Arch. Robert Konieczny

The “Przełomy” Centre for Dialogue

The “Przełomy” Centre for Dialogue, a branch of the National Museum of Szczecin, became in June 2016 the best urban public space in Europe. Partially underground, it is a hybrid uniting closed building and open space, reconciliating past and present.
It has two subterranean floors which house a permanent exhibition on the recent history of Szczecin, as well as spaces which are especially fitted out as venues for temporary exhibitions, conferences, debates, educational workshops and commemorative events. The museum’s roof has gently sloping sides which constitute the ground of the new square. Hence the built-up volume only emerges in the north-eastern corner of the square where, at a crossroads between two streets, it offers a conventional urban façade in which the exit doors of the museum are located.

2016, Joint winner the European Prize for Urban Public Space
nominee of the Mies van der Rohe Award for eight times
2011 Annual Prize of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland
2008 ‘Europe 40 under 40′ Award
2009 World Architecture Festival Awards – finalist
2009 LEAF Awards – finalist

Arch. Robert Konieczny graduated at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice. In 1996 he received the certificate of New Jersey Institute of Technology. A leader and a founder of KWK Promes architecture studio established in 1999. In 2012 he became an independent expert for the Mies van der Rohe Foundation. Konieczny was a nominee of the European Award of Mies van der Rohe Foundation eight times. Moreover he is a holder of the prestigious award for the House of the Year 2006, winning with the Aatrial House as the best housing project in a competition organized by World Architecture News. In 2007 the KWK Promes office was listed among 44 best young architects of the world published by ‘Scalae’. Same year the ‘Wallpaper’ magazine issued Konieczny’s practice as one of the 101 most exciting architecture studios in the world. Year 2008 brought him another prize of The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum ‘Europe 40 under 40′.

The year 2008 had even more coming, as the International Jury of Museum of Architecture and Design in Chicago put the Aatrial House and the Hidden House on the list of the best houses in the world. In 2009 the Safe House was in the World Architecture Festival Awards 2009 finale among the best realizations in the world and the OUTrial House was a finalist of LEAF Awards 2009 in Berlin for its innovatory design.

In 2011 Robert Konieczny was awarded by the Minister of Culture in Poland for his outstanding achievements in the field of architecture as a second architect ever gaining this kind of prize.
The Aatrial House was the best building in Poland as says the voting held by ‘Polityka’ – polish well noted magazine. It was the first competition of its kind, where the readers could vote for one of the 15 nominees.

Nowadays, the practice of Robert Konieczny is working on the project of National Museum in Szczecin, Poland – an outcross of a public square, a block and an underground building, to be completed in 2 years.

Konieczny is one of the most frequently published abroad polish architects. His realizations appeared in the most important magazines and publications, including Taschen, twice in ‘The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture” and lately also in Hans Ibelings book „European Architecture since 1890”. More than that, KWK Promes studio is the only one Ibelings mentions concerning the architecture after 1989.