Unbuilt proposals for post-war Wrocław: sample digital models

2021

1(65)

DOI: 10.37190/arc210108

Łukasz Wojciechowski*, Andreas Wolf**

Unbuilt proposals for post-war Wrocław:

sample digital models

Introduction

Wrocław suered severe damage in the nal months of

the World War II. After 1945, it was not only rebuilt, but

also considerably remodelled. For the next several decades,

architects gathered at the state-owned Miastoprojekt design

bureau prepared designs intended to ll the voids left in the

tissue of the damaged city. This process continues to this

day, and large areas of Wrocław’s city centre still remain

undeveloped or unused, such as Plac Społeczny, Centrum

Południowe and Port Miejski. Many proposals of the city’s

development prepared for numerous competitions or direct

commissions were not realised. They are now a treasure

trove of material that displays tendencies in design during

the various periods of the 20

century and provide insight

into the urban and architectural potential of several sites.

A large portion of areas for which plans were developed

in the 20

century is now developed dierently than in the

old proposals, and a thorough exploration of the rejected

designs can provide interesting comparative material.

The designs discussed in this paper came from the

drawing boards of recognised designers such as Jadwiga

Grabowska-Hawrylak, Stefan Müller, Zenon Prętczyński,

or Andrzej Frydecki – who were the main representatives

of post-war Modernism in Wrocław. Their works are

some of the most essential cases to be built in the capital

of Lower Silesia, and which include, among others: Plac

Grunwaldzki (Grabowska-Hawrylak), the Galeriowiec in

Grabiszyńska Street (Müller), the primary school in Gór-

nickiego Street (Prętczyński), the Faculty of Mechanical

Engineering building in Łukasiewicza Street (Frydecki).

The unbuilt designs of these architects allow us to look at

their careers in a broader context.

We selected design proposals for this paper based on

their spatial qualities, creative air and potential impact

on the image of Wrocław. They primarily include public

and commercial buildings to be sited at important points

throughout the city: on Plac Grunwaldzki, Plac Społeczny,

along Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego, on Plac Dominikański.

Had they been built, they would have dened the charac-

ter of these places in urban (circulatory and spatial link-

ages) and architectural terms (saturation with functions,

distinctive massings).

It should be noted that these designs were produced in

a specic socio-economic context – in dierent phases

of the People’s Republic of Poland – and because of this

many had obvious design defects or spatial solutions that

are no longer in use. They include elements like the sepa-

ration of vehicular and pedestrian trac – a trend that pre-

dominated in urban and architectural design in the 1960s

and 70s and became a source of the dehumanisation of ur-

ban space

. Some of the designs also feature column-sup-

ported, stacked pedestrian platforms and terrace systems.

Today such solutions are much rarer due to economic and

social reasons

. In the People’s Republic of Poland, public

space around a building was of much greater signicance

in design than it is today, as it was associated with a public

The predominance of road infrastructure, building underground

passages and footbridges led to the emergence of areas without a street

programme, that were unpleasant and prone to high crime rates, e.g., the

remodelling of the centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the United Kingdom.

Plots in city centres are developed to the maximum possible extent

allowed by development plans and existing open terraces are often closed for

safety reasons or a lack of programme (e.g., the Radio Station in Bratislava, de-

signed by Štefan Svetko, Štefan Ďurkovič, Barnabáš Kissling, built in 1983).

* ORCID: 0000-0001-8695-2325. Faculty of Architecture, Wro-

cław University of Science and Technology, e-mail: lukasz.wojciechowski

pwr.edu.pl

** ORCID: 0000-0003-1261-2525. HTWK-Leipzig University of

Applied Sciences.

