Although the Krakow subway is still in the planning stage, the first visions of what the entrance to one of its stations - "Dworzec Główny" at Jan Nowak-Jezioranski Square - could look like have already been created. They were developed by male and female students of the Krakow University of Technology as part of a competition organized by the Faculty of Architecture of the Krakow University of Technology and the FutureLab operating at PK.
Works awarded and honored in the competition for a poster illustrating the vision of the entrance to the "Main Railway Station" subway station in Krakow
photo: Ola Kloc
The construction of the metro in Cracow will mean not only the development of the city's transportation, but also changes in public space, including - depending on the course of the line - in its historical fabric. The location given to the contest participants is the centrally located square in front of the Central Station and Galeria Krakowska; locating a subway station there would make sense.
The subway exit is not only a canopy of stairs or a sign indicating the location of the station, but also an important element of the space, the square in front of the Central Station. A station exit can be an abstract sculpture, it can be a stained glass window or even a viewing tower
- emphasized Professor Magdalena Kozień-Woźniak during the award presentation,
Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Cracow University of Technology and member of the competition jury.
Works awarded and honored in the competition for a poster illustrating the vision of the entrance to the "Main Railway Station" subway station in Cracow
photo: Ola Kloc
How do architecture students imagine a Krakow subway station? As many as 93 proposals were submitted to the competition, from which the jury, chaired by Prof. Andrzej Szarata, Rector of the Cracow University of Technology, and composed of Dr. Stanisław Mazur, Prof. UEK (Deputy Mayor of Cracow), Prof. Magdalena Kozień-Woźniak (Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology), Prof. Tomasz Kozłowski (Deputy Dean for organization of the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology) and Dr. Grzegorz Twardowski (secretary of the competition) selected 23 works, awarding 3 equal main prizes, 2 special prizes and 18 honorable mentions.
The awarded and honorable mention works in the competition for a poster illustrating the vision of the entrance to the "Main Railway Station" subway station in Cracow
Photo: Ola Kloc
Equal main prizes of 2 thousand zlotys were awarded to three proposals: a monumental, sculptural vision by Anna Bryksa (work prepared under the supervision of Dr. Anna Mielnik), a design inspired by the art of stained glass by Jan Meres (supervisor of the project was Dr. Maciej Skaza) and a futuristic proposal by Katarzyna Półchłopek (under the supervision of Prof. Maria Jolanta Żychowska), which draws on parametric architecture.
Equal main awards, from left, projects: Anna Bryksa, Jan Meres, Katarzyna Półchłopek
Photo: Ola Kloc
A special award, a distinction from the Deputy Mayor of Cracow, Prof. Stanislaw Mazur, went to a team composed of Malgorzata Lyko, Weronika Florek, Malgorzata Wegrzyn and Jakub Targosz (supervisor of the project was Dr. Hanna Hrehorowicz-Gaber), who proposed a modular, economical in expression block drawing on the aesthetics of modernism. In turn, the award from the rector of the Cracow University of Technology, Prof. Andrzej Szarata, went to Marta Szleper and Patryk Tatara (supervisor of their work was Dr. Filip Suchoń), authors of a light, glazed structure, gently fitting into the square in front of the station.
Works awarded and honored in the competition for a poster illustrating the vision of the entrance to the "Main Railway Station" subway station in Krakow
Photo: Ola Kloc
The awarded works will be shown to Krakow residents - in physical form on boards placed in Planty (by the tunnel leading to the station) and on the City's Facebook profile, where voting will take place to gauge the opinions of Cracovians. As noted by Stanislaw Mazur, Deputy Mayor of Krakow, this is the first such public discussion on the construction of the subway, so it is gratifying that young architecture students have also been included.
