Congratulating the winners of the annual competition, President Andrzej Duda said: “These are very important awards regarding public space, which, by definition, should be accessible to everyone. If that’s not the case, the space ceases to be public.”
'Design from the heart'
He added that designers and architects singled out for praise in the “Accessibility Leader” contest had to do “more than just comply with rules and regulations ... they had to design from the heart, to really make life easier for users."
The president also thanked designers for making their projects “not just accessible” but “beautiful, too” so that “they bring joy to the heart and soul” and so are “public in the broad sense.”
The awards were handed out at a ceremony in the presidential palace in seven categories, including “large-scale public-utility buildings,” which was won by one of Warsaw’s subway stations, Młynów, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
Other winners included the Emigration Museum in the northern port city of Gdynia, named "the most accessible heritage building," as well as the Nowy Targ office building in the southwestern city of Wrocław and Warsaw’s Varso Place, which jointly won the award for most disability-friendly office and commercial centre, the Polish state news agency reported.
The contest, held under the auspices of the Polish president, is organised by a charity called the Society of Friends of Integration (SPI) and the Association of Polish Urban Planners (TUP).
Public broadcaster Polish Radio is a media partner of the event.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP