Center for Modern Education

Built according to the competition-winning design by aa_studio/group-arch, it occupies a triangular plot at the end of the main axis of the University of Technology campus, developed on a linear plan since the early 1970s. The horseshoe plan of the new building refers to most recognizable structure in Bialystok-the Branicki Palace, and is preceded by a vast square between the two wings. The Center contains a library with multimedia rooms, an open education center and a school of foreign languages. The back facade is preceded by monumental stairs that lead to a garden in the plot's triangular corner and where to provide an entrance from busy intersection, but the UTech administration went contrary to the architects' intentions and fenced this part off the streets. The Center most characteristic element is its external decoration in form of a repetitive concrete openwork motif, referring to the local art of paper cutouts. Inside the building is spacious and welcoming, and offers vast common spaces highly appreciated by students. Architects: aa_studio/group-arch, architects Agnieszka Staszczyszyn, Adrian Staszczyszyn, Sebastian Bieganowski Location: Wiejska 45a, Bialystok, Poland Collaborators: Agnieszka Czaderna, Agata Bielecka, Robert Liberda, Iwona Borkowska, Magdalena Kasprzycka, Karolina Kosno-Basińska, Anna Niechciał, Krzysztof Rostkowski, Zofia Zięba Contruction: RK Projekt, Grzegorz Rejman, Jerzy Kokot Area: 9990 sqm Year: 2012