The whirlwind of words stays? On March 3, 2026, the National Board of Appeals ruled on the results of the architectural competition for the "Bilbioteka Nowa" complex in Rzeszow. Representatives of the WXCA studio, Shick Architects, Kengo Kuma & Associates and the Rzeszow City Council met on the jury. The application submitted by the Warsaw-based studio was rejected in its entirety by the NAC. Is this the end of one of the loudest scandals in Polish architecture in recent years?
More than three months have passed since the Word Vortex, a concept by a consortium of Kengo Kuma & Associates and Schick Architects, won the competition to design a new library in Rzeszow. This time has not passed as with most settled competitions - there has been no negotiation of the terms of the contract between the contracting authority and the winners, the processes involved in obtaining the relevant permits or developing the design documentation have not begun.
Vortex of Words, 1st place in the competition for the design of the "New Library" complex in Rzeszow
proj.: Kengo Kuma & Associates + Schick Architects © press mat.
The row over the library in Rzeszow
Later that day, after the results were announced, four competition judges - Jakub Krzysztofik, Piotr Śmierzewski, Cezary Szpytma and Wojciech Fałat - submitted a dissenting opinion, pointing out a number of flaws in the winning design and the interference in the jury's work by experts appointed during the procedure, including Konrad Fijołek, Mayor of Rzeszów. According to the allegations contained in the vote of separation, the official was alleged to have, among other things, violated the principle of secrecy by passing competition materials to a third party for consultation, presented his own "ranking" of projects, and pressured jury members.
Vortex of Words, 1st place in the competition for the design of the "New Library" complex in Rzeszow
proj.: Kengo Kuma & Associates + Schick Architects © press mat.
In the weeks that followed, the General Board of the Association of Polish Architects published a statement assuring of the efforts SARP had made to ensure that the competition procedure was as fair as possible, further comments from the judges appeared in the media, as did a statement from Kengo Kuma. Małgorzata Tomczak, editor-in-chief of the Architektura&Biznes publishing house, sent a press inquiry to the Mayor of Rzeszów, to which Konrad Fijołek's law firm responded in an exceedingly perfunctory manner. Eventually, the case ended up on the National Board of Appeals' docket, when on December 5, 2025, the Warsaw-based studio WXCA, whose project won second place in the competition, submitted its objections.
Vortex of Words, first place in the competition for the design of the "New Library" complex in Rzeszow
proj.: Kengo Kuma & Associates + Schick Architects © press mat.
Vortex of Words at the KIO
The appeal to the KIO raised two objections to the competition procedure - doubts about the power of attorney submitted by the Schick Architekci and Kengo Kuma & Associates consortium, and the incompatibility of the winning design with the applicable law, guidelines and competition regulations. The lengthy justification presented 135 arguments in the areas of fire protection, architectural and functional issues, as well as accessibility, structural and urban planning issues. WXCA Architects, however, did not demand the cancellation of the entire competition, but rather the exclusion of the winning entry from the procedure due to the flaws pointed out, which could allow the second-place project to be implemented.
Second place in the competition for the design of the "New Library" complex in Rzeszow
proj.: WXCA © competition mat.
The parties had previously met twice at the National Board of Appeals - on February 10, the first hearing was held, during which lawyers, architects from both studios and representatives of Rzeszow lectured their arguments. On February 26, the NAC arranged a second meeting, where the conflicted parties had a chance to refer to the arguments presented at the first meeting. After five days of deliberations, the National Appeals Chamber announced the final verdict.
Vortex of Words, 1st place in the competition for the design of the "New Library" complex in Rzeszow
proj.: Kengo Kuma & Associates + Schick Architects © press mat.
National Board of Appeal ruling on the competition for the library in Rzeszow
On March 3, 2026, the National Board of Appeals made public its ruling on the appeal to the competition procedure for the design of the Rzeszow library, which was filed by the WXCA studio.As a spokeswoman for the National Board of Appeals confirmed in an interview with A&B,the request to cancel the evaluation of the competition work prepared by the consortium of Kengo Kuma & Associates and Schick Architects was rejected in itsentirety.The costs of the proceedings were passed on to the appellants, who still have a complaint against the ruling issued by the National Board of Appeals.
Word Vortex, 1st place in the competition for the design of the "New Library" complex in Rzeszow
proj.: Kengo Kuma & Associates + Schick Architects © press mat.
to the detriment of competitions
At the time of publication of this article, none of the studios has commented more widely in the media on the decision made by the NAC, and we are awaiting comment from the city. The appeal filed by the WXCA studio, the ongoing proceedings at the NAC, and the discussion that heated up in social media focused primarily on the project itself, developed by the consortium of Kengo Kuma & Associates and Schick Architects. While it was important and substantive (after all, this is a 450-million zloty project), over time it effectively diverted attention from perhaps the most problematic thread in the Rzeszow library competition scandal - the influence that Konrad Fijołek, Mayor of the City of Rzeszow, had on the work of the Competition Jury.
Vortex of Words, 1st place in the competition for the design of the "New Library" complex in Rzeszow
proj.: Kengo Kuma & Associates + Schick Architects © press mat.
The loud discussion started by the revelation of the Mayor of Rzeszow's interference in the vote of separation has consequences not only for the architects participating in the competition or for the chances of the project's realization, but above all for the quality of the built space. For a long time, one of its guarantors has been the institution of the architectural competition, whose authority and credibility have been severely undermined in the Rzeszow affair. Has the time come to rethink competition formulas? Or is the situation related to the Rzeszow competition for the library a warning about the consequences of deviating from the well-tested, hitherto valid rules?
