On February 6 this year, during the BUDMA International Construction Fair in Poznań, we learned the results of the competition for the Maciej Nowicki Award, awarded for innovative solutions in Polish architecture. The first prize ex aequo was awarded to Agnieszka Dabek for the project "Warsaw Branch" and Klaudia Golaszewska and Marek Grodzicki for the project "Airscraper". Congratulations!
The Maciej Nowicki Award has been given by A&B since 2007. The purpose of the competition is to promote innovative solutions in Polish architecture and to promote the achievements of architects whose works are a significant contribution to the shaping of domestic architectural culture. This year's theme of the competition was: open city, friendly city. Of the twenty-four works submitted, the jury, consisting of: Marta Sękulska-Wronska(WXCA), Malgorzata Kuciewicz (Centrala), Przemo Lukasik (Medusa Group) and Jakub Glaz (architecture critic) selected four, which they decided to award.
architecture as a remedy
(two 1st Prizes ex aequo)
"Warsaw Branch," proj.: Agnieszka Dabek
The works awarded ex aequo first place and PLN 2,000 and a one-year subscription to A&B are projects that represent two different solutions to improve life in the city. Agnieszka Dabek's project focuses on the problem of an aging population, proposing the construction of a senior-friendly city in which institutional care is minimized in favor of small apartments integrated into the urban fabric, supported by new technologies and a flexible care system.
"Airscraper," proj. by Klaudia Golaszewska, Marek Grodzicki
"Airscraper" is a futuristic solution to the problem of polluted air by introducing a residentialand commercial structure. The authors decided to design a modern high-rise building in Beijing. The concept of the building uses the effect of a chimney draft, which sucks the air near the surface, and a complex filtration system cleans it. The forced air circulation also helps reduce the urban heat island effect. Eight hundred meters high, the building can accommodate up to seven thousand five hundred residents, creating a self-contained vertical city.
Revitalization of block housing (Second Prize)
"New Rataje" proj.: Michal Hondo
The Second Prize and a one-year subscription to A&B went to a project by Michal Hondo, which attempted to work with what is already present in architecture. The concept is based on the principle of continuing rather than creating from scratch. The author proposes transforming the blocks of Poznań's Piast Estate through superstructure while preserving its qualities - abundant greenery and adequate lighting.
nature in the city (Third Prize)
"22.6 Beets" proj.: studio Adamiczka.Broma
The jury decided to award the Third Prize and a one-year subscription to A&B to a concept focusing on the presence of animals in the city. The beehive, designed in a traditional form that draws on centuries of bee-keeping tradition, visualizes the dance of these insects - a phenomenon described by Austrian Nobel laureate Karl von Frisch. The design of the beehive shows how an architectural proposal can become a harbinger of pro-animal and pro-ecological thinking about cities of the future.
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We congratulate the winners of the competition and already announce the next, fifteenth edition of the Maciej Nowicki Award, which will be decided early next year.
compiled by: {tag:AuthorAiB}
illustrations courtesy of contest participants
Patrons of the event were Alufire (main partner) and: Akzo Nobel Interpon Powder Coatings, Fuhr Polska, MS More than Windows, Sigma Coatings, Pol-Skone, Usługi Informatyczne Szansa and Wiśniowski company.
