszkis - architect and urban planner, professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology;
Bogna Świątkowska - president of the Foundation for New Culture Bęc Zmiana;
Jarosław Trybuś - art historian and architecture critic
Representatives of the editorial board of POLITYKA:
Jerzy Baczynski, Jacek Poprzeczko and Piotr Sarzynski.
POLITYKA weekly invites all architecture lovers to participate in an online vote, which will result in the selection of the winner of the Internauts' Award. Choices can be made until April 19 via the magazine's website.
compiled by: {tag:AuthorAiB}
All illustrations courtesy of the organizers of the 9th edition of the POLITYKA Architectural Award
