Great success for students of the Faculty of Architecture
With the first and second place won in the prestigious urban design competition Edmond N. Bacon Urban Design 2026 students of the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology returned from Philadelphia. At the gala ceremony, they were honoured to receive the award and present a vision of modern urban planning.
This year’s edition had a jubilee dimension because it was on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the competition in memory of the outstanding urban planner Edmund N. Bacon.
The projects of representatives of the Faculty of Architecture of our University have received the recognition of world-class experts in Philadelphia. The first place was taken by a two-person team of students, consisting of Dorota Cichoń and Oliwia Jagła. Their work, titled “Neighbourhood Fabric,” focuses on the revitalization of the former Philadelphia campus of about 100 000 m². The authors focused on treating the district as a living, multi-layered system of relations, where instead of demolition they proposed superstructures and adaptations respecting the historical DNA of the place.
The aim of the project was to create an inclusive space connecting generations, which integrates history with modernity and activates previously dead fragments of urban tissue through new social, recreational, and modern mobility functions.
- This is a special distinction for us because we managed to repeat last year’s success, winning the highest podium for the second time in a row. This time, however, we worked in a smaller, two-person team and completely independently, without the supervision – the winners report.
The second position was also taken by a team of students from the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology, composed of: Kamila Majerska, Joanna Picheta and Oliwia Lipiec, working at the University under the substantive supervision of Dr Eng. Arch. Aleksandra Wyrzykowska.
- It is not only a great distinction and invaluable experience for us, but above all a motivation to continue working - say the winners. Our “Chemical Living Network” project aims to transform the site of the former University of Philadelphia into a coherent, sustainable urban organism. The concept is based on a molecular structure in which individual functions - health, housing, work, education, culture, and environmental protection - are "atoms" connected by a dense network of public spaces, greenery, and walking-cycling routes. In the revitalization strategy, we put special emphasis on respecting the history of the place, by the way referring to the former function of the entire campus - the former University of Pharmacy, adding unique zones, e.g. a laboratory.
Pictures: Flicker+ElmPhotography and Design Philadelphia
