The 25th anniversary edition of the “Bathroom Design 2023”competition to design a public toilet has just been launched. It is organised by Geberit. Since its inception, the competition has drawn attention to the challenging issue of public toilets in Poland. This year, participants’ task will be to design a mobile public toilet to be installed in the garden of the Zamoyski Palace in Warsaw. The winner of the competition will receive PLN 30,000, as well as the chance to develop their own project.
For nearly 25 years, Geberit has been organising the “Bathroom Design” competition for young architects and students, the aim of which is to draw attention to the shortage of public toilets in Polish cities. Thanks to the company's efforts, which each time takes care to select jury members who are authorities in the field and to choose a well-thought-out location, as well as to offer equipment and help in the development of the project, it was possible to develop four facilities to date – in Kazimierz, Warsaw, Kraków and Płock. This year the organiser, Geberit, is running the competition under the Geberit brand, due to the strategic changes that the Koło brand is undergoing in 2023. This is due to the fact that the products of this popular ceramic brand will become part of the Geberit range in April. The formula of the competition, including the idea behind it and its purpose, have remained unchanged for many years.
Zamoyski Palace on Foksal Street in Warsaw. Image © Rafał Cwenk
In praise of mobility
The partner of this year's edition is the Association of Polish Architects (SARP), which offers young designers the chance to work in an extremely inspiring context – the Zamoyski Palace. Faithful to the neo-Renaissance style, together with the surrounding garden and the exhibition and conference pavilion, it has for many years been an events venue – for workshops, exhibitions, conferences, summer cinema screenings or architecture promoting events in the form of picnics.
The “Bathroom Design 2023” competition is open to architecture students and young architects. Their task will be to design a mobile public toilet to be installed in the garden of the historic Zamoyski Palace on Foksal Street in Warsaw, the seat of the Association of Polish Architects (SARP). The design of the mobile toilet is intended to provide a model solution for toilets located in valuable natural and scenic areas of parks, sports and recreation facilities or/and in the vicinity of buildings of high architectural value, including areas and buildings under conservation protection.
The object of the competition should be suitable for installation in various locations, and it is up to the participants in the competition to decide on the specific location of the mobile toilet on the grounds of the garden. The requirement is that products of the Geberit brand are used in the project.
Accessible to everyone and environmentally friendly
It will be essential for the jury members that the toilet can be adapted to the special needs of people with disabilities, their carers, as well as blind and visually impaired people. A key concern for the partner, as well as the competition organiser, are environmental issues. Among other things, the designed toilet should include systems for the collection and treatment of rainwater and greywater. The designed mobile toilet, thanks to its functionalities, should positively influence user behaviour in terms of awareness of the value of protected natural resources, ecology, best practices in accessibility.
The winners will be selected by a panel of experts
A panel of appointed jury members will select the winning project and award honourable mentions and special prizes. In this year's edition, “Bathroom Design 2023” Grand Prix is PLN 30,000 and the total prize pool amounts to PLN 60,000.
Zamoyski Palace on Foksal Street in Warsaw. Image © Rafał Cwenk
Distinguished experts were invited to join the jury:
prof. dr hab. inż. arch. Ewa Kuryłowicz – General Designer and Vice President of Kuryłowicz & Associates architecture studio, SARP Warsaw Jury Member
Agnieszka Kalinowska-Sołtys – Member of the Board of APA Wojciechowski Architekci architecture studio, President of the Association of Polish Architects (SARP)
Szczepan Wroński – founder and partner of the WXCA architecture studio, Member of the Association of Polish Architects (SARP), SARP Competition Jury and the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland
Szymon Wojciechowski – President of the Board of APA Wojciechowski Architekci architecture studio, Member of the Mazovian Regional Chamber of Architects, Member of SARP
Marlena Happach – architect and urban planner, Director of the Office of Architecture and Spatial Planning
Dorota Sibińska – architect, co-founder of the Xystudio architecture studio
Agata Twardoch – architect and urban planner, Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Silesian University of Technology
Jacek Tryc – architect, owner of Jacek Tryc - wnętrza studio, Vice President and member of the Management Board of Association of Interior Architects (SAW)
Jakub Krzysztofik – architect and urban planner, President of SARP Łódź
Aleksandra Wasilkowska – architect, stage designer, owner of the Pracownia Architektoniczna Aleksandra Wasilkowska architecture studio
dr inż. arch. Jerzy Grochulski – President of SARP in the years 2006-2012, Warsaw University of Technology
Przemysław Powalacz – President of the Management Board of Geberit
Competition schedule
The rules of the competition with detailed project guidelines, location information and submission rules are available at https://konkurs.geberit.pl/. Competition entries can be submitted until 9 May – they shall be uploaded via a dedicated platform. The official announcement of the winners will take place on 21 June 2023. Secretary of the “Bathroom Design 2023” competition on behalf of Geberit is Justyna Zborowska.
The visual identity of the competition, including the poster, was designed by Ada Jarzębowska, a graphic designer and illustrator, a graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the Facultat de Belles Arts at the University of Barcelona. The OKK! PR agency is responsible for communication and organisation of the competition.
Partner: Association of Polish Architects SARP
Media patronage: Elle Decoration, Architektura i Biznes, Architektura Murator, WhiteMad, LABEL Magazine, Design Alive, designteka.pl, BRYŁA, Domosfera, Magazif, Czas na Wnętrze, Architecture Snob, Design Biznes, Nowa Warszawa, Wirtualna Polska, Design Doc, Weranda
Find out more at www.geberit.pl
Zamoyski Palace on Foksal Street in Warsaw. Image © Rafał Cwenk
Geberit Group is a European leader in manufacturing advanced sanitary technologies. Since its founding in 1874, it has been the pioneer in the industry, continuously setting new trends with its versatile solutions. Geberit has its branches in nearly 50 countries in Europe and around the world. It operates 30 production facilities. The biggest production plants are located in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The company is headquartered in Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland, and the company itself has been listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange in Zurich since 1999. The Geberit Group generated sales of 2.9 billion Swiss francs in 2017. It employs around 12,000 employees. The range of products manufactured by the company includes sanitary systems (installation systems, flushes, washbasin taps, flushing systems, traps, shower toilets), bathroom fittings (sanitary ceramics, bathroom furniture, shower enclosures and bathtubs) and piping systems (water supply systems and sewer systems).
For more than 20 years, Geberit has been organising the “Bathroom Design” competition for young architects and students, the aim of which is to draw attention to the shortage of public toilets in Polish cities. Here are some of the projects developed as part of this socially acclaimed initiative: Beach Pavilion in Warsaw, a toilet in Kazimierz Dolny and a toilet at the Mogilskie Roundabout in Kraków.