68 Łukasz Wojciechowski, Andreas Wolf

H-14

. The building, which has a C-shaped plan, opens

up towards the river and the tower located in its eastern

side closes o Norwida Street from the south. This ele-

ment is topped with a vertical section that resembles a lan-

tern and a mast. The building’s strong relationship with

the river, stemming from the development of the bank and

the centrally placed gateway that connects the bank with

the campus, is the building’s distinctive feature. The ter-

raced descent to the water is framed by terraces on the

roofs of ancillary spaces, probably intended to act as in-

frastructure for a marina. The building’s digital recreation

(Fig. 1) was made on the basis of its only surviving sketch,

made using chalk on transparency paper

, which depicts

the building from the opposite bank of the River Oder,

while to the right of the drawing there is the main build-

ing of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology

and the western tip of Szczytnicka Island. The sketch does

not provide clear information about the window and ar-

chitectural detail layout such as the glazing frames of the

superstructure of the building’s main body. There are two

main alternative designs of the façade – one that follows

a Socialist Realist character, and one that follows pre-

war Modernism. We opted for the second solution as it is

closer to the building of the Faculty of Mechanical Engi-

neering in Łukasiewicza Street [3], designed by Frydecki

at about the same time – in 1949 – and is also closer to

the architect’s previous work, i.e., the House of the Pol-

ish Soldier in Lviv at Plac Dreszera-Orlicza

. The win-

dows were modelled following horizontal divisions and

the glazing of the tallest storey – in a simple layout based

on a rhythmical structural system. It proved problematic

to place windows on the gable walls from the south – the

sketch does not inform whether the area was to feature

any – which is why we made no perforations in this area

Building, which originally housed a student dormitory, was built

in 1930. It was destroyed during the war and later rebuilt in the 1950s.

Museum of Architecture MAt IIIc-54/4/P.

Museum of Architecture MAt IIIb-324/8/P.

Fig. 1. Visualisation of the building design

of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology

at Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego, designed by A. Frydecki (1949–1950)

– view from the opposite bank

(model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski)

Il. 1. Wizualizacja projektu budynku Politechniki Wrocławskiej

przy Wybrzeżu Wyspiańskiego, proj. A. Frydecki (1949–1950)

– widok z przeciwległego brzegu

(model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski)

functional programme

. Private funding, cost rationalisa-

tion and matters of private property security led to the

widespread disappearance of such solutions.

The objective of the digital reconstruction of each

design was to produce three-dimensional models of the

buildings, whose visualisations were placed in photo-

graphs of the city in appropriate settings. This process was

based on an analysis and documentation of archival mate-

rials – surviving architectural drawings and photographs

of models

. Due to gaps in documentation and the inability

to collect information from the authors themselves

, work

on producing digital recreations of some of the buildings

was based on circumstantial evidence and required famil-

iarity with other works of their authors as well as poten-

tial inspirations and design tendencies present at the time.

Accounts given by co-workers of the architects, such as

those of Wojciech Święcicki or Krzysztof Sąsiadek – who

worked together with Grabowska-Hawrylak – were also

used

. In some cases, the scale and precision of original

documentation did not allow for detailed recreations of

architectural elements, which is why certain model frag-

ments are merely interpretations, which has been reported

on in detail in every case. Following the precepts of the

London Charter [1], the materials presented should be in-

terpreted as a supposed reconstruction – a recreation of

buildings based on source materials.

The models presented below are the start of a larger

project intended to digitally recreate unrealised designs

for Wrocław

. Our paper presents ongoing research along

with partial ndings and problems. The goal of our study

was to gain insight into original design ideas presented in

a new light that allows a realistic presentation of unreal-

ised buildings in the context they had been intended for.

This brings detailed information as to the proportions of the

buildings relative to their surroundings and allows better

understanding of the architectural assumptions their authors

had had. To our knowledge, no visualisations of the build-

ings described in this paper have been previously made.

Wrocław University of Science and Technology

building at Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego,

design by Andrzej Frydecki (1949–1950)

The building acts as a culminating element of Aleja

Profesorów at the Wrocław University of Science and

Technology campus and is sited along Wybrzeże Wys-

piańskiego, partially clashing with the site of building

Milk bars, restaurants, services, and stores were associated with

pedestrian zones (terraces and platforms) separated from vehicular trac.

A signicant part of original documentation was lost along with

the shutting down of Miastoprojekt, while copies stored in state archives

and the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław are often incomplete. It

should also be stated that private archives of architects often have signif-

icant elements missing. For instance, the designs of Grabowska-Hawry-

lak were destroyed during a ood in 1997.

