The work "Reflections of the past", made by Karolina Chodura and Joanna Rozbrój, was awarded the Grand Prix and first prize in the A competition at the Architecture Biennale Krakow 2019.
The purpose of the open, architectural and urban design A competition, in which the authors participated, was to select the best project relating to the idea and theme of the biennale "Connections - city and river."
With their conceptual design, the authors recall the Vistula River and its waterfront as an important part of Krakow's heritage.
A projection of the Old Town with the designed sites
© Karolina Chodura, Joanna Rozbrój
water in the city
The work is an attempt to connect the public spaces of Krakow with the river. This is done through a series of subtle interventions that introduce water into the city's public zones. The treatments are site-specific, each stemming from the history of the place in which they are carried out. By taking advantage of the ephemeral properties of water, such as translucency, mirror-like surface, and variability, the design elements are delicate. They do not introduce new forms into the center of Krakow, they only highlight the qualities of places.
The interferences that make up the city's changing landscape are not permanent - most of them appear only at specific times, depending on the time of day, external conditions, or utility needs.
Interference in the square on Podzamcze Street
© Karolina Chodura, Joanna Rozbrój
ephemerality
The authors, basing their design on history (until the 14th century the Vistula River near Wawel could be crossed by wading), decided to create a city square on the river in the form of a platform. The designed place undergoes changes just like the Vistula - it submerges under the surface of the water, emerges to form a square, and sometimes disappears completely. The same happens with the proposal of water in St. Mary Magdalene Square, the "flowing stairs" at Floriańska Gate, the fog in the Planty or the disappearing walls in Szczepanski Square.
Illustrations of the square on Podzamcze Street and the square by the Frañciszkians church
© Karolina Chodura, Joanna Rozbrój
The main features of the project are ephemerality and unpredictability, while the introduced interferences try to re-establish the broken bond between man and nature. The newly created spaces allow people to commune with nature - water and lush vegetation in the center of Krakow.
The jury of the 15th Krakow Architecture Biennale, in awarding Karolina Chodura and Joanna Rozbrój the prize, justified its decision this way:
The issue of the relationship between the river and the city is addressed here on many levels relevant to the history of Krakow, its identity and its future, which is connected to the river, which the project speaks about in an apt and graphically beautiful form. The Vistula used to be present in more spaces of the city. Excluded for centuries, it is to return to the space of carefully selected squares, streets and alleys, not only to remind us of history, but to draw attention to the necessity of real coexistence of nature and architecture. The term "reflection" has a double meaning in this work: the optical reflection of images of houses, people and the sky above the city, which is carried by various proposed forms involving water: fountains, pools, clouds of steam, water curtains and others. There is also a metaphorical reflection, referring to memories, images that are fleeting and flowing like water - everything that builds the unique and magical atmosphere of Krakow.
We also invite you to read the results of all MBA Kraków 2019 competitions.
It is worth mentioning that Karolina Chodura is the winner of the SARP Annual Zbyszek Zawistowski Award - Diploma of the Year 2019, awarded for the project entitled. "Topography of oblivion".
elaborated. Dobrawa BIES
illustrations courtesy of Karolina Chodura and Joanna Rozbrój
