Polish architectural firm triumphs. International award for renovation of Toruń fort

Another international success for Polish architects! The revitalization project for Fort X in Toruń has won the prestigious American International Architecture Award 2025.

For 20 years now, the Chicago Athenaeum International Institute, in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture and Urban Studies in Athens, has been organizing one of the most important awards for architects, the International Architecture Awards .

As we read on the institution's website, the award is intended to highlight the most interesting new buildings , landscape architecture and spatial planning projects designed by the best architects operating both at the national and international level.

The International Architecture Awards provide an important, global overview of current aesthetic trends in contemporary commercial , corporate , institutional and residential architecture, aimed at the real estate, banking, business and corporate sectors, as well as the media and the general public worldwide.

We are pleased that Polish architects from the Archigeum in Bydgoszcz were appreciated by the event organizers.

Przemek Gawęda and Marcin Sajdak from the Archigeum Architecture Direction Studio License: Press materials / Archigeum Architecture Direction Studio

In the "Renovation" category, the awarded projects included the revitalization concept of Fort X in Toruń, created by the Archigeum Architecture Direction Studio from Bydgoszcz.

Located 2.5 kilometers from the market square in Toruń , Fort X was built in the years 1889–1892 as an open artillery battery and is part of the Toruń Fortress, which consists of over 200 structures.

Toruń Fort X revitalization project License: Press materials / Archigeum Architecture Direction Studio

Unfortunately, the fort's terrain remains significantly distorted today. Archigeum's design efforts focused on restoring the outlines of, among other things, artillery positions with traverses and gun emplacements . The reconstruction of the fortifications is possible thanks to historical construction plans created in the late 19th century.

The fort grounds are to serve as a hotel and conference center , and the existing bunker will be renovated. According to the architectural studio, the windows and doors will be rebuilt, and the facade will feature ventilation pipes characteristic of Prussian fortifications.

Importantly, the planned reconstruction of the fortifications and construction of new buildings will be carried out with respect for the existing trees.

Toruń Fort X revitalization project License: Press materials / Archigeum Architecture Direction Studio

The co-authors of the project are Przemek Gawęda , Marcin Sajdak , Dariusz Witucki and Joanna Ratajczak .

Let us recall that Przemek Gawęda won the prestigious 40 UNDER 40 competition in 2023, and in 2024 and 2025 he won the title of Architect of the Year in the Architecture Community competition.

Toruń Fort X revitalization project License: Press materials / Archigeum Architecture Direction Studio