Pawel Grobelny has won an award in the Landscape Design category of this year's DNA Paris Design Awards! The international jury appreciated the promenade created in harmony with nature on the Słupeckie Lake in Wielkopolska by the Polish designer.
Circle-shaped platforms on Lake Slupeckie
photo: Janusz Nowak
The goal of the DNA Paris award, behind the Farmani Group and In Between organizations, is to recognize architects and designers who improve our daily lives through practical, beautiful and innovative design. How does Pawel Grobelny's design fit into these expectations? The various sized wooden circles and structures on the lake in Słupca (and its surroundings) create a functional and visually intriguing platform that encourages walking and spending free time in nature. Unusual for this type of solution, the shape of the circles, refers to the settlement visible from the shore of the lake — dating back to the times of Lusatian culture, the so-called Swedish Mound, which, as a result of the damming up of the waters of the Meszna River, in the 1950s became an island surrounded by an artificial reservoir of Słupeckie Lake.
Viewing platform near the castle, an island on Lake Slupeckie
photo: Janusz Nowak
The individual piers are placed in places where reeds naturally occur, so walking on the piers allows for different perspectives of observing nature, but also produces more places to rest, sit down — than a traditional pier, the project's author said in an interview with A&B.
Read more: Circles on the lake in Słupca. A new realization by Pawel Grobelny
The geometric development of the lake waterfront, in addition to the aforementioned piers, includes picnic and viewing platforms to encourage active use of the space, as well as numerous objects of small architecture.
Particularly impressive is the — also inscribed in the shape of a circle — illuminated swimming pool (with heated water!), which is partly inscribed in the lake basin and partly — extended towards the beach.
The heated pool on Lake Słupeckie
Photo: Janusz Nowak
Pavel Grobelny's proposal won the recognition of an international jury consisting of: Simon Hamilton (interior designer from the UK), Nancy Hou and Josh de Sousa (designers from the Hou de Sousa studio from the United States), Fernanda Marques (Brazilian architect), Gabrielle Kennedy (editor-in-chief of the Dutch magazine DAMN°), Maison Malapert (interior designer from France), Louisa Falkenberg (Swedish curator, writer and instagrammer), Nu Goteh (designer from the United States), Robert Sukrachand (furniture designer from Thailand), Daisuke Kitagawa (designer from Japan), Debora Manetti (Italian typographer), Riccardo Fornoni (architect from Italy), Yoko Choy (editor of Wallpaper* magazine from Hong Kong), Sébastien Roussel (French landscape architect from Devillers & Associés), Boris Brault (CEO of Lexon from France), Jiaru Lin (art director from Taiwan), Rod Reynolds (French creative director), Joran Briand and Arnaud Berthereau (designers and founders of Studio Briand Berthereau in France), Baptiste Bohu (French interior designer), Lara Mendonça (designer and educator from Brazil), Jordan Cluroe and Russell Whitehead (designers and founders of 2LG Studio in the UK), Sandra Githinji (Kenyan designer, curator and educator), Iliana Kerestetzi (architect, founder of MOLD Architects from Greece), Younes Duret (thoughtful designer from Morocco) and Nicholas Préaud (architect from France). Congratulations!
