Troll’s Tongue Observation Platform competition Honorable mention winner - Witold Jan Opaliński

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winner of our "Troll’s Tongue Observation Platform" – Witold Jan Opaliński from Poland!

Witold Jan Opaliński

Please tell us about your company (when it was founded, where it is based, how many employees, etc) Alternatively, if you do not have a company, please give us some insights on your own professional/academia background.

O2Architects - because at the beginning there were two of us - Witek and Kasia Opaliński - we did our diploma project together, which was awarded in an international competition. Together at university, on foreign student exchanges, on internships - shortly after graduation we founded an architectural studio in 2007, when or first kid was born. At the beginning we focused on smaller and medium- scale projects - without any contacts or connections, we had such orders, not others. Later, thanks to our honest work and individual approach, we built our own client base, who often returned with increasingly larger topics. We live and work in Poland, in the heart of Krakow, in a tenement house from the interwar period, the attic of which we have adapted into an apartment where we live with our son Krzysztof, daughter Zosia and border collie Persi, and on the ground floor we have an office. Recently, our son joined the project team, still as a student, but already with great commitment. Even though we function in the vivid city center, we live close to nature because we love the mountains, forests and the sea. We try to infect younger generations with our passion for architecture and design by running workshops for students from neighbouring schools, which is best proven by our son’s choice of studies. We treat travel as a means of self-development, including professional development, by observing good patterns and drawing our own conclusions. We also look for balance in physical activity, because we find time for sports training every day, while drawing and painting allow us to maintain mental balance.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been Involved?

We are a small team and therefore we mainly deal with smaller and medium-scale projects, such as residential buildings, commercial buildings and interiors. We have also been designing industrial buildings for some time. We specialize in adaptations, ronovations and reconstructions, giving spaces and objects a second life. Taking part in competitions, what we try to regularly do, gives us the opportunity to spread the wings of invention and imagination and to break away from the tedious reality of restrictions imposed by investors and city halls. Thanks to the competitions, we also managed to gain the opportunity to implement the largest investment in our career, i.e. the building of a municipal shelter for homeless animals for the city of Szczecin, built according to the latest functional and utility standards, previously unknown in Poland for this type of facilities, which fills us with great satisfaction.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

Architecture is a way of shaping the space in which people function, so its impact on life is enormous. The responsibility of architects is also huge as they have a direct influence on how this space looks, how it changes and functions. The effects of our work have a wide range of impact not only on people but also on the environment, and each created object remains in space for a long time. Unfortunately, the quality of emerging architecture or the treatment of existing buildings is also influenced by economic issues and official and investor requirements, which is still a major problem in Poland due to the lack of systemic education in the field of art, aesthetics and design. An architect is a person educated in this particular field, hence his mission should be to spread good patterns and all awareness in this regard.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

Architectural competitions give designers the opportunity to spread their wings of invention and expand the framework of their imagination, thus functioning in a completely different way compared to commissions set in official contexts. Each competition imposes certain restrictions and guidelines, sometimes very difficult to meet, but the prospect of responding to them usually requires thinking outside the box, which we often miss.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions?

Despite the fact that participating in the competition usually requires a huge amount of work, often without formal recognition, it is also a fantastic opportunity to showcase yourself and your team from the most creative side—an opportunity that, unfortunately, not many people have in real practice. The most important thing is to find your way around the topic and feel a keen interest in it—this is the best way to create something valuable. Additionally, the chance to see your work, even if it has not won an award, compared to a range of other competing projects is highly educational and helps build awareness of where you stand as a creator.