Deceased or very old authors: A. Frydecki 1903–1989, J. Grabow ska-

Hawrylak 1920–2018, S. Müller 1934–2018, Z. Prętczyński born in 1926.

Personal correspondence and oral accounts.

A similar project was dedicated to presenting renovated buildings

 Unbuiltproposalsforpost-warWrocław 69

and instead highlighted the shape of the massing. The top

of the tower was modelled as partially glazed – follow-

ing the idea of a lantern – yet it must be stressed that the

sketch was also not clear on this subject. Despite possible

inconsistencies between the digital model and Frydecki’s

concept, the building’s main body and the connection be-

tween the campus and the river are undisputed. In the con-

text of the present-day culmination of Aleja Profesorów

by building C-13 and the bank’s space being blocked by

buildings H-3 and H-6, the proposal from 1949 appears to

be much more cohesive with the surroundings in terms of

urban layout, and – most importantly – it opens this part

of the city towards the River Oder.

Student dormitory on Grunwaldzki Square,

in cooperation with: Krzysztof Sąsiadek (1972)

This building, designed on Plac Grunwaldzki, con-

sists of a student hotel located inside an eighteen-storey

tower building with a superstructure and a two-storey pa-

vilion with a coee shop and club spaces. Both masses

are linked with a single-storey corridor that houses the

entrance to both sections and whose roof has a usable

terrace. The building was located in the eastern section

of the square, between Curie-Skłodowskiej and Norwida

streets, in place of the present-day Grunwaldzki Center

oce building. The Modernist free-standing block build-

ing does not continue the building lines dened by pre-

war development. The tower building is a visual landmark

that dominates the Grunwaldzka axis and is clearly visible

from the side of the Grunwaldzki Bridge. The design was

prepared at the start of the 1970s during the construction

of the Plac Grunwaldzki housing and services complex,

which was also designed by Grabowska-Hawrylak’s team

at Miastoprojekt. The student hotel is higher than the

Fig. 2. Visualisation of the student dormitory on Plac Grunwaldzki,

in cooperation with: K. Sąsiadek (1972)

– view from the side of Pasaż Grunwaldzki

(model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski)

Il. 2. Wizualizacja domu studenckiego przy placu Grunwaldzkim,

proj. J. Grabowska-Hawrylak, współpraca: K. Sąsiadek (1972)

– widok od strony Pasażu Grunwaldzkiego

(model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski)

Fig. 3. Visualisation of the student

dormitory on Grunwaldzki Square,

in cooperation with: K. Sąsiadek (1972) – view from the side of the Grunwaldzki Bridge

along with the Plac Grunwaldzki housing complex (model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski)

Il. 3. Wizualizacja domu studenckiego przy placu Grunwaldzkim,

proj. J. Grabowska-Hawrylak, współpraca: K. Sąsiadek (1972) – widok od strony mostu Grunwaldzkiego wraz z osiedlem Plac Grunwaldzki

(model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski)

70 Łukasz Wojciechowski, Andreas Wolf

actually built complex, but is also its continuation, as both

designs feature the same architectural detail – oval-shaped

reinforced-concrete prefabricated elements that give their

façade a distinctive texture and spatiality. The designers

assumed that the prefabricated elements to be featured on

existing and planned buildings were to be white so as to

clearly contrast with a dark background (glass and external

walls that had originally been intended to have a wooden

nish). The digital model of the building (Figs. 2, 3) was

prepared based on an incomplete design documentation

– a oor plan with dimensions, a perspective projection

drawn by Wacław Hryniewicz and a photograph of its

mock-up. The details on the model and the drawing have

slight dierences

, but there are no major doubts as to the

general character of the complex.

