Polish nominations for the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award presented during 4 Design Days

This is the first-ever compilation of all the Polish projects ever nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. Poland participated in the competition for the first time in 1996, thus the oldest projects have over 23 years. The exhibition depicts the transformations in the contemporary Polish architecture as through a lens using the most outstanding examples.

Polish architecture has come a long way since 1996, in comparison to other European countries. The evolution is associated with the internal political situation, and the turbulent changes resulting from the transformation of the political and economical system. Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004 accelerated new investments and changed the image of the Polish towns and villages beyond recognition. A strong participation of the society, politicians and clients influenced the far-reaching transformations. Every year the consequences of the above-mentioned actions become increasingly clear. Contemporary Polish architectural works are recognized and appreciated in Poland and abroad. In 2015 the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic Hall in Szczecin achieved a great success and received the Mies van der Rohe Award. The prize caused the world to hold the attention to the building designed by architects from the studio Barozzi Veiga. It didn’t take long for Poland to succeed again – in November 2016 another building from Szczecin received the attention of architecture lovers and the world media. Robert Konieczny and his team KWK PROMES received the first prize for the world building of the year 2016 at the gala of the World Architecture Festival in Berlin. The award was granted to the Dialogue Centre “Przełomy” located vis a vis the Philharmonic Hall. This is certainly not the end of Poland’s international successes in the field of architecture.

The Katyn Musem, designed by BBGK Architects with the cooperation of the artist Jerzy Kalina has come a long way. In 2017 the building was one of the finalists of the Mies van der Rohe competition. Additionally, the shortlist included: POLIN – Museum of the History of Polish Jews (Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects), Silesian Museum (Riegler Riewe Architects), Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library in Katowice (HS99), Integrated train and tram stop Wrocław-Maślice (Maćków Pracownia Projektowa), wooden church in Tarnów (Beton) and a cemetery chapel in Batowice in Cracow (Atelier Loegler Architekci).