Archigeum Sp. z o.o.: Winner of Architect of The Year Awards 2023. The main idea behind the planned installation of the tunnel in the ski jumping hill in-run is to protect the ice track from rain and snow. The aim is to keep the sliding parameter on a same level to achieve constant and equal sliding conditions for all athletes participating in a sports competition. In 2017, the FIS International Ski Federation Management Board under the leadership of the then Ski Jumping World Cup Manager Walter Hofer expressed a positive opinion and granted the go-ahead for the construction of the prototype. The Norwegian National Ski Federation expressed the opinion that the protective tunnel was a contribution to the development of a new generation of ski jumping hills.  The design covers the enclosure of the ski jumping hill in-run from the starting gate to the take-ff and will comprise 24 openable modules. Its glass shell will be interactive, allowing multimedia content to be displayed. The glass acts as solar panels and uses the energy to operate the modules. Research is currently underway with EU funding. The prototype will be erected at the Wielka Krokiew ski jumping hill in Zakopane, Poland.

The main objective of the project under the title “An intelligent tunnel for ski jumpers” is to conduct industrial research and subsequent development work on a product that is innovative on a world scale, i.e. a constructed feature in the form of a semi-circular glass-aluminium structure. It will serve to protect the ski jump and ski jumpers against the negative effects of weather conditions (solar exposure and rainfall on the in-run tracks, wind at the start gate), and thus increase the safety of competitions and equalize the chances of ski jumpers. Through the tasks planned as part of 5 stages of work, this tunnel will

combine numerous innovative solutions such as intelligent bent glass (multimedia, selective, projection) or electronized hinges in an aluminium structure and a dedicated control system. A television standard as well as multimedia projections on the tunnel will also be developed. All tasks will be based on thorough aerodynamic tests, and verified on a real hill. The target recipients will be the owners of ski jumps, who will also benefit from the new advertising opportunities, and the final recipients will also be excellent athletes and all winter sports fans. The solution is the Applicant’s original idea that does not have its global equivalent. As part of pre-implementation works, the prototype will be submitted for certification by the International Ski Federation (FIS) and then implemented for production on the Polish market. The implementation of the project will not only contribute to the increase in the competitiveness of the company “Pracownia Reżyserii Architektury ARCHIGEUM” sp. z o.o., but also to the increase in Poland’s competitiveness in terms of innovative product solutions.

In May this year (2023), he received the award for the best architect in Europe 40 UNDER 40 for the Intelligent Tunnel for Ski Jumper Project.

Project Details
Firm
Archigeum Sp. z o.o.

Architect
Przemek Gawęda

Project Name
Intelligent Tunnel for Ski Jumper

Category
Sports & Recreation Concept

Project Location
Wielka Krokiew / Zakopane / Poland

Team
Przemek Gawęda, Marcin Sajdak, Dariusz Witucki, Jan Kowal

Country
Poland

Photography ©Credit
©Archigeum Sp. z o.o.

“PRZEMEK GAWĘDA was born in 1985 in Inowrocław in central Poland. He currently lives in Bydgoszcz. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice. He is a doctoral student at the Joint Doctoral School of the Silesian University of Technology. He also completed International Postgraduate Studies in Spatial Planning at the Poznań University of Technology. He has participated in and been a winner of international contests. He has also initiated and coordinated international research projects in the field of sports architecture.

In May this year (2023), he received the award for the best architect in Europe 40 UNDER 40 for the Intelligent Tunnel for Ski Jumper Project.

The ARCHIGEUM Studio was established to implement architectural design in the broad sense of the term. The architects devote a lot of attention to research and innovative projects. Innovative features appear incorporated in the design of sports facilities but also in public and residential designs and renovations. The studio also does not avoid addressing topics related to design of structures imposed to extreme conditions, i.e., an area of architecture that can and should, in the near future, provide a field for much research and revision. This is about space design and the scientific aspects that result from it.

The ARCHIGEUM architects view design as a constant process of experimentation with both form and function. It is impossible for architecture to remain applicable to a rapidly evolving reality unless it addresses the challenges of today but also takes into account what might happen in the future. Our architecture must therefore adapt to the space and time in which it is designed.

“The design trends we pursue in the professional field stem primarily from our interests which is an added appeal but also a value in itself. The architecture we create does not arise from plebiscites or opinion polls – it expresses our views and design beliefs as we do not seek or make compromises in design. Architecture is either good or bad. There is also nothing good in between. – says studio leader Przemek Gawęda