Plac Społeczny, designed by Wiktor Jackiewicz,

Zenon Prętczyński, Roman Tunikowski (1964)

A team consisting of Jackiewicz, Prętczyński and Tu-

nikowski submitted two entries for the competition for the

design of the development at Plac Społeczny, organised

in 1964 [4]. The distinctive element of both proposals

was a pedestrian platform that extends along a length of

around 500 m, elevated above the terrain and the River

Oława, which ows into the River Oder at the site. Three-

and four-storey services and public buildings were placed

along the platform and on its ends, while at the height of

Plac Wróblewskiego, a twenty-ve-storey oce building

Unarchived collection of the Museum of Architecture (no item

signatures), Museum of Architecture.

This applies to the lleting of window openings at the height

of the tower building’s uppermost storey, as well as fragments of the

student club’s façade.

was placed. Near the Oławski Bridge, to the southern side

of the platform, the designers sited a concert hall, while

the area between the hall and the Church of St Lazarus

(which was not marked on the competition model) served

as a site for tower buildings, probably intended as hous-

ing. At ground-level, the designers planned the complex’s

circulatory layout, parking lots and streets, separating

pedestrian and vehicular trac. The primary circulation

layout on the site was designed as combined Traugutta,

Krasińskiego, Słowackiego and Mazowiecka streets (Ma-

zowiecka Street was designed to cross under the platform).

The urban design proposal did not show explicit architec-

tural solutions, which is why the design’s digital recrea-

tion (Fig. 4) is an interpretation of a small-scale plan. It is

notable that the enormous platform, which was intended

to create a quality of its own in this part of the city, is sev-

ered from the wider historical context. Its axis was not the

product of the pre-existing street grid and is a fully arti-

cial creation. The complex forms a sort of island separated

from the remaining part of the city by undeveloped areas

that would surround it, which is particularly visible in the

northern part of the plan. Despite controversial solutions,

this design is a highly interesting testament to the period

and design imagination of the 1960s.

Main Post Office extension,

in cooperation with:

Janusz Kaśnicki, Krzysztof Sąsiadek (1971)

The next case is located on the opposite side of the

Main Post Oce (designed by Lothar Neuman, built in

1929) and is a supplementation of its development. To-

day, the site is occupied by the OVO building (designed

by Gottesman Szmelcman Architecture, built in 2016).

Fig. 4. Visualisation of the development at Plac Społeczny, designed by W. Jackiewicz, Z. Prętczyński, R. Tunikowski (1964)

– birds-eye view from the side of the River Oława (model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski, background image source: Google Maps)

Il. 4. Wizualizacja zabudowy placu Społecznego, proj. W. Jackiewicz, Z. Prętczyński, R. Tunikowski (1964)

– widok z lotu ptaka od strony Oławy (model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski, źródło tła: Mapy Google)

 Unbuiltproposalsforpost-warWrocław 71

Mixed-use centre at Plac Dominikański,

in cooperation with

Krzysztof Sąsiadek (1972–1976)

This complex lls the plot delimited by Oławska and

Krawiecka streets, Słowackiego Avenue and the no-lon-

ger-existing Panorama Hotel

(the hotel that was locat-

ed near the City Moat had been built following a design

by Jerzy Liśniewicz and Henryk Jarosz, it was opened in

1970s and demolished in 1999 to make room for the con-

struction of Galeria Dominikańska). The complex com -

prises nine buildings with a modular plan, a varied pro-

gramme and height. Seven of them are located on the

eastern side of Błogosławionego Czesława Street, with

the entirety linked by pedestrian platforms and foot-

bridges above roads – the design features a clear separa-

tion of pedestrian and vehicular trac

. The pedestrian

platforms are raised at the level of one-and-a-half storey

above grade and are linked via external stairs and plat-

forms. Along Oławska Street, the development shapes the

street’s building line as a continuation of the historical

layout, whilst from the north it forms a city square op-

posite the Gothic Church of St Adalbert that was rebuilt

after the war. The lowest storeys were designed as glazed

and to feature commercial uses and services. At the upper

level, these sections are additionally lit via elongated, nar-

row windows that cross horizontal massings with edges

The hotel located at the City Moat was built according to a de-

sign by Jerzy Liśniewicz and Henryk Jarosz. It was opened in 1970 and

demolished in 1999 to clear the site for the construction of Galeria

Dominikańska.

