On November 9, 2026, Olivia Centre and the Faculty of Architecture at Gdańsk University of Technology signed a cooperation agreement in the fields of education, architecture, urban planning, and the design and functioning of contemporary office and urban spaces. The agreement was signed by Maciej Kotarski, representing Olivia Centre, and Prof. Dr. Habil. Eng. Arch. Jakub Szczepański, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Gdańsk University of Technology.

The cooperation will encompass educational initiatives as well as joint student and research projects. Planned activities include lectures, seminars, presentations, and meetings with experts, during which students will have the opportunity to explore the practical aspects of designing, developing, and operating contemporary office and urban spaces.

An important part of the agreement will also include study visits, research walks, and architectural reconnaissance tours at Olivia Centre. These will allow future architects to examine the architectural, technical, and functional solutions applied on site and gain insight into the day-to-day management of the complex.

The partners also plan to cooperate on academic, research, and architecture-promoting projects, particularly those carried out by the GARF Student Research Group – the Group for Architectural Reconnaissance and Flânerie. A key element of the agreement will be the exchange of knowledge and experience between the academic community and practitioners involved in the design, management, and commercialization of contemporary spaces.

This marks another stage in Olivia Centre’s cooperation with Gdańsk University of Technology. In March 2026, Olivia signed an agreement with the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering. One of its main goals is to support the new master’s program “Real Estate 5.0,” which combines engineering knowledge with real estate management topics. It also involves engaging industry experts in teaching, organizing internships and traineeships, and carrying out joint projects that allow students to learn about the real estate market from a practical perspective.

From left: Maciej Kotarski | Olivia Centre, and Prof. Dr. Habil. Eng. Arch. Jakub Szczepański | Gdańsk University of Technology

From Vision to Realization. Two Perspectives on One Investment

The signing of the new agreement was accompanied by a meeting with students from the Faculty of Architecture, organized by the GARF Student Research Group.

Maciej Kotarski delivered a presentation titled “REVERSED – Olivia Centre: From Vision to Realization. How We Built a Crisis-Resistant Business by Breaking All the Industry’s Rules”, focused on creating resilient commercial buildings, designing with people in mind, and seeking solutions beyond traditional real estate market models.

“In creating Olivia Centre, we repeatedly rejected conventional business principles and unwritten rules of office building design. We stopped thinking about buildings merely as products for capital markets. Instead, we focused on truly understanding who our clients are and what the people using these spaces actually need. We reversed the traditional way of thinking about value creation, introduced solutions unique on a European scale, and recognized civilizational shifts before they became widely apparent. As a result, we built a complex and a community resilient to even the biggest market shocks. When we started, we were told many times that certain things couldn’t be done in Gdańsk. We proved that they could” – said Maciej Kotarski, co-creator of Olivia Centre.

The architect’s perspective was presented by Tomasz Janiszewski, founder and chief architect of the BJK Architekci studio, which was involved in designing all of Olivia Centre’s office buildings. Students had the opportunity to learn about the process behind the complex’s creation, from the urban planning concept and initial design assumptions to the detailed solutions applied in individual buildings.

The importance of combining both perspectives is best captured in the words of one of the event’s organizers: “At this stage of our studies, a single great lecture can spark more passion than an entire semester, and Monday was proof of that. What resonated most was how the two perspectives complemented each other. The vision behind the investment and the architecture itself, from the concept of the whole complex down to the smallest detail, showed us what the journey from vision to realization truly looks like. During our studies, we rarely get the chance to hear both sides of a single project in one room” – said Łukasz Tkaczyk, Chairman of the GARF Student Research Group, Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology.

We would like to thank the Faculty of Architecture at Gdańsk University of Technology for its openness to cooperation, and Dr. Eng. Arch. Piotr Smolnicki and Łukasz Tkaczyk for the invitation and for organizing the meeting.

From left: Jacek Artyszuk, Tomasz Janiszewski, Dr. Piotr Smolnicki, Łukasz Tkaczyk, Filip Świerszczyński, Prof. Jakub Szczepański, Maciej Kotarski