Project Theory

2022/23 | Winners

Maciej Rodak – ‘Notes from Turin’

Maciej Rodak (b. 1997) – architect and philosopher. A graduate of the Krakow University of Technology and the Jagiellonian University. He devoted his master’s thesis at the Faculty of Architecture to housing estate spontaneity, for which he was awarded in the Towarzystwo Urbanistów Polskich in Krakow competition (2022) and was among the finalists of the Stowarzyszenie Architektów Polskich Annual Award (2022). Local and community activist. Co-organiser of the XXV All-Polish Meeting of Architecture Students (OSSA) in Krakow and animator of events promoting architecture. In his activity, he is concerned with the issue of relations in architecture and urbanism, especially in view of the connections with other fields of life in the collective.

“Maciej Rodak has been awarded the main prize for his multilayered work based on his experience during his temporary residence in a foreign city – Turin – at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the naturally composed, at times even complex text, which bears the qualities of a journal as well as a philosophical essay, the author has succeeded at combining his personal perspective with universal reflections. The ideas refer to both the special time and place as well as the functioning and perception of cities in general. The Jury appreciated the maturity, erudition, intellectual courage and attentiveness of the observations. Deft and artistic descriptions that stimulate the imagination of the reader deserve particular recognition.”

From the Jury’s citation

DistinctionsArtur Brzozowski – „Walls: The landscape of the northwestern border of Warsaw”Michał Romaniuk – „Me – Rotterdam, a story about people-urban relations”

2021/22 | Winners

Anna Jaruga-Rozdolska - "Mimesis"

Anna Jaruga-Rozdolska – an architect, a graduate of the Civil Engineering, Architecture Departments and Environmental engineer of the Technical University of Łódź. Laureate of the Z. Zawistowski Diploma of the Year competition. She is currently continuing her studies  as part of the doctorate carried out at the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School of the Technical University of Łódź. The subject of the dissertation, written under the supervision of prof. Artur Zaguła is the Modernist architects’ own houses.

“Mimesis” addresses the theme of the virtual world and its consequences for architecture, very topical, especially after two years of a pandemic forcing the transfer of life from real to digital space. As the author aptly notes:

“In a brand new environment, where space and time as traditionally understood do not exist, the most utopian, futuristic, and avantgarde projects can find an environment in which they will materialise, a context perfect for them, and real users. Although the metaverse is still being defined, the seemingly fantastical and far-off reality is already coming to life.”

The subject has been, is and will continue to be exploited, but due to both the scale of the phenomenon and its constant flow and development, any reflection is valuable as a record of the state of affairs. This is all the more important because it is elegantly and lucidly captured – in terms of style and illustrations, the author’s surreal graphics. In the opinion of the jury, these qualities of the work fully predestine it for the first prize in the THEORY competition.”

From the Jury’s citation

2020 | Winners

Marcin Kitala i Zygmunt Maniaczyk – „EXTRA MUROS”

Marcin Kitala – graduate of the Cracow University of Technology, Wrocław University of Technology and the AGH University of Science and Technology. He studied at the University of Tasmania and Die Angewandte in studios Zaha Hadid and KazuyoSejima. Laureate of Polish and foreign competitions, among others: project of a floating city in Kiribati, revitalization of Al-Umma Park in Baghdad and design of a shelter for homeless animals in Sopot. Finalist of the International Biennale of Architecture in Kraków 2017. He gained professional experience in offices: DARK (Oslo), Grimshaw (Sydney) and PAG (Wrocław). Currently, he works as an architect at studio Kuryłowicz & Associates. Interested in various forms of creativity and problem-solving methods.

Zygmunt Maniaczyk – graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. During his studies, he participated in cooperation works organized by Academy of Art and Design and Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences. He took part in competitions for short comic forms. He was educated in the subject of creative writing and creating scripts and journalistic forms. He took part in creative workshops ”See&Say„. Interested in poetry and fantasy literature. Winner of the second prize of the International Biennale of Architecture Kraków 2017 for the project “TOWER – Center for Promotion and Culture of New Buildings in Kraków. In 2018, he completed an internship at a Japanese design office „Studio Velocity” and participated in local cultural events. Interested in Japanese culture and art. He loves to travel and go hiking. Wherever he goes, he tries to get to know new communities. Currently, he is professionally involved in his hometown of Leszno. A lover of local nature and immortalizing it through hobby photography.