This also applies to the surrounding underground passages that

also exist today: Winogronowy, Słodowy and Oławska Gateway.

The proposal from 1971 that was selected via a compe-

tition, was prepared by Grabowska-Hawrylak’s team

(in cooperation with: J. Kaśnicki, K. Sąsiadek) [5]. Key

drawings have survived in archives

: a site plan, a per-

spective projection, a façade, working versions of oor

plans and cross-sections and the plans of the tower build-

ing at the intersection of Traugutta and Podwale streets.

This twelve-storey oce building was similar in height

to the dominant element of the post oce building, whilst

the remaining part of the complex was designed in a cas-

cade-like layout. The storeys would gradually increase in

number along with proximity to the northern wing of the

existing brick building. The horizontal divisions of the

massing were clearly highlighted by recessed glazed sur-

faces and formed terraces and circulation galleries from

the western side – along the City Moat. The levels were

connected by external stairs whose outline was visible on

the façade

. These design solutions cause the building to

produce an impression of a light and openwork structure

that contrasts with the monumental air of the expression-

ist post oce building (Fig. 5). This building is instead

a background for the brick façade and a plinth for a new,

glass tower structure (Figs. 6, 7). The highlighting of gal-

leries and terraces and the cascading storey layouts are

distinctive of many cases of the architecture of the turn of

the 1970s [6]

Unarchived collection of the Museum of Architecture (no item

signatures).

In personal correspondence, K. Sąsiadek stressed that the archi-

tects wanted to achieve a dierent spatial eect here and create a build-

ing from mutually suspended glass masses, but we can hardly see this

intention in the surviving version of the design.

For instance the Southbank Centre in London (designed by Ron

Herron, Dennis Crompton, Warren Chalk, John Attenborough, built in 1967).

Fig. 5. Visualisation of the extension of the Main Post Office building,

– view from the side of the Museum of Architecture (model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski)

Il. 5. Wizualizacja rozbudowy Poczty Głównej,

proj. J. Grabowska-Hawrylak, współpraca: J. Kaśnicki, K. Sąsiadek (1971)

– widok od strony Muzeum Architektury (model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski)

72 Łukasz Wojciechowski, Andreas Wolf

Fig. 7. Visualisation of the mixed-use centre at Dominikański Square, designed by J. Grabowska-Hawrylak,

in cooperation with: K. Sąsiadek (1972–1976) – view from the side of Dominikański Square, with the tower building that is part

of the Main Post Office extension in the background, designed by J. Grabowska-Hawrylak, in cooperation with: J. Kaśnicki, K. Sąsiadek (1971)

(model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski)

Il. 7. Wizualizacja centrum wielofunkcyjnego przy placu Dominikańskim, proj. J. Grabowska-Hawrylak, współpraca: K. Sąsiadek (1972–1976)

– widok od strony placu Dominikańskiego, w tle wieżowiec stanowiący rozbudowę Urzędu Pocztowego, proj. J. Grabowska-Hawrylak,

współpraca: J. Kaśnicki, K. Sąsiadek (1971) (model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski)

Fig. 6. Visualisation of the mixed-use centre at Dominikański Square,

– view from Traugutta Street, with the tower building that is part of the Main Post Office extension in the foreground,

(model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski)

Il. 6. Wizualizacja centrum wielofunkcyjnego przy placu Dominikańskim,

proj. J. Grabowska-Hawrylak, współpraca: K. Sąsiadek (1972–1976)

– widok od strony ul. Traugutta, na pierwszym planie wieżowiec stanowiący rozbudowę Urzędu Pocztowego,

proj. J. Grabowska-Hawrylak, współpraca: J. Kaśnicki, K. Sąsiadek (1971)

(model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski)

