The Polish History Museum in Warsaw has been recognised as the world’s finest new cultural sector investment. Designed by the Polish architectural studio WXCA, this landmark museum—serving as the central feature of a representative new cultural complex in the heart of Poland’s capital—has received the distinguished 2024 ULI Global Award for Excellence.
Further Evidence of Global Acclaim
This is not the first significant accolade for the Polish History Museum in Warsaw, designed by the WXCA studio. A few months ago, the jury of the prestigious architectural award Prix Versailles included the museum on its “World’s Most Beautiful Museums 2024” list, which honoured seven of the most stunning newly inaugurated museum buildings globally. The jurors commended WXCA’s original architectural concept for its captivating, multilayered symbolism, as well as the impeccable craftsmanship of the structure itself, described by its creators as a “stone monolith of history”:
“The mission of this history museum is subtly etched into the outer walls of this monolith of stone. WXCA’s idea was to cover the façades with slabs of marble arranged in horizontal strips to underscore the layered structure of the stone, making it possible to add diversity to the different sections through variations in tone and texture,” stated the Prix Versailles jury in their decision. They emphasised that the reliefs that symbolically draw inspiration from motifs from architectural traditions, allow visitors to “read the museum’s mission directly from its façade”.
The architects at WXCA can now once again proudly celebrate receiving a prestigious international award. Just days ago, the Polish History Museum was named a winner in the 2024 ULI Global Awards for Excellence. First awarded in 1979 by the Urban Land Institute, this accolade is among the most esteemed in the real estate and built environment sectors.
The ULI jury evaluates not only the architectural and urban design quality of projects but also factors such as functionality and user experience, benefits to both local and broader communities, environmental sustainability features, and the ultimate economic market performance of the development. The award’s reputation is upheld by the competition’s long-standing tradition and its rigorous, multi-stage evaluation process. This includes detailed presentations to an international jury, followed by on-site visits where jury representatives meet with the designers and users of the project.
As Doug Voigt, Chair of the Jury and Partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), highlighted: “Each of the winners exhibits a deep commitment to tackling the most pressing local issues and positively impacting their communities and environments. Together, they showcase a diversity of inventive strategies for transforming cities around the world, serving as replicable examples on both regional and global scales that advance ULI’s core mission.”
Sophie Henley-Price, Principal and Managing Director at STUDIOS Architecture added, “The Polish History Museum has displayed excellence in all areas, from powerful yet inclusive architecture, to reasoned sustainable strategies, regenerative placemaking and an extensive multi-generational education program. More importantly, and so relevant today, is its cultural significance and mission, one that stretches beyond Warsaw and is a powerful vector for change.”
Earlier, prior to the global official announcement of the competition results, the Polish History Museum had already won the title of Best Cultural Sector Investment in Europe, securing the 2024 ULI Europe Award for Excellence—a significant achievement in its own right.
Reflecting on this success, architect Marta Sękulska-Wrońska, Partner and CEO of WXCA, remarked:
“We are thrilled with this recognition because the Urban Land Institute competition stands out for its interdisciplinary profile and multidimensional approach to evaluating projects. It considers not only the various aspects of implementation but also the ultimate social, economic, and ecological impacts of a development. The jury appreciated the timeless and refined architecture of the Polish History Museum, as well as how its architectonic form responds to the demands of a modern cultural institution. Today, such institutions serve diverse cultural and educational roles. They not only showcase artefacts of our material heritage but—perhaps even more importantly—create spaces for active and democratic dialogue about that heritage. These kinds of spaces have been sorely lacking in Poland since 1945”.
The institution’s new headquarters is designed not only to showcase the museum’s collection but also to serve as a modern cultural and educational hub. Complementing the exhibition spaces are a 600-seat auditorium, a cinema-theatre hall, a library, conference and workshop rooms, a state-of-the-art conservation department, dining areas, and a terrace offering panoramic views of Warsaw.
“Contemporary museums are far more than exhibitions. They are essentially a programme of diverse, interrelated functions that sometimes also operate independently. At the Polish History Museum, the space for permanent and temporary exhibitions makes up less than one-fifth of the total area. The museum’s ground floor is open in form—eschewing a simple, linear path through the interior. Visitors can return multiple times, engaging in different activities, attending various events, exploring history, and envisioning the future. We designed the interior layout to allow free-flowing movement between functional various zones, much like navigating through a hollowed monolithic block,” explains architect Krzysztof Budzisz of WXCA.
The international jury highlighted the “powerful vector for change” represented by the historic opening of the Warsaw Citadel grounds, a milestone achieved with the inauguration of the WXCA-designed headquarters for the Polish History Museum and the Museum of the Polish Army. This marked the transformation of a site closed off for 200 years into a shared space for the community—a cohesive museum complex, a hub of culture, and a place for daily recreation amidst the greenery preserved within the revitalised 19th-century fortifications.
The architecture of the Polish History Museum itself is a metaphorical narrative, reflecting the process of history as the universal heritage of our civilisation.
“The layered, stratigraphic structure of the stone mirrors history itself, composed of successive layers of social and cultural processes. Each marble panel is unique and unrepeatable, just as history is made up of singular, one-of-a-kind events. This symbolism is further enriched by architectural details in the form of ornaments that serve as quotations from architectural traditions. They can be interpreted as artefacts from different periods, akin to an archaeological cross-section, or as spolia familiar from the history of architecture,” explains architect Paweł Grodzicki, co-author of the project.
This year’s ULI Global Awards for Excellence received 109 submissions from three regions: the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. From these, 27 regional finalists were selected and, ultimately, 7 projects were honoured at the global level. The Polish History Museum stands out as the only cultural investment among this distinguished group.
Project information:
Name: Polish History Museum
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Architect: WXCA
Design: 2017
Construction: 2018-2023
Project authors: Szczepan Wroński, Paweł Grodzicki, Krzysztof Budzisz, Marta Sękulska-Wrońska, Katarzyna Billik, Rafał Boguszewski, Kamil Cedzyński, Anna Dobek, Małgorzata Gilarska, Beata Głaz, Marcin Jurusik, Michał Kasprzyk, Ludwik Kaizerbrecht, Marcin Kruk, Paulina Kucharska, Michał Lipiec, Anna Majewska, Krzysztof Marciszewski, Adam Mierzwa, Mariusz Niemiec, Magdalena Nowak, Magdalena Julianna Nowak, Barbara Płonczyńska, Zuzanna Rosińska, Michał Staniszewski, Łukasz Szczepanowicz, Kajetan Szostok, Krystian Tomczyk, Paweł Wolanin, Michał Żurek, Paweł Słupski, Michał Kalinowski
WXCA is an interdisciplinary architectural and urban design studio specializing in projects of public spaces and public utility facilities, with a focus on cultural and art institutions. The studio was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award for its designs of the Memorial Museum in Palmiry and the European Centre for Geological Education in Chęciny. WXCA was also responsible for the design of the renowned Poland Pavilion at the Expo 2020 in Dubai and the Museum Complex in Warsaw housing the Polish History Museum and the Polish Army Museum. In 2023 WXCA won the international architecture and urban design competition for the reconstruction concept of the royal Saxon Palace in Warsaw that was destroyed during the Second World War.
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