Newsdesk
Sweco UK
Sweco Landscape Architecture Team wins ORP Orzel Memorial Design Competition
We are thrilled to announce that the Sweco Landscape Architecture Team have won the ORP Orzel Memorial Project competition! Fife Council invited Sweco to participate in a conceptual design competition to appoint a lead designer for a Memorial Garden and sculpture in Rosyth, Fife.
The Landscape Architecture Team held a mini design competition to develop ideas, ultimately creating a final design that combined the best elements from each submission. This collaborative approach was well received, and we were delighted to win the competition out of four submissions.
The memorial garden will honor the historic rendezvous of the Polish submarine ORP Orzel with the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Valorous in the Firth of Forth in 1939, showcasing an inspiring story of international cooperation.
The story of the Orzel is very well known in Poland and commemorated there, it is important that the story is remembered here too. We are honoured to be involved in this important project cementing the ties between the Polish and British communities and remembering the heroes of the Orzel story.
Andrew Redbond, Associate Landscape Architect at Sweco UK
This project will develop vacant land near the Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth in collaboration with the Polish consulate, highlighting the importance of international relations. It will include an artwork that celebrates the rescue of the Orzel submarine by the Scottish ship HMS Valorus. In 1939, the Orzel, a renowned polish submarine, was captured by the by the Estonians on the orders of Germany, but successfully escaped. With the loss of its radio communication system, the submarine’s sole remaining navigational aid was a list of lighthouses. Using these as a reference, the Orzeł followed a course along the Baltic coast, around Denmark, and out into the North Sea where it was met by HMS Valorous. This was to escort the hunted submarine, without a safe port to call home, into the safety and sanctuary of Rosyth.
This initiative not only commemorates these historic events but also promotes international collaboration, with potential support and materials from Babcock International, based at the neighbouring Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth, the Orzel’s former wartime home.
Our winning design, led by Andrew Redbond, is currently in its early stages and will undergo further consultation and refinement. We are excited to collaborate with key stakeholders including Fife Council, The Polish Consulate, Babcock International, Damen Naval, and Defend Fife in the next phase of the project.