 Unbuiltproposalsforpost-warWrocław 73

bevelled at 45° – this solution is similar to contemporane-

ously popular Brutalist architecture of the West, e.g., that

of the Brunswick Centre in London (designed by Patrick

Hodgkinson, built in 1972). The façades of the hotel sec-

tion were designed from reinforced concrete prefabricated

elements with round windows, which can bring to mind

the Japanese architecture of the period, e.g. the Nakagin

tower (designed by Kisho Kurokawa, built in 1972). Cir-

culation shafts cut at an angle of around 30° that extend

above the mass of each module are a distinctive element

of the complex. The entire layout has a varied scale and

gradually extends upward from the side of the square near

the church – reaching a height close to the oce build-

ing designed by the same team near the Main Post Oce

building. The digital model (Figs. 6, 7) was made on the

basis of a conceptual design

that had missing cross-sec-

tions and oor plan fragments. However, the available

source material is highly legible and leaves little room

for interpretation concerning the external appearance

of the buildings. Rich in formal terms and spatially and

functionally diverse, this complex would have radically

altered the face of Plac Dominikański. It would have been

a nationally distinctive structure, probably highly contro-

versial, and if it had stood the test of time

, it could have

become a world-class monument of late Modernism, akin

to the aforementioned cases from the United Kingdom

and Japan.

Mixed-use centre at Plac Dominikański,

Mieczysław Rychlicki (1970)

The urban design by Müller and Rychlicki is much less

detailed than the previous design for the same area pre-

pared by Grabowska-Hawrylak and associates. Further-

more, the only available record of this design is a photo-

graph of a general mock-up that had probably been made

to a scale of 1:500 [7]. The building is designed in the

form of a cascade and gradually increases in height from

the Church of St Adalbert towards Oławska Street. The

resulting terraces are irregular and form a diverse array of

spaces within the building. A ten-storey oce building,

located near Oławska Gate and parallel to the Panorama

Hotel, towers above the complex. The main pedestrian

platform is located at the height of the second storey and

runs above Błogosławionego Czesława Street in the form

of a double pedestrian bridge and leads along Oławska

Street further in the complex. Some of the design assump-

tions (cascade-like layout, lower development near the

Gothic church and the pedestrian platform) are similar

to those featured in the design by Grabowska-Hawrylak,

which is evidence of certain design tendencies that were

Unarchived collection of the Museum of Architecture (no item

signatures) [5].

Particularly the 1990s and 2000s, when socialist heritage was

being mercilessly erased. Many outstanding specimens were demolished

or thoughtlessly remodelled, e.g. the Supersam in Warsaw, the Chemis-

try pavilion in Warsaw, the auditorium of the Institute of Mathematics of

the Wrocław University.

prevalent during this period. The digital recreation (Fig. 8)

is an interpretation of the urban design and is entirely cir-

cumstantial. As the mock-up resembled the designs of

British architect Denys Lasdun, who had been known for

the Royal National Theatre in London (designed in 1965)

and the Institute of Education of the University of London

(1965) at the time of design [8], similar formal solutions

were adopted – namely the underscoring of the structure’s

horizontal elements and a recession of glazing relative to

the cascades’ outlines, thus forming canopies above en-

trances. This is a measure that is also similar to the design

of the Main Post Oce extension by Grabowska-Hawry-

lak and many other designs and projects from the turn of

the 1970s

, such as the Oakland Museum designed by

Dinkeloo Roche (1961–1968) [9]. This convention was

also followed by a later design by Müller – the Granit

re-

creation centre in Szklarska Poręba (in cooperation with

Maria Müller, Małgorzata Bochyńska and Zygfryd Za-

po rowski) – here the cascade layout was the outcome of

pre-existing topography and the horizontal divisions were

high lighted by balcony railings that were partially lled in

with greenery. The detail-less digital model of the mixed-

use centre at Plac Dominikański depicts a probable design

alternative. The austere reinforced concrete railings high-

light the geometry of the terraces that would have served

services and commercial uses, and – most importantly – ga -

stronomic establishments. The recessed glazing and metal

windows and doors were shown in a dark colour to high-

light the spatiality of the design and the layered topogra-

phy of architecture – that is especially visible in Lasdun’s

designs. It is possible that the Brutalist character of the

building would have been eased by greenery on the ter-

races, as well as sophisticated railing and attic wall details

during later design phases. It is notable that this proposal

assumes the demolition of the former Military Commis-

sariat building and the survival of the Panorama Hotel,

which was demolished in 1999, which makes it dicult to

place the complex on contemporary photographs.

