What awaits us during the 10th edition of the Festival of Open Architecture Studios? Our adventure will begin in Rybnik, at the headquarters of the TOPROJEKT studio, the nooks and crannies of which will be guided by Karol Wawrzyniak. It will be happening!
Broadcast of the meetings will be available on our channels
The autumn edition of the Festival of Open Architecture Studios will begin in Silesia, at the headquarters of the TOPROJEKT workshop (November 18 at 13.00), then we will move to Warsaw, where we will take a look at the offices of Nizio Design International (November 21 at 13.00) and Archigrest (November 22 at 13.00). Live broadcasts will be available on A&B's Facebook and YouTube!
TOPROJEKT
November 18, 1 pm
TOPROJEKT is a family-owned studio that has been in business for more than 30 years. The nine-person team, which was started by Marek and Joanna Wawrzyniak, is complemented by Sheri (a female barnacle, in the studio dealing with the protection of the place and property) and Boris (a therapy cat, spends his free moments on eager waste management).
interior of the studio
© TOPROJEKT
The framework for the projects they create is defined by budget and scale - they have to their credit both acclaimed single-family houses (including the Brick House nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award and the Quiet House honored in the 2019 SARP Award of the Year competition), as well as public buildings (for example, the kindergarten in Zory, recognized by SARP in 2018 as the best educational building!) or urban planning projects.
kindergarten in Zory
© TOPROJEKT
They also achieve success in competition clashes (although, as they say, competitions are sometimes a painful practice) - it is according to their vision that the new main railway station in Częstochowa or the seat of the District Office in Toruń are to be realized.
Revitalization of Powstańców and Sobieskiego streets in Rybnik
© TOPROJEKT
The architecture they create is a combination of solid craftsmanship and constant questioning. Depending on the challenge they face, they reach for traditional solutions or the latest technologies.
Modernization of the K1 office building in Rybnik
Photo: Juliusz Sokołowski © TOPROJEKT
You will have the opportunity to ask your questions about the studio's activities on November 18, and in the meantime we invite you to a quick interview with Karol Wawrzyniak!
Ola Kloc: Where did the name of the studio come from?
Karol Wawrzyniak: The studio was founded in 1991 as Pracownia Architektury i grafika topPROJECT. In 2013, the name was polonized and simplified to TOPROJECT.
Ola: The studio is for us....
Karol: Family. A way of life.
Quiet House
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © TOPROJEKT
Ola: What was your first project together about?
Karol: It's very difficult to find that point when we did something together for the first time.
There is a family story. It was at a time when I still couldn't speak very well and used single words. Cards and pencils were always plentiful in our house, so one of my favorite games was "drawing". Once, my parents were a little concerned when they noticed that I had begun to draw thick black lines on the paper with a poignancy. They asked "Karolku, what are you drawing there like that?". "Ventilation risers", I replied in all seriousness and went back to work. Then I withdrew from professional activity for several years.
Ore House
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © TOPROJEKT
Ola: The dream project is....
Karol: Apparently, the point is not to catch the rabbit, but to chase it. We want the next project to be better than the previous ones. We want the new project to surprise us. Architecture is hard to grasp, sometimes it appears in drawings, sometimes in space. Sometimes there is a strange, pleasant feeling of satisfaction for a moment. We dream that in future projects there will be as much of this experience of architecture as possible.
Ola: Our favorite design tool is....
Karol: My father says the pencil "as the shortest connection to the head". This assumes that the design is created through thought. Sometimes it probably does. It seems to me that the design itself is our tool. We react to what we see. We correct. We react to what we see. And so on and so forth.
Ore House
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © TOPROJEKT
Ola: Does the team have any fixed customs / rituals?
Karol: We wait all year for Mark's birthday, because it involves a special cupcake baked by his wife :)
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The Open Architecture Studio Festival is a side event of the Open Eyes Economy Summit (November 19-20).
Partners:
Patronage:
SARP Krakow Branch
