The Prze-pływy project by Dagmara Gil and Alicja Hrehorowicz-Nowak won first place in the competition for the recomposition of the surroundings of Wawel Hill adjudicated as part of the Architecture Biennale Krakow 2025, held on 11 October 2025. The aim of this year’s edition is to select the best project relating to the idea of recomposing the key place of the city, which is the surroundings of Wawel Hill.
The project prepared confirms the importance of an approach that treats Wawel Hill not as a closed monument, but as a dynamic part of the urban organism, capable of dialogue with the river and the inhabitants. The central axis of the project is the notion of flow, understood both literally, as a relationship with the Vistula, and metaphorically, as a constant movement of energy, emotions and meanings that form the identity of Krakow.
Instead of reconstructing the historical layout, the authors propose a contemporary interpretation of the memory of the place, in which historical layers coexist with new social needs. Here, the Wawel Castle becomes a point of contact – a place that combines the sacred and the profane, the monumental and the everyday.
Main compositional assumptions
The project restores the lost relationship between the hill, the river and the urban fabric through a system of view links, a network of paths and designed communal spaces. The proposed interventions are formally sparing but functionally precise. They aim to open up the Wawel Castle towards the city, to diversify the spatial experience along the hill-Vistula axis and to create a sequence of places that encourage a longer stay and a multi-layered reading of history.
Matter and sensation
The material language of the project balances between subtlety and clear structure. Surfaces, landscaping elements and viewpoints have been designed to enhance the natural parameters of the site and allow for the clear incorporation of contemporary functions without compromising the historic character of the hill. The proposed paths have different scales of experience – from intimate walkways, through educational trails, to extensive viewing platforms facing the Vistula and the city skyline.
Social dimension of the project
Overflows treats public space as a tool for remembrance and integration. The project envisages event venues, meeting spaces and educational trails to activate local communities and strengthen the relationship of residents with Wawel Hill. The programme proposals emphasise accessibility, flexibility of use and openness to seasonal and spontaneous forms of urban activity. The aim is to encourage residents to use Wawel Hill, not as a place to pass by, like a museum exhibit, but to stop and rest.
Justification of the Jury’s verdict
The jury appreciated the project for its compliance with the guidelines set out in the competition tasks and distinguished the way in which the project addresses most of the most relevant issues in the thematic area of the competition. The analytical part properly outlined the assumptions for further development. The graphic form of the project was noteworthy, as it clearly presented the solutions adopted. However, the assumptions were not fully reflected in the final design decisions. The visualisations do not follow the conceptual assumptions. The jury pointed out the need to balance the hardened surfaces of the public spaces with vegetation, as well as the need for a gentle integration of the landscape with the surroundings ,” reads the justification for the jury’s verdict.
The International Architecture Biennale (MBA) has been held in Krakow periodically since 1985.
design: Dagmara Gil & Alicja Hrehorowicz-Nowak
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