Kraków to host jubilee architectural biennale

The focus of the competitions is 'the human dimension of urban spaces', exploring the growing global interest and pressing need to provide public spaces that are people friendly.

The theme is pertinent to Poland, which received PLN 67 billion from the EU's cohesion funds for 2007 to 2013, a large portion of which was spent on urban revitalisation.

The biennale's bid to present ideal urban spaces includes a competition open to practising architects, who are invited to showcase completed designs in an exhibition hosted at the newly-built ICE Kraków Congress Centre.

A second competition, also international and involving a public exhibition at the same venue, spreads its net wider to include conceptual designs or studies of as of yet unbuilt spaces. This prize is open not only to architects, but also to students and graduates.

A third competiton will be based on written papers on the subject by academics, specialists and architects, and these will be discussed in seminar sessions during the biennale.

The event, which will run from 15 to 16 October, is being hosted by the city together with the Kraków branch of the long-standing Association of Polish Architects (SARP).

The jury of the competitions includes Italian architect Claudio Nardi, American Christopher Sharples and it will be chaired by Romuald Loegler, who recently designed Kraków's Opera House.

More information on the MBA International Biennale of Architecture Kraków 2015 and prizes connected with it can be found on the event's official website. (nh)