Heart and Mind. Konior Studio at the Festival of Open Architecture Studios!

Ola Kloc

28 of March '25

interior of Konior Studio in Katowice, Poland

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They are true specialists in creating spaces that affect the senses. No wonder, since what guides their design process are.... heart and mind. We will talk about the philosophy of Konior Studio with its founder, Tomasz Konior, during the 11th edition of the Open Architecture Studio Festival!

Broadcast of the meetings will be available on our channels

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This year's Festival of Open Architectural Studios will begin in Silesia, at the headquarters of Konior Studio(April 7 at 1 pm), then we will move to Poznan, where we will take a look at the PL.architekci office(April 8 at 1 pm). We will finish the event in Szczecin, at the headquarters of Analog studio (April 11 at 13.00). Live broadcasts will be available on A&B's Facebook and YouTube!

Konior Studio
April 7, 1 pm

The festival will open at the {tag:pracownie} studio. The Katowice office was founded in 1995 by Tomasz Konior, and today the team consists of nearly 30 people. For thirty years of activity in the architectural market, the studio undertook various projects - residential, office, urban planning, but the one that brought them the greatest success was the realization of the headquarters of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice - a mirage of Tomasz Konior's passion for architecture and music. NOSPR is more than an acoustically perfected concert hall, it is an integral part of the Culture Zone and one of the contemporary icons of Katowice.

NOSPR in Katowice

photo: Grzegorz Mart © Konior Studio

We express the belief that in the whole process of designing and building, the most important thing is the human being, in the context of time and place, nature and culture. Transforming space, we strive to create friendly places. In architecture, we value its urban context, in which the spaces between buildings are as important as the buildings themselves.

- explain their philosophy, the architects of Konior Studio.

The interiors of the National Library in Warsaw

Photo: Jakub Certowicz © Konior Studio

How do these ideas translate into the studio's realizations? The objects and spaces created with care have brought the team numerous laurels, including numerous nominations for the European Mies van der Rohe Award(the Symphony Science and Music Education Center in Katowice), the Grand Prix of the 9th Architectural Award of the Mayor of Warsaw(the interiors of the National Library in Warsaw), and the SARP 2021 Year Award(the State Music School Complex No. 1 in Warsaw).

State Music School Complex No. 1 in Warsaw

Photo: Bartek Barczyk © Konior Studio

The architects are also not afraid to dialogue with the existing tissue, as exemplified by such projects as the Diament Hotel in Katowice. Currently, the team is working on the formidable challenge of restoring eleven tenements in the very center of Katowice and creating a development quarter in the city center.

Diament hotel in Katowice

photo: Jakub Certowicz © Konior Studio

What does it look like to work in Tomasz Konior's authorial studio? You will have the opportunity to ask your questions on April 7, and in the meantime we invite you to a short conversation with the architect!

Tomasz Konior

Ola Kloc: Where did the name of the studio come from?

Tomasz Konior: From my surname. Signing the activities of the office with my own name is sincere and responsible. The second part of the name is the result of choosing the Polish word STUDIO instead of the foreign word ATELIER.

Ola Kloc: Studio for us....

Tomasz Konior: ...the place where we design. A part of our history. An environment where we strengthen relationships, eat our second breakfasts, celebrate the awards we have received and celebrate, for years, also company Christmas Eve.

Press Glass company headquarters

Photo: Nate Cook © Konior Studio

Ola Kloc: What was your first joint project about?

Tomasz Konior: Joint, meaning team, not just mine, when I created the office alone. It was probably a project for a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank in Rybnik.

Ola Kloc: A dream project is....

Tomasz Konior: ... one that comes true.

The interiors of the Palace of the Republic in Warsaw

Ola Kloc: Our favorite design tool is....

Tomasz Konior: ...we have two: heart and mind.

Ola Kloc: Does the team have any fixed habits / rituals?

Tomasz Konior: Plenty, such as sweet or fruit Mondays, barbecuing together in the summer in the garden next to the office, sharing stories after returning from a trip and celebrating project successes together.

Parkowa Villas in Katowice

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The Festival of Open Architectural Studios is an excellent opportunity to see from behind the scenes what happens every day in architectural offices and personally ask the architects and architects who work in them about issues of interest to the profession. We invite you to FOPA and the International Congress on Digital Urban Regeneration. See you there!

Partners of the event are: