At the beginning of March this year, with the start of the new semester, the Faculty of Architecture at the Cracow University of Technology held a ceremony to settle student competitions. One of them concerned the project entitled Generator Brzegi: House of Literature - a facility combining a library with a community center, which could be built in Brzegi, next to Wieliczka.
The competition task was aimed at first-degree students of the Faculty of Architecture and additionally second-degree students studying the subject taught in Master in English. The students prepared their projects in the Cultural Facilities Design Team in the A-6 Department under the direction of Dr. Magdalena Kozień-Woźniak, Prof. PK, Dr. Paweł Żuk, Eliza Owczarek, Marcin Gierbienis and Krzysztof Smolinski and Kinga Raczak in cooperation with the City and Municipality of Wieliczka.
An independent jury chaired by Wieliczka Mayor Artur Koziol evaluated the submitted works. Usually the competition was accompanied by an exhibition, but the pandemic period made it impossible to organize it and display the projects. The presentation was transferred to the Internet, where it was posted on the Facebook profile of the Cultural Facilities Design Team. In this way, the Internauts' Award was also selected.
The first prize went to the project by Filip Sagan
© Filip Sagan
House of Literature in the Shores
Generator Brzegi, a House of Literature combining the function of a library with a community center, would be built in Brzegi near Wieliczka. The project's theme was inspired by Olga Tokarczuk's Nobel Prize speech, drawing attention to the renewed bond between man and the environment in which we live and forcing us to reflect on the future of humanity. In response to the task, many student projects dealt more or less directly with environmental and social solutions and the role of architecture in human life. The prepared works showed the potential of the location, as well as functional and spatial ideas for the designed objects. A recurring theme for most of the works was the search for a relationship between the building and nature, as well as an emphasis on the use of natural, human-friendly materials.
First prize
First prize went to Filip Sagan, whose project was recognized for its promotion of pro-ecological solutions, clarity of vision and reference to nature.
The form of the awarded object has a rounded outline
© Filip Sagan
In the object designed by the student, the jury found not only direct references to nature, such as inscribing the block in the green development, but also indirect ones - the form of the object has a rounded contour, and the facade and structure are made of wood, promoting pro-ecological solutions. An additional feature is the ramp that brings the viewer to the observation deck, offering additional attractive space. The jury emphasized the clarity with which the student presented his vision of the building, the jury's opinion read.
Second prize
Weronika Stawarz received the second prize for her design of a building distinguished by its soft, edgy form, reminiscent of biophilic design, which is one of the most important in contemporary sustainable architecture.
The second prize went to Weronika Stawarz's project
© Weronika Stawarz
The so-called green thinking is also evident in the facade of the concept. The original idea of the project is to hide the actual block behind an openwork wooden cover, which is overgrown with climbing greenery. The project then remains hidden in the thicket of surrounding trees and, in the jury's opinion, does not disturb the natural perception of the location. Thanks to this treatment and pushing back a section of the green enclosure, an additional social space is created in front of the building hidden under the pergola. The greenery also has its continuation in the interiors, which resemble a botanical garden, justifies the Competition Jury.
Third prize
The jury awarded the third prize to Sara Bartuś, appreciating her idea to use the potential of the water reservoir, which is located in the vicinity of the project plot.
Third prize went to Sara Bartuś's project
© Sara Bartuś
The student made the bold decision to modify the shoreline of the reservoir and locate her project directly on the water, which gives it a recreational character. At the same time, in form, the building has a minimalist and dignified expression emphasized by the rhythm of the façade columns, remaining visible on the plot, blending harmoniously into the landscape, justifies the jury.
awards in the Master in English category
The jury awarded additional prizes to students who developed the assignment in the Master in English class.
First prize in the Master in English category
© Roksana Sliwka
First prize in this category went to Roksana Sliwka for the clear and harmonious composition of the building's masses and the right decision to approach the water body, creating a new, attractive social space.
As we read in the jury's opinion:
The trump card of the project is the glass block, which is extended over the water and exposes the main reading room through its glazed facades. The jury also stressed that the project most closely met the requirements of the expected functional program of the building, and the choice of appropriate finishing materials gave the building elegance.
Second prize in the Master in English category
© Jaleel Ahmad
Second prize was awarded to Jaleel Ahmed. The project is distinguished by a bold decision to break down the functional program into smaller parts and create a composition of dispersed, smaller and larger masses. As a result, the student obtained the effect of a multiplicity of interior and exterior spaces. A trump card is the development of the entire plot and the decision to have the surrounding greenery drawn in between the building blocks.
Third prize in the Master in English category
© Paulina Ziemba
Paulinia Ziemba received the third prize, for the original, organic form of the building, further enhanced by the broken planes of the roof. Thanks to this treatment, the project has remained in close relationship with the landscape, not dominating it, while at the same time providing an attractive, sculptural form that has the value of an architectural icon.
internauts award
First place in the Internauts Award category
© Agata Stasiowska
The internauts' prize went to Agata Stasiowska, who proposed a building blended into the landscape in the form of an embankment. Second prize went to Natalia Florek, who, unlike the other works, designed a high-rise building, and third place to Maciej Sikora, whose idea is distinguished by the dynamic form of the roof.