Tourist House at Podwale Street,

Oskar Mucha, Roman Tunikowski (1960)

The building located furthest to the south from among

those placed on this list is the Tourist House, designed as

sited between Podwale and Krasińskiego streets, from 1960

[4]. It is located at the extension of the City Moat, which

crosses between the previously mentioned Pa no rama Ho-

tel and the Post Oce. The building abuts a south-fac-

ing, blind wall of a townhouse from 1900 and its interior

opens up towards a public garden where a small square

was designed, along with an extension of Wor cella Street.

The two-storey glazed hall of the building is accessible

from the ground oor and through an external platform

that leads to a mezzanine. The hotel section was framed

into a cuboid frame, while the rooms are fully glazed,

For instance the Town Hall in Terneuzen, designed by Van den

Broek, Bakema (1963–1973) [10].

74 Łukasz Wojciechowski, Andreas Wolf

Fig. 9. Visualisation of the Tourist House at Podwale Street,

– view from the side of Podwale Street (model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski, background image source: Google Maps)

Il. 9. Wizualizacja Domu Turysty przy ul. Podwale,

proj. T. Brzoza, W. Jackiewicz, O. Mucha, R. Tunikowski (1960)

– widok od strony ul. Podwale (model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski, źródło tła: Mapy Google)

Fig. 8. Visualisation of the mixed-use centre on Dominikański Square,

– view from the side of the Church of St Adalbert (model and visualisation by Ł. Wojciechowski)

Il. 8. Wizualizacja centrum wielofunkcyjnego przy placu Dominikańskim,

proj. S. Müller, M. Rychlicki (1970)

– widok od strony kościoła św. Wojciecha (model i wizualizacja: Ł. Wojciechowski)

 Unbuiltproposalsforpost-warWrocław 75

References

[1] Karta londyńska. Zasady dotyczące komputerowych wizualizacji

dziedzictwa kulturowego, Instytut Historii Sztuki Uniwersytetu Wro -

cław skiego (oprac.), 2010, http://www.londoncharter.org/leadmin/

tem-

plates/main/docs/london_charter_2_1_pl.pdf [accessed: 19.01.2021].

[2] Wolf A., Post-warModernism2.0vonVROA-ArchitektenWrocław,

[in:] I. Sonntag (Hrsg.), Labor der Moderne. Nachkriegsarchitek-

tur in Europa, Sächsische Akademie der Künste, Dresden 2014,

202–207.

[3] Majczyk J., ProjektyprofesoraAndrzejaFrydeckiegodlawrocław-

skichszkółwyższych, “Architectus” 2016, nr 2(46), 79–93, doi: 10.

5277/arc160206.

[4] Gabiś A., Całemorzebudowania.Wrocławskaarchitektura1956–

1970, Muzeum Architektury we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 2018.

[5] Duda M., Patchwork. Architektura JadwigiGrabowskiej-Hawry-

lak, Muzeum Architektury we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 2016.

[6] Elser O., Kurz P., Schmal P., SOS Brutalism. A Global Survey,

ParkBooks, Zürich 2018.

[7] Czupkiewicz A., Wojciechowski Ł., StefanMüller, SARP, Wrocław

2016.

[8] Curtis J.R.W., DenysLasdun, Phaidon Press, New York 1994.

[9] Dal Co F., KevinRoche, Electa, Milan 1985.

[10] JaapBakemaandtheopensociety, Heuvel Van Den D. (ed.), Ar-

chis, Amsterdam 2018.

opening up a view of the public garden. The perspective

sketches [4] that were used to prepare the digital model

(Fig. 9) depict the glazing as set in delicate frames and

highly transparent. These solutions are distinctive of the

1950s architecture

Conclusions

Making digital models of unbuilt buildings based on de -

sign proposals and incomplete documentation raises seve-

ral doubts and can run into numerous problems. In some

cases, a single line on a sketch can suggest the façade

outline or window layout. In many situations, the source

material is ambiguous – there are inconsistencies between

drawings. This is natural in conceptual design work as the

particular drawings were made by dierent authors and

were not always precisely coordinated – for instance due to

pressure caused by deadlines. There is often lack of many

The architecture of German architect Sep Ruf is similar in char-

acter (window outline, two ground-oor storeys glazed, mass framed),

e.g. the court building in Munich (co-author: Theo Pabst, 1957).

other pieces of information that can aect a building’s

expression, such as precise oor plans, functional pro-

grammes or details. In some cases, placing the building

in a present-day context (in photographs) is problematic

due to dierent urban design assumptions or changes in

development.

