Thomas Phifer’s Warsaw Museum of Modern Art wins prestigious Polish prize

The Warsaw Museum of Modern Art has been awarded the Grand Prix and Public Utility building awards at the 11th Architectural Awards of the Mayor of Warsaw. Designed by Thomas Phifer and Partners in collaboration with local studio APA Wojciechowski Architekci, the museum opened earlier this year to "take on a new role as a centre for conversations animating contemporary art of all kinds.'

The 213,000-square-foot project is Phifer and Partners’ first completed project in the European Union as well as the first purpose-built home for the institution, whose operations had been spread throughout different temporary spaces in the capital for many years. Appearing as though an opaque horizontal vitrine suffused with natural light within, the museum's design boasts 48,911 square feet of flexible space for new temporary exhibitions, state-of-the-art conservation studios, an open ground level with bookshop and café, education areas, an auditorium, and a 150-seat theater. 

“Our mission with this project was simultaneously to recognize the legacy of Parade Square, to create a new model of architecture for the historic city of Warsaw, and to design a space that can meet the complex needs of art since 1989 as well as those of contemporary Varsovians,” Phifer said at the time. “The building is a museum and a new town hall for citizens to join one another as active participants in the cultural renaissance underway in Warsaw.”