“EXTRA MUROS raises the very topical issue of tourism, which until a year ago was one of the main developmental factors for as well as a threat to our cities. The global crisis – the pandemic – has put us in a Socratic situation, so to speak: we know that we know nothing about the future. However, the authors made an effort to diagnose the state of tourism before the catastrophe, to describe the status quo, and to make an attempt at foresight. They postulate a revival of tourism supported by online information, virtual reality, and exploration of our local surroundings to balance the need for freedom with responsibility for the environment. Besides its intriguing theme, the work has one more great advantage: somewhat abstract, charming illustrations. It also has a beautiful conclusion: “By generating a microcosm driven by human dreams, we lay the groundwork for the emergence of the multiverse – a reality that draws on all richness and respects all beauty.”

From the Jury’s citation

DistinctionsKarolina Szczygieł - "Modernistic Avant-garde in the Face of Capitalist Culture as an Inspiration for Shaping the Vision of the City of the Future".Mikołaj Twardowski - "How women teach us space..."

2019 | Winners

Jan Szeliga and Krzysztof Janas - "Wieśland"

Jan Szeliga – an architect who graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at Warsaw University of Technology. In the past, he used to collaborate with the WWAA studio, and since 2017 he has been a part of the Maciej Siuda’s Studio team. Jan Szeliga won the second Grand Prix, and was awarded the First Prize for student work in the international competition, Amber Road Trekking Cabins. He is the co-author of the geological path in Bystre in the Bieszczady Mountains. Jan participated in the international student workshops organised by the European Architecture Students Assembly (EASA) in Denmark, and co-organized the XXII National Architecture Students Meeting (OSSA) in Warsaw. He is also a member of the musical ensemble, KGDNKSzR.

Krzysztof Janas – a sociologist and a social anthropologist who graduated from the University of Warsaw, where he also studied philosophy and urban studies within the Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Humanities and Social Science. On top of that, he studied economics and international markets at Kozminski University and completed Google’s Creative Skills for Innovation Lab programme. His research interests include architecture, digital anthropology and the role of new technologies in social life.

“Wieśland (…) /Countryland” explores the hot topic of the interplay between the countryside and the city, and does so in an original and sincere manner. The project is a bold attempt at blending architecture into the complex socio-cultural patterns. The work, narrated with a comfortable distance, uses a passionate, juicy and pure-bred language, peppered with humor. As an engrossing read, it leaves the reader with intriguing and important questions. Daring and refreshing.

From the Jury’s citation

DistinctionsMarta Wróblewska - „The mediaeval gender. Beguinage, a phenomenon of residential architecture.”Mikołaj Twardowski - „ Inhabiting the non-memory. „

2018 | Winners

Małgorzata Neumann and Zofia Zuchowicz – „Terrain Vague in Poland: The unobvious potential of abandoned areas.”

Małgorzata Neumann works as an architect in Belgium. She studied architecture at the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Delft University of Technology. In her graduation thesis, she analysed the influence of standardisation on the architecture of schools in People’s Republic of Poland, also including aspects of standardisation in the arts, construction materials, and modern urban planning.

Zofia Zuchowicz – architect based in Gdańsk. In 2015, she graduated from the Gdańsk University of Technology’s Faculty of Architecture. She studied at the Technical University of Berlin and at the University of Stuttgart (student exchange programmes). She has gained professional experience in the Warsaw-based studio JEMS Architekci.

“The issue of empty places in the urban and architectural space that’s raised in the essay is a key question today, particularly in the context of the heritage that it carries with it. The work is built on the example of Gdańsk, which further makes the analysis particularly timely. Also worthy of attention is the clarity of the argument and the readable graphic form.”

From the Jury’s citation

DistinctionsElżbieta Szymańska-Golatowska and Patryk Gwiazda - #architekturaKrzysztof Janas, Adrian Krężlik and Łukasz Pałczyński – “The (insufficient) perfomativity of architecture: When buildings become impossible.”

2017 | Winners

Kinga Zemła – "Natural architecture"

Kinga Zemła studied at the Architecture Department of Cracow University of Technology. In 2017 she defended her engineer’s thesis, Dom Teatru w Bytomiu (The House of Theatre in Bytom). She took part in a revitalisation programme by the Kraków Municipal Government, completing the project with the publication A functional-spatial diagnosis of the Olsza II and Ugorek estates, which won an award from the rector of Cracow University of Technology, Professor Kazimierz Furtak. Zemła won the competition for a design for the Centre for Dialogue Between Cultures in Tarnów (2016) and a distinction in a competition for a housing estate in Oświęcim (2015). In 2016 she held an internship in the Spanish firm Equipo Olivares Arquitectos on Tenerife. Since September 2017 Zemła has lived in Stockholm, where she works in the Mandaworks urban planning bureau.

