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Nomination for the Best Diploma in Europe

Fragment of the nominated design

Fragment of the nominated design, author: Marek Martynowicz

Marek Martynowicz's master's thesis from the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology was among 38 projects competing for the Young Talent Architecture Award.

Our graduate discussed the prospects of living and working in the digital age and the resulting opportunities for the development of a small-town settlement network. He set himself the goal of meaningful transformation of the home environment and work space. He proposed transforming the conventional concept of housing into a more contemporary and complex one, in which the definition of a traditional townhouse goes beyond the existing household framework.

To realize his vision, he chose Bystrzyca Kłodzka – a town located in the Kłodzko Valley, with a well-preserved medieval structure. The design process was based on the idea of urban archipelagos, which constitute a distributed and comprehensive action plan for small towns through point architectural interventions, changing patterns of human behavior and enabling the emergence of new ways of living and working.

Marek Martynowicz prepared concepts for three parts of the town, showing different design approaches: the market quarter, the post-factory area and the urban passenger transfer point. As the author points out, in this way, the living and working environment includes a wide spectrum of spaces with different levels of privacy and ownership structures, defined as hybridized intermediate states.

Master's thesis entitled: "The Renaissance of small-towns; perspectives on the living and working of the creators’ society. The project of transforming the development quarters of Bystrzyca Kłodzka” was created under the supervision of Prof. Jan Słyk.

 

The Young Talent Architecture Award is a competition for graduates of architecture, landscape architecture and spatial planning who have completed master's studies at European universities in the last two years. The goal of the YTAAA is to support young architects early in their careers. The announcement of the names of the three winners and the award ceremony will take place as part of the 18th international Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezi. During the ceremony, each of the winners will present an action plan, and after a year, they will present a report showing the results of the work.