A Warsaw Dormitory Among the World’s Best Buildings

Poland’s most stylish student housing has just been recognised on the global stage.

Akademik nr 7 has been longlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2025. Out of more than 4,300 entries from 89 countries, only 262 buildings were selected — and this Warsaw dorm is one of them.

Recognition

Akademik nr 7 — the University of Warsaw’s newest dormitory designed by Projekt Praga — has been longlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2025. Out of more than 4,300 entries from 89 countries, only 262 buildings were selected — and this Warsaw dorm is one of them. The longlist includes projects by global names like Foster + Partners, Snøhetta, and David Chipperfield.

A new standard in student living

When I first visited in summer, stepping inside felt like walking into a hotel lobby. The rust-orange facade, the unusual windmill-shaped plan, the warm interiors — everything suggested care, not just function. It was hard to believe this was student housing.

Spread across seven above-ground floors (plus one underground), Akademik nr 7 provides 382 rooms, including singles, doubles, and even mezzanine apartments for visiting researchers. The unusual layout avoids long corridors, creating more comfortable spaces of living.

Because student housing is not just a place to sleep. It’s a turning point in life: you sketch your first independence here and your friendships, you carry these memories for years.

On the ground floor, the building opens itself as a community hub: a lounge, kitchen, a gym that extends outdoors, and a laundry room. Each floor above balances privacy with connection, offering shared kitchens, study areas, and dining spaces. Natural materials and warm colours keep the atmosphere calm, while greenery wraps the building from outside — softening its form, connecting it to its surroundings. There’s even a bike room and an outdoor amphitheatre. Importantly, the building is fully adapted for people with mobility, vision and hearing challenges — inclusion was part of the design from the start.

This is the first new public dormitory built by the University of Warsaw in over sixty years. From the very beginning, back in 2018 when the competition was announced, the project was imagined as a model for the future of student housing in Poland. And today, it stands as proof that such spaces can be functional, social, and beautiful, setting a new standard. Because student housing is not just a place to sleep. It’s a turning point in life: you sketch your first independence here and your friendships, you carry these memories for years.

Why this matters

• A new benchmark: If public student housing can be so well done, future projects have something real to aim toward, not just minimal compliance.

• Public architecture reimagined: Awards often spotlight monumental landmarks. Here, recognition goes to a dormitory — proof that everyday, lived-in spaces also deserve beauty.

• Visibility shapes expectations: Being listed among the world’s best buildings changes the narrative. If the public expects more, then more probably will be built that way.

Ending reflection

Summing up the story, I believe Akademik nr 7 is more than a building in its classic sense of giving you a roof over your head. It’s proof that design and utility can be on the same level. And the award is more than just a badge. It is a confirmation that this kind of design — human-scale, inclusive, attentive to everyday life — is being seen beyond Warsaw and even Poland.

With global recognition, it enters a larger conversation: how we build not just for shelter, but for growth; how we treat this phase of life — not as something to endure, but as something to remember with pride.