The voting of Internet users in the 15th edition of the Polish Architecture XXL Plebiscite has ended. In the Landscape and Public Space category, the Japanese Garden in the Silesian Park, Chorzów was the best! It scored as many as 56 percent of the votes.
The audience chose their favorites from the pool of over 60 projects submitted in three categories. The winners of the jury’s vote and the winner of the Grand Prix 2022 will be announced at the official Gala, which will take place on June 6, 2023, in the newly opened building of the Maritime Science Center in Szczecin.
About the garden:
The origins of the Japanese Garden go back to the 1960s when such facilities were created in various Polish cities, including Poznan and Wroclaw. Keeping up with the times, the local authorities also decided to plant a Japan-themed garden in the Silesian Park. The challenge of designing the Japanese Garden was taken up by Edward Bartman. The concept of the garden included a number of ponds, two of which would be connected by a picturesque waterfall. Unfortunately, the project proved to be too expensive and due to insufficient funds, the Japanese Garden was never completed. Responding to the rising interest in Japanese culture, a group of architects from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences developed a futuristic concept of a new garden. Since then, the Japanese Garden has undergone a major transformation. Reopened in 2021, its stylish arrangements and landscape architecture delight the visitors. The renovation works expanded the garden’s area from around 6 thousand sq. metres to approx. 12 thousand sq. metres, and Edward Bartman’s “water vision” was finally realised in the form of two water ponds at different altitude connected by a waterfall with a glazed terrace above. The south-eastern and eastern sections of the garden are the so-called “cherry orchard” with different species of cherry trees.