The National Competition “Modernisation of the Year & Construction of the 21st Century“ for designers, investors and contractors already has a long tradition of twenty-eight years. Every year, the organisational office receives applications from ambitious, enthusiastic people who want to change the reality around them for the better. Not only individuals, but also counties, municipalities, institutions and developers apply to take part in the competition.
The aim of the activities is to promote and select each year the best construction projects of particular merit. Projects were submitted that set themselves the goal of saving the heritage buildings of past generations. These include buildings of various types – residential, hotel, industrial, sports and historic, but also bridges, roads or entire areas undergoing revitalisation and new buildings. The 28th edition of the Competition attracted 635 entries from all over Poland, of which 93 projects qualified for the Final; all of them were visited by the Competition Jury, which actively included representatives of the ministries exercising patronage, representatives of the world of science from 12 polytechnics and universities, and representatives of voivodeship marshals, district building inspectors, experts, conservators, representatives of chambers of building, construction experts and architects. The Competition Jury spent almost two months on personal meetings with investors, contractors and architects of the objects taking part in the Finals, travelling more than 10,000 kilometres around Poland. Objects were evaluated in two main groups: Modernized Objects competing for the title “Modernization of the Year” according to individual categories and New Objects competing for the title “Construction of the 21st Century” according to individual categories.
Particularly in this year’s competition there were projects that had been planned and awaited for decades, but which had only just been completed, I am thinking of the construction of a tunnel under the Swina River, the construction of which created an alternative and definitely faster route to Świnoujście. However, the fiercest competition was in the category of sports and recreation facilities, both in the classification of new and modernised buildings, where 8 projects were swimming pools and bathing facilities.
Culture was a strong category: the Theatre in Szczecin, the Theatre in Poznań, the Silesian Opera House in Bytom – all of these buildings are extremely impressive, especially when presented by passionate people who have put a lot of heart into seeing a renovation or construction project through to completion. Brilliantly imaginative and modern museums in Włocławek, Krakow, Warsaw and Wisła. It is impossible, in these brief words, to describe even a small part of the breathtaking realisations. The common denominator of many of the buildings in this year’s edition of the Competition was water, both the purified or treated water for drinking or recreational use and the untamed and dangerous water in rivers and watercourses, for which dry flood control reservoirs and water retention facilities are being built and riverbanks are being revitalised. The list of finalists can be found on the competition website HERE. The results of the competition can be found HERE.
We invite you to visit the Royal Baths in Warsaw, or more precisely Agrykola Street, where for the entire month of October you can admire 48 large boards with interesting buildings from all over Poland, which competed in the National Competition “Modernisation of the Year & Construction of the 21st Century”. In connection with the 100th anniversary of the State Forests, which falls in 2024, the facilities of the Forest Districts are presented, including water retention facilities, modernised beautiful forester houses, observation towers, educational paths, administrative buildings, revitalised natural habitats. It is worth coming and feeling proud of the achievements of the Polish construction industry and how positively our country is changing.
The exhibition will be on display until 30 October.
source: press materials
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Metamorphosis | Monument | Featured | whiteMAD on Instagram