The Im. Stefan Kuryłowicz invites you to the Workshops with a Mentor – the 8th edition of the Practitioner Scholarship, during which architects will work on solutions for the space at the junction of Grunwaldzka Avenue and ul. Bażyński, where the business community and the academic community intersect, and this place is visited by tens of thousands of Tri-City residents every day. As a result of the workshops, there will be proposals for the development of the space in front of the legendary Gdańsk architectural icon – the Olivia Hall.

The call for applications for the workshops, which will take place in Gdańsk on April 1-2, 2023, has begun. The INTERNSHIP scholarship

is a three-stage program aimed at finding the most interesting ideas for improving the quality of public space. In the first stage, the jury will select up to 18 people from the submitted portfolios to participate in the on-site, weekend “Workshops with a Mentor”. The workshop will be held under the guidance of a mentor Prof. Peter Lorens, Architect of Gdańsk, employee of the Faculty of Architecture of the Gdańsk University of Technology; and Prof. Lucyna Nyka from the Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology; Prof. Rainer Mahlamäki President of the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) and Grzegorz Kidybiński from Olivia Centre – project partner. The workshop will be led by: Iza Burda, PhD (Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology), Arch. Jan Rubel (Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology, Kuryłowicz & Associates) and Prof. Ewa Kuryłowicz (Chairwoman of the Foundation’s Council, Kuryłowicz & Associates).

In the second stage, the three best solutions developed during the workshops (individual or team) will be awarded monthly scholarships in the amount of PLN 2,000 each. PLN to transform the idea into an architectural concept. Then, from among the three projects selected for the finals, the Jury will select the winning project, which – based on a scholarship of 10 thousand zloty. PLN – will be perfected for 4 months as part of the third stage of the program. The final phase of the workshop will be a public presentation of the concept in autumn 2023. in Gdansk. Applications for the competition will be judged by a Jury consisting of: Jakub Wacławek, Dorota Szlachcic, Aleksandra Wasilkowska, Mirosław Nizio, Maciej Frąckowiak and Agnieszka Olędzka. In the next stages of the competition, these judges will additionally cooperate with the Workshop leaders in the evaluation of the competition entries.

The aim of the Foundation’s programmes is to Stefan Kuryłowicz’s goal is to support the work of young, creative and searching architects, to strengthen their attitude of responsibility for the architectural and urban order, to make attempts to recognize contemporary problems of public space and to develop bold solutions to these problems that take into account the needs of local communities. Prof. Ewa Kuryłowicz: “The possibility of influencing the image of this part of Gdańsk, as well as the chance to transform the adjacent area into an element of living tissue, is unique. There is an urgent need to consolidate the space in this region. The designs of young minds and hearts should therefore carry ideas that will attract investors and other users. A city is not only a spatial form, but above all people’s living conditions, traffic flow, mobility, and cooperation with nature. And since the involvement of all stakeholders is a prerequisite for success at the end of a long process of improving the state of life in the city, elements of persuasive graphics will be part of the workshop studies, which can motivate everyone to engage with a sense of agency. Fascinating work awaits us in one of the most beautiful places in Poland.”

– The subject of the workshop is a space that has a huge, but still untapped potential. – says Bogusław Wieczorek from Olivia Centre. – In the new centre of the metropolis, the paths of users of business hubs, the campus of the University of Gdańsk and the largest housing estates in Gdańsk intersect. The icon crowning the analyzed square is the symbolic and majestic body of the Olivia Hall, designed by Prof. Stanisław Kuś, Maciej Krasiński and prof. Eng. Arch. Maciej Gintowt, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. We count on the creativity of the project teams who, under the watchful eye of the greatest authorities, have an open field to develop and plan solutions around such an important and interesting place. We believe that the proposals will lead to win-win solutions for all stakeholders, and we will see them implemented shortly thereafter.