Press Release
Tomasz Konior Receives the Platinum A' Design Award for Concert Hall in Warsaw Music School in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
The international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Tomasz Konior for architecture, building and structure design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Platinum A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category for Concert Hall in Warsaw Music School by Tomasz Konior, designed for Konior Studio. The result belongs to the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Platinum A' Design Award
The Platinum A' Design Award is recognized for honoring designs that stand at the forefront of creativity and innovation. It is the highest accolade bestowed by the A' Design Awards, acknowledging works that blend remarkable innovation with impactful societal contributions. These designs not only showcase exceptional artistic and technical proficiency but also highlight their creators' commitment to advancing the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their role in shaping the aesthetics and trends of our time, contributing significantly to the enhancement of quality of life and promoting sustainable development.
About Concert Hall in Warsaw Music School
Concert Hall in Warsaw is a music school built around a round concert hall. The project adapts decaying existing buildings and extends them, giving the complex a new function and greater usability. The concert hall has a circular plan of 24 metres in diameter and holds 70 musicians and 300 listeners. The last row is only 8 metres from the stage, which keeps the space intimate. Ash wood sails and a milled wooden ceiling shape the sound. Concrete, steel and wood are the main materials. A new public square in front of the school connects the site with the city.
About Tomasz Konior
Tomasz Mikołaj Konior (born 1968) architect. Graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Cracow University of Technology. In 2019 he defended his doctoral thesis entitled Evolution of public space in buildings for music. Since 1995 he has been running his own architectural office Konior Studio. Author or co-author of public buildings, including the seat of the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, the Music School Complex in Warsaw, the extension of the National Library in Warsaw and the Brno Philharmonic. He is a member of the Polish Chamber of Architects and the Association of Polish Architects SARP.
Award Record
Tomasz Konior is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards were granted in the 2020 - 2021 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Typical entries include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. The awarded architectural projects are published at https://designers.org/design-category/architecture
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/124563
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/124563
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!124563
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/147889
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://bit.ly/3cYCQ9R
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Concert Hall in Warsaw Music School
- Function
- Music School
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Sienna, Black, Gray, Dark Slate Gray and Rosy Brown
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Konior Studio
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Tomasz Konior
- Country
- Poland
- Recognition
- Platinum A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2020 - 2021
- Design ID
- #124563
Credits
- Team
- Tomasz Konior, Dominik Koroś, Aleksander Nowacki, Michał Lipiec, Marcin Piotrowski, Wojciech Przywecki, Angelika Drozd, Anita Łukaszyk-Nagi, Justyna Boduch, Adam Przybyła, Magdalena Jagoda, Anna Kłosek, Arkadiusz Laskowski, Agata Żak
- Image Credits
- Photographer Bartek Barczyk, Concert Hall in Warsaw, 2020; Photographer Piotr Krajewski, Concert Hall in Warsaw, 2020
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- At a time when building new architecture has never been easier than today, special attention should be paid to the desire to use the existing urban fabric. With the principles of sustainable development, the new music school in Warsaw has adapted the decaying buildings by giving them a new function. By extending them, it increased the quality and functionality of the entire complex. Thanks to the unique concert hall, the new object will become an important place on the cultural map of Warsaw.
- Inspiration
- The architectural competition for the music school did not include the historic building of the former orphanage. It fills almost the entire front elevation from Rakowiecka Street, hence the decision was to locate the new building with a concert hall deep within the plot. The existing context inspired us to create a background architecture with the continuation of the, scale and rhythms of the existing building, while inside a world full of acoustic details subordinated to music and silence
- Research
- The heart of the complex in this building is the concert hall. Its unusual circular plan comes from the desire to integrate around the music. The area divided in half between audience and the stage, allowed to create a comfortable place for 70 musicians and 300 music lovers. The last row is only 8 meters from the stage, which gives the impression of an intimate space to a young artist. The amphitheater arch of the audience surrounds the performers, giving a sense of community.
- Challenge
- The acoustic qualities developed with Nagata Acoustics, as well as the form and proportions of the interior makes it comparable to the best concert halls in the world. Wooden, ash sails and a ceiling hanging over the stage and the audience gave it a characteristic and memorable architectural
- Realization and Technology
- The main materials in the design are concrete, steel and wood. A unique solution is the round plan of the concert hall with a diameter of 24 m. The internal reinforced concrete walls are made of rubber formwork in a specially designed and tested shape. The ash sails and the ceiling are the most important acoustically surfaces obtained from individually milled and joined wooden blocks. The whole structure is suspended by steel brackets mounted to reinforced concrete walls.
- Operation and Interaction
- The primary design decision was to define the entrance zone. The fence was reduced in order to establish a stronger relationship with the city by creating a new public space in front of the school. In the place of the former bunker, a safe square was designed. By penetrating the foundation walls, a spacious entrance to the atrium under the body of the historic building was formed. The internal, multifunctional foyer, lit by a daylight, is the keystone of the old and the new.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in 2015, construction started in 2017 and finished in October 2020 in Warsaw, Poland.
- Specifications
- Usable floor area: 10 138 m2 Total area: 12 942 m2 Area of the plot: 8 454 m2 Building area: 3 341 m2
- Keywords
- Architecture, education, school, music, city, heritage, concert hall, wood, concrete, design, interior, round, circular, innovation, Poland, koniorstudio
