TopBuilder awards are granted only following a recommendation from the Builder Scientific Council. Its members include outstanding designers, engineers and architects who work every day at Warsaw University of Technology, Sweden’s Aalto University School of Engineering, the School of Civil Engineering in Beijing, Canada’s University of Waterloo, and the universities of technology in Poznań, Kraków, Wrocław, Koszalin and Gdańsk.
The new library headquarters was created as part of the project “Centrum Wiedzy – adaptation of a former department store for public purposes in Bolesławiec.” The project involved renovating and adapting the deteriorated building of the former department store at 5 Głowackiego Street in order to give it new social functions: cultural, educational and informational.
Its cost was nearly PLN 15 million, including PLN 6.5 million in funding from the Regional Operational Programme of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship for the revitalisation of degraded areas in the region.
Construction work on the building lasted nine months. The Cyprian Kamil Norwid Municipal Public Library – Centrum Wiedzy opened in mid-October 2018.
It is worth recalling that, in addition to a model library layout, “Centrum Wiedzy” is equipped with multimedia educational infrastructure featuring interactive flooring and screens, as well as workshop rooms. Modern construction materials and equipment were used in the building. It contains shelving with seating and attractive furnishings which, besides giving it an individual character, are intended to create a welcoming and interesting space for both young and older people.
Because “Centrum Wiedzy” was created during the celebrations of the centenary of Poland’s regaining independence, one section of the façade features photographic concrete with a graphic depicting figures from the worlds of science, art and other areas of social life, as well as attributes important to the development of knowledge and science in Poland and around the world.
The purpose of creating Centrum Wiedzy was to establish a space enabling the organisation of educational, cultural and entertainment projects, as well as easier access to information, including improved access to the digital resources of cultural and scientific institutions through a shared communication platform.
“Centrum Wiedzy” in Bolesławiec successfully passed verification and received the recommendation of the competition jury, earning the TopBuilder 2019 award. TopBuilder is one of the most respected awards on the Polish construction market, sometimes referred to as the Oscars of Polish Construction.
The jury presents the TopBuilder statuette to the highest-quality construction products and solutions, as well as projects employing modern architectural, structural, material and technological solutions, and IT products used in architecture and construction. The TopBuilder title and statuette are also awarded for financial services and products, as well as projects, initiatives, programmes and ventures dedicated to the construction industry.