„The author poses the thesis that contemporary cities are increasingly becoming the natural environment of human life. Their urban form in the context of ecological threats must be treated just as seriously as waste sorting, ecological forms of transport or heating. Zemła doesn’t look for naive eco-utopias; she doesn’t call for a ‘return to nature’. She examines specific solutions for ‘the cities of the future’, bringing into her architectural perspective cybernetics and biotechnology.”

From the Jury’s citation

DistinctionsPatrycja Ochman – "The heart of an architect"

2016 | Winners

Michał Żyła – "The language and reality of architecture"

Michał Żyła studied philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and architecture at the Cracow University of Technology. He has participated in international workshops organised by the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Lycée Le Corbusier in Strasbourg and the Ryerson School of Interior Design at Ryerson University w Toronto. In 2015 he wrote his engineering theses on innovative residential architecture for Canadian areas threatened by natural disasters. Żyła is currently pursuing master’s studies at the Cracow University of Technology.

„This work is an ambitious attempt to bring order to the language of description and analysis of contemporary architecture. The author presents reflections on the Western and Eastern understandings of the relationship between nature and culture, including architecture. At the same time, he addresses the value of realistic, appropriate and modest yet effective architectural integrations.”

From the Jury’s citation

DistinctionsTomasz Geras – "The issue of Polish architecture’s identity"Natalia Miler-Ogórkiewicz – "Evaluation of the issue of context and its role"

2015 | Winners

Piotr Kamiński – "The model of intertwining as a strategy for cities in the networked era"

Piotr Kamiński holds a degree in architecture and urban planning from the University of Fine Arts in Poznań and a Bachelor of Architecture from Nottingham Trent University. He won an award in SARP’s 2012 Zbyszek Zawistowski competition for the Best Diploma Project, for his work Space for reading, reading space. In 2013 on behalf of SARP he assisted in creating the exhibition Write Down the Ideas at the National Museum in Poznań. Starting in 2016 Kamiński has represented ZG SARP in the association of architects in Europe (ACE-CAE) in the urban-planning group. He has gained professional experience working both in Polish and in foreign architecture studios, including the Ewa and Stanisław Sipiński Design Studio, Poznań, and Ar’chic Architects, London. He co-founded the design studio Wartość Dodana: Architektura i Design (wdad.pl).

„Piotr Kamiński holds a degree in architecture and urban planning from the University of Fine Arts in Poznań and a Bachelor of Architecture from Nottingham Trent University. He won an award in SARP’s 2012 Zbyszek Zawistowski competition for the Best Diploma Project, for his work Space for reading, reading space. In 2013 on behalf of SARP he assisted in creating the exhibition Write Down the Ideas at the National Museum in Poznań. Starting in 2016 Kamiński has represented ZG SARP in the association of architects in Europe (ACE-CAE) in the urban-planning group. He has gained professional experience working both in Polish and in foreign architecture studios, including the Ewa and Stanisław Sipiński Design Studio, Poznań, and Ar’chic Architects, London. He co-founded the design studio Wartość Dodana: Architektura i Design (wdad.pl).”

From the Jury’s citation

DistinctionsKrzysztof Kaczmarczyk – "Between music and architecture – on music in the architectural-urban space"Marta Weronika Buczkowska – "Enlarged: architecture in photography"

2014 | Winners

Bartłomiej Cybula and Maciej Żołnierczuk – "The language of the culture of glass architecture"

2013 | Winners

Anna Lorens – "The phenomenon of celebratory places in the city as an illustration of the intersection of popular and high culture influences in architecture"

Anna Lorens is a doctor of architecture, an architect, interior and product designer, an expert for the interior decoration magazine Dobre Wnętrze, a designer of a garden office system shown at events including the Milan Salone del Mobile, co-creator of the interior design of the residence of the Polish ambassador in Berlin. She is the co-founder and chief designer of the Lorens studio.

„Anna Lorens has undertaken a bold effort to examine architecture’s possible connections with so-called high culture and popular culture, and has made places of celebration the object of her observations. […] One undoubted strength of the book is its interdisciplinary approach, reminding us that architecture is not an island, but a science and a practice that every day should encounter human experiences, needs, values. We must appreciate the erudition of the author, who in her deliberations draws not only on numerous and diverse examples of projects from Poland and around the world, and the thoughts of architectural theorists, but also when she finds it appropriate refers to philosophical literature, statements by film directors and even the thoughts of poets”.

Piotr Sarzyński