What should the stops of the new PKM South line look like and what should be done to make the passenger railway as environmentally and resident-friendly as possible? The winners of a competition organised by Fahrenheit Universities and the local government company Pomorska Kolej Metropolitalna SA (PKM) have been announced.  

The students' task in the competition was to prepare an architectural and urban design study of the shape of the passenger railway on the agglomeration section of the new, yet-to-be-planned Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway South line, taking into account functional and spatial solutions, social and environmental aspects and including innovative technological solutions.

Students in the first semester of their MA studies in architecture were invited to develop architectural and urban planning concepts for the planned stops on the PKM South line in the first stage of the competition. The technical organiser of the competition was the Faculty of Architecture of the PG, and the main coordinator was dr inż. arch. Magdalena Podwojewska, Vice-Dean for Students and Promotion at the Faculty of Architecture PG. 

The final of the first stage of the competition took place on June 29 at Gdańsk University of Technology. The students and guests were welcomed by the Rector of PG prof. Krzysztof Wilde, the President of PKM SA Grzegorz Mocarski and the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of PG prof. Lucyna Nyka.

INNOVATIVE URBAN PLANNING SOLUTIONS

Students submitted a total of 18 works and all of them were admitted to the competition. The authors of the three best-scoring projects received financial prizes worth a total of PLN 15,000 funded by PKM SA. Five distinctions were also awarded.

- 'It is very important to use the potential of young people in such nascent projects, while at the same time giving them a chance to change for the better the space in which they live. After all, they are the ones who in the future will be using the solutions they are proposing today in their often futuristic, but above all modern visions of the new, yet-to-be-built PKM South line,' - said PKM SA President Grzegorz Mocarski, who, together with the Rector of PG, presented the awards to the winners. - 'That is why I am pleased with the solutions proposed by the students, showing that railway infrastructure can be modern and ecological and create new usable and recreational spaces for residents. Thanks to this, each future stop of the PKM South has the chance to become a kind of local centre, which the south of the metropolis currently lacks. I believe that if this project comes to fruition, the students' visions will become an inspiration for future designs of the line.'

The competition committee, which consisted of representatives of the PKM, the Marshal's Office and Gdańsk University of Technology, emphasised the very high level of the competition entries, their diversity and the courage of the students in creating new solutions.

The first prize of PLN 7,000 for the work 'Switch to culture' was awarded to Patrycja Stawska and Małgorzata Maina in recognition of their bold, holistic, metropolitan solution combining a bus stop with a rich functional programme and impressively resolved public space.

The second prize and PLN 5,000 went to Urszula Całusińska and Klaudia Chorobińska. The award-winning work entitled 'Connection' was awarded for its urban planning solution connecting currently isolated parts of the district by means of a park-like public space and demonstrating the potential of a circular traffic solution.

Ludmiła Matsisovich and Marta Kloch are the third-place winners. The Yellow Ribbon project was recognised for its consistent realisation of a spatial idea connecting different parts of the district and preserving the green character of the place.

Distinctions were awarded to:

• Natalia Buć, Milena Mroch, work entitled 'Balance' - for the restraint of interference in space, achieving a green space in a difficult traffic location.
• Robert Maskos, Jelizawieta Miakotina, work entitled 'The New Centre of Upper Orunia' - for the courage to create a great space in a difficult location. - for courage in creating a metropolitan, multi-level transport hub, with a cultural function, integrating the community.
• Anna Pliszka, Agnieszka Kowalik, work entitled 'A railway to the south' - for the reference to the existing elements forming the visual identification of the existing PKM stops and the feasibility of adaptation in other locations.
• Dominika Wodeńko, Sylwester Wilczak, work entitled 'Flying Carpet'. - for its interesting form, spatial solutions and proposed pro-ecological solutions, as well as the attractiveness of the drawing message.
• Joanna Kreft, Julia Lebioda, work entitled 'Fusion'. - for interesting functional solutions and a feasible connection between the above-ground and underground storeys.

SECOND STAGE OF THE COMPETITION IN AUTUMN

The second stage of the competition is ahead of us, in which, for the 8 projects selected in the first stage, students will prepare detailed concepts for innovative environmental, social and economic solutions to enhance the attractiveness of passenger rail for users. This task will be carried out by interdisciplinary teams of at least five members. All teams must include a representative from each of the universities that make up the FarU - Gdańsk Medical University, Gdańsk University of Technology and the University of Gdańsk. In this stage, the PKM SA has funded financial prizes of a total value of PLN 20,000 for the winning teams. Details of the second stage will be announced before the start of the new academic year on October 1, 2022.

- 'This competition is an opportunity to develop cooperation between our universities and the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway, but most importantly it is an opportunity for students to develop new competencies, including working in interdisciplinary teams. I also think that a fresh perspective from young people will make it possible to create a modern and visionary concept for the stops on the new PKM line,' - stressed prof. Adriana Zaleska-Medynska, Director of the Fahrenheit University.

- 'When the ideas of our architecture students are combined with the ideas and competencies of the students of the Medical University of Gdańsk and the University of Gdańsk, I am convinced that innovative, creative solutions will be created, taking into account several social, ecological or health-promoting aspects, which, if designed now, will also work in a dozen or several dozen years' time,' - summarised the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of the PG, prof. Lucyna Nyka.

Competition regulations