Echoes of the scandal surrounding the competition for the design of a new library in Rzeszow have not quieted. After the results were announced, four judges filed a dissenting opinion, detailing allegations against the winning concept, as well as the misconduct that occurred during the procedure for selecting the winning work. The Association of Polish Architects and representatives of the WXCA studio also expressed their doubts. We asked Konrad Fijołek, Mayor of the City of Rzeszów, for his position on the matter. How did he respond to questions about the disclosure of some of the competition materials?
On November 25, 2025, the results of the international architectural competition for the development of the concept of the "New Library" building in Rzeszow were announced, which was hailed by the city authorities as the "building of the century" and even "the best library in the world." The cost of implementing this project was estimated at the time at 450 million zlotys. The authors of the winning work, a consortium of Schick Architects and Kengo Kuma & Associates, were awarded the sum of PLN 150,000 and an invitation to negotiate a sole-source contract to develop the documentation.
A votum separatum and an expert witness with charges
Initial enthusiasm was quickly cooled by four members of the jury, who on the same day submitted a dissenting opinion, the so-called votum separatum. The authors of the votum separatum pointed to a number of factual defects with which the awarded work is burdened, as well as non-transparency and procedural and formal irregularities.
As we learn from the content of the votum separatum, already during the competition procedure, Rzeszow Mayor Konrad Fijołek appointed four experts: Wieslaw Ortyl - Marshal of the Podkarpackie Region, Wieslaw Durda, Janusz F. (both Marshal's Office of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship) and himself. What's more, during the deliberations of the Competition Jury, Konrad Fijołek was said to have revealed that he had declassified one of the submitted works by consulting with a third party, and also presented his own project rankings.
As Gazeta Wyborcza recently revealed, Janusz F., former president of the Cracow-based Orlen Oil company, was charged by the Silesian Branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office in Katowice with brokering bribes. An indictment has also been filed against Janusz F. for brokering a job for another person at the Marshal's Office of the Małopolska Region.
SARP statement
The Association of Polish Architects reacted quickly to the problematic situation surrounding the competition for a new library in Rzeszow. Marek Chrobak, President of the SARP Board of Directors, published a statement assuring that the highest standards of requirements on the part of the organizer, the SARP Rzeszow Branch, had been met, while noting that "the facts revealed from the judging, including the reported 'Dissenting Opinion' of four judges, cast a shadow over the course of the evaluation proceedings."
The National Appeals Chamber will look into the competition for the Rzeszow library
Warsaw-based studio WXCA, whose proposal was awarded the second prize, has also raised its doubts. Representatives of the studio sent a letter to the President of the National Board of Appeals, requesting, among other things, the cancellation of the evaluation of the winning work by Schick Architects and Kengo Kuma & Associates. Importantly, the request does not include cancellation of the entire competition procedure. Based on Article 513 para. 1 and 2 in conjunction with Article 505 (1) of the Law of September 11, 2019. - Public Procurement Law, the right to file an appeal is granted for:
1) an action of the contracting authority inconsistent with the provisions of the Act, taken in the procedure for the award of a contract, the conclusion of a framework agreement, a dynamic purchasing system, a system for qualifying contractors or a competition, including the proposed provision of the contract;
2) failure to act in the procurement procedure, for the conclusion of a framework agreement, a dynamic purchasing system, a system for qualifying contractors or a competition, which the ordering party was obliged to do under the Act;
questions to the mayor of Rzeszow
In connection with the numerous doubts that have grown up around the competition for the design of the Biblioteka Nowa building, including the vote of separation submitted by some of the competition judges, Małgorzata Tomczak, editor-in-chief of the Architektura&Biznes publishing house, has sent a press inquiry to the Mayor of Rzeszów Konrad Fijołek. The inquiry calls on the mayor to state his position on the following issues:
1. How does the President address the allegations contained in the dissenting voices, particularly regarding Part II of VOTUM SEPARATUM regarding formal and procedural defects.
2. will the City Council take concrete steps to verify the objections and assess the correctness of the competition procedure?
3. may the submitted votum separatum result in formal actions on the part of the city, including correction of the results of the competition or re-examination of its decisions?
4 How does the Mayor justify disclosing parts of the competition materials to third parties and soliciting their opinions during the competition procedure - actions that, according to the principle of secrecy of the competition proceedings, may violate the integrity of the process? (The President's statement of November 17 during jury deliberations: "I showed this project [work 03 "barrow"] to a certain person - I can't say who it was - and this person said that this building looks like the National Bank of Poland."). Does the President intend to provide a public explanation of this situation?
Office of the President of Rzeszow on competition for new library
On December 17, 2025, the Office of the President of Rzeszow sent a short letter, the content of which does not address the questions posed by Malgorzata Tomczak, editor-in-chief of Architektura&Biznes magazine and portal. Below is the full content of the response received:
Dear Editor,
in response to the press inquiry regarding the competition proceedings for the development of the concept of the "New Library" in Rzeszow, I would like to inform you that the competition proceedings have not yet been formally completed.
The Municipality of Rzeszow (the Employer) is bound with the Association of Polish Architects Branch Rzeszow (the Contractor) by agreement no. ZP.272.72.2023 concluded on 31.01.2024, on the basis of which SARP Branch Rzeszow undertook to prepare and conduct an architectural and urban planning competition, two-stage, unlimited, realization competition for the project entitled "New Library".
According to par. 2 of the Agreement, the Contractor, i.e. SARP, is obliged to:
- Prepare the competition and announce the competition
- Conduct the competition proceedings
- Settle the competition
- Organizing the post-competition exhibition and publication
The Ordering Party (Municipality of Rzeszów) shall evaluate and accept the works performed by the Contractor (SARP) under the Agreement on the day of execution of the entire order on the basis of par. 2 para. 5 and para. 6 of the Agreement
In the event of any irregularities in the conduct of the contracted procedure, the Contracting Authority will exercise its rights under the Agreement and the law.
Marzena Kłeczek-Krawiec
Deputy Director
Office of the President
Office of the President of the City of Rzeszów
