Temporary Pavilion - Czeredys, Romik
Quiosques of the Virtual Economic Zone, designed by: Maciej Czeredys, Natalia Romik, photo courtesy of the designers
Poland's got a knack for building quick-and-easy pavilions for staging all sorts of activities - from exhibiting arts and crafts to selling fruits and vegetables, and even housing. Despite their ephemeral nature, these structures can boast a minimalist style all there own, gaining recognition even in the most hard-hearted architectural circles. Among the most eye-catching pavilions built over the past year are the Stacja Mercedes bar and club in the Powiśle area of Warsaw designed by Natalia Paszkowska, Marcin Mostafa, Agnieszka Dąbek and Michał Bartnicki of the WWAA studio, the Oktahedron Pavilion by the Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw designed by Rirkrita Tiravaniji and the Quiosque of the Virtual Economic Zone in Gdańsk designed by Maciej Czeredys and Natalia Romik.
Nominees for the Mies van der Rohe Award
CINiB in Katowice, design: HS99, photo: Jakub Certowicz
As many as 15 architectural projects originating in Poland have been nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2013 over the past two years, ranging from eco-minded "auto-family" homes, department stores, courthouses, office buildings, schools, libraries and other public projects. Among the buildings on the shortlist of this prestigious prize are: The Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library in Katowice, (Polish acronym: CINiBA, design: pracownia HS99), Wrocław Transfer Tunnel, (design: Maćków Pracownia Projektowa), and artist Krzysztof Wodiczko and architect Julian Bonder's Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery.
Karol Fryderyk Schinkel Prize - Berlin
Development plan for the former Tegel airport in Berlin. Design: Dagmara Sietko-Sierkiewicz and David Weclawowicz, photo courtesy of the architects
Two Polish architecture students from Wrocław sweeped the grand prix in Germany’s international competition AIV-Schinkel-Wettbewerb for their fresh design for the Berlin-area airport. Dagmara Sietko-Sierkiewicz and David Wecławowicz's project transformed the existing structure into a functional complex for work, leisure and housing. The various parts would be dedicated to manufacturing activities, sports and leisure, and even a residential complex with a fruit-and-vegetable garden on the rooftop. The aim of the competition is not to realise the winning entry, but to stimulate creative thinking about the space and discuss various possibilities for its development.
Brick Awards for Kraków & Wrocław
Małopolski Garden of Arts, Kraków, design: Ingarden i Ewý Architekci, photo courtesy of the architects
The Małopolska Garden of Arts in Kraków, designed by Ingarden & Ewý, was awarded the Brick Award for Public Building, a competition that honours projects that make novel use of the ceramic brick. The ergonomically designed cultural centre joins two cultural institutions, the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre and the Malopolska Voivodeship Library, on Karmelicka Street in the centre of Kraków. The building incorporates the century-old brick walls of the existing soda-processing plant and roof them with glass in a fully contemporary structure. It was also nominated for the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award, and it was awarded first prize in the cultural-project category by Archdaily, as well as the Popular Choice award by Architizer. The Brick Award was also given to a Polish design team in the category of Multi-family Residential for Lewicki Łatak's eyecatching geometric housing complex in Wrocław, while the Museum of the Home Army in Kraków, designed by AiR Jurkowscy Architects, won for Best Renovation/Adaptation/Reconstruction. The winners were announced in April 2013 and will continue to be eligible for the international edition of the Brick Award 2014.
Architizer A+ Awards for Projects Big & Small
The ergonomically designed Małopolska Garden of Arts, designed by Ingarden & Ewý Architects, was among the finalists in the Typology section of the prestigious architecture competition hosted by Architizer, a leading website on architecture. Maya's House, a backyard structure constructed for a little girl designed by Ultra Architects based in Poznań (Marcin Kościuch, Tomasz Osięgłowsk), received a Special Mention in the Landscapes and Gardens category. One of the most exciting projects of the year, garnering attention from all corners of the globe and its own New York Times editorial, was Keret House - Jakub Szczęsny's installation designed for Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Known as the world’s thinnest home, it fills a 1.3-metre gap between two houses – a pre-war building at Żelazna 74 and a communist apartment block at Chłodna 22 in Warsaw. It is built on a triangular plane, with its widest side taking up 152 cm and the narrow end stretching over only 92 cm.
Hot Concept for ArchMedium
Kacper Radziszewski, Jakub Grabowski, visualisation for a fire station in San Francisco. Press photo
Kacper Radziszewski and Jakub Grabowski, students of Architecture at the Gdańsk University of Technology, received the First Prize and 3 000 euro in the San Francisco Fire Department Headquarters International Architecture Competition for Students and Young Graduates, hosted by ArchMedium. The goal of the competition was to find a project that would not only be functional, but would also act as a memorial to the admirable fire guards of the city, while stimulating the creativity of students of architecture from around the world. Second prize was awarded to a student of the Kraków Polytechnic University – Sylwia Franczak.
Student Project for Improving Indian Slum
Hugon Kowalski's diploma project titled "Let's Talk about Garbage", photo couretsy of the architect
Hugon Kowalski is the first Pole to win the Archiprix International / Hunter Douglas Awards for the world's best diploma project in the field of architecture. A student of the Art University in Poznań under the direction of world-class architect Robert Konieczny, he created a project that would transform the garbage dump in Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, into a multifunctional complex for the people who live and work there.
Lofty New Visions
Ole Robin Storjohann, Mateusz Mastalski "Live Between Buildings!" Photo courtesy of the architects
The fourth edition of the New Vision of the Loft contest, sponsored by the FAKRO window manufacturer in coopeartion with A10 New European Architecture magazine, singled out three winners for projects that envisioned a new type of loft space that used light and space in a novel way - and, of course, windows - while boasting energy efficiency. First place went to a narrow living space called "Live between Buildings" by Ole Robin Storjohann (DE, working in DK) and Mateusz Mastalski (PL, working in DK), Second Place to "Lock Loft" by Katarzyna Penar (PL, working in UK) and Wojciech Okrzesik (PL, working in UK) for their suspended house upon a bridge and Third Place to "Spacecraftsmen" adaptation of a former church space into a residence by Piotr Skrzycki (PL) and Dawid Szczepański (PL), along with five honourable mentions. The winning entry presented an innovative way for using empty spaces in nurban areas, mainly using windows as the construction material.
Rebuilding New York City
Ex.Terra, a project by young architects Marta Nowak and Iman Ansari is amongst the twenty-five winning proposals fostering creative debate on urban recovery in the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy hit in October 2012. MoMA PS1 and MoMA’s Department of Architecture and Design initiated a call for ideas. for alternative housing models, inventive social spaces, urban interventions, new uses of public space, the rebuilding of the boardwalk, protection of the shoreline in the affected areas. Ex.Terra builds upon ground raised a dozen metres above sea level and introduces solutions that harness the elements of wind and water to protect the structure and provide energy for its residents.
Author: Agnieszka Sural, 11.12.2013. Translated (with edits) by Agnes Monod-Gayraud, 21.12.2013