While digitally recreating selected build-

ings, we wanted to express the character of their designs

to the best of our knowledge about each building. Despite

diculties, the visualisations presented depict the primary

design assumptions with a great deal of probability and can

be used to gain insight into design ideas by their respec-

tive architects. These visualisations can be an interesting

enhancement of knowledge about Wrocław’s architecture

and a subject of discussion about the history of post-war

design and the future of specic fragments of the city.

Translatedby

KrzysztofBarnaś

For instance, certain buildings have been reconstructed or pre-

served counter to the assumptions of designers, street layouts or geome-

try have been changed or new development has appeared.

Abstract

Unbuilt proposals for post-war Wrocław: sample digital models

The goal of the study was to present the process and the eects of digital reconstruction of unrealised architectural projects for Wrocław. The

subject of the research were the projects by renowned architects such as Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak, Stefan Müller, Zenon Prętczyński, Andrzej

Frydecki. The visualisations are the rst attempt of digital reconstructions based on preserved incomplete archival plans. The attempt was presented

as a process aimed at presenting original design ideas in new light, allowing realistic presentation of the buildings in the surroundings, they were

designed for. The authors of the article tried to reconstruct the proportions of buildings, their locations, relations with context and textures they were

meant to be nished with. The article presents the most intriguing aspects of the work and the diculties of the research. The authors based their

work not only on the archival projects but also on the architectural tendencies they are clearly rooted in. The presentation of the projects in the form of

visualisations allows better understanding of the original architectural goals of their designers and the opens new perspective at the post-war modern

architecture.

Key words: post-war architecture, Wrocław, architects of Wrocław, brutalism, digital visualisation, architectural design

Streszczenie

Niezrealizowane koncepcje powojennego Wrocławia: przykładowe modele cyfrowe

Celem artykułu było przedstawienie procesu i efektu odtwarzania cyfrowego niezrealizowanych koncepcji architektonicznych dla Wrocławia.

Przedmiotem pracy były projekty takich architektów jak Jadwiga Grabowska-Hawrylak, Stefan Müller, Zenon Prętczyński, Andrzej Frydecki.

76 Łukasz Wojciechowski, Andreas Wolf

Przygotowane wizualizacje są pierwszą próbą odtworzenia projektów na podstawie niepełnych materiałów archiwalnych. Próba ta została ukazana

jako proces, którego celem jest przybliżenie oryginalnych idei projektowych w nowym ujęciu, pozwalającym na rzeczywiste przedstawienie ich

kontekście, w którym miały powstać. Podczas pracy autorzy artykułu starali się zarówno odtworzyć proporcje budynków, ich lokalizację, relacje

z otoczeniem, jak i materiały, jakimi miały być wykończone. W artykule omówiono też najbardziej intrygujące zagadnienia i trudności związane

z badaniem. Opierano się nie tylko na koncepcjach, ale także na ówczesnych tendencjach projektowych, w których dane koncepcje są wyraźnie

zakorzenione. Ukazanie projektów za pomocą wizualizacji pozwala na lepsze zrozumienie założeń architektonicznych przyjętych przez ich autorów,

a także spojrzenie na krajobraz miasta z perspektywy powojennych projektantów.

Słowa kluczowe: architektura powojenna, Wrocław, architekci Wrocławia, brutalizm, wizualizacje cyfrowe, projektowanie

Unbuilt proposals for post-war Wrocław: sample digital models

Łukasz Wojciechowski, Andreas Wolf

doi:10.37190/arc210108

Abstract