Issue 3(67)/2021

DOI: 10.5277/ARCHITECTUS

Download table of contents

Table of contents

Articles

Aleksander Piwek, Tomasz Jażdżewski - The room above the porte cochère of the Kwidzyn castle in the times of the Pomesanian chapter

doi:10.37190/arc210301

This article presents the history of the construction of the room above the porte cochère in the northern wing of the Kwidzyn castle in the times of the Pomesanian chapter. The findings presented here were derived from the architectural and stratigraphic research and analysis of archival materials conducted in 2017. According to these findings, the room was built in the first stage of erecting the castle. In the following centuries, it underwent architectural changes corresponding to the new needs of the castle’s inhabitants. The preserved traces testify that it had several successive functions from the 14th to the 16th century, so far not fully recognised and explained: a watchtower, court office or chamber, or even a chapel. Much of the knowledge about it is contained in the stratification of the walls and the reconstructions of historical transformations from the medieval period. In later times, the room was spared significant damage and still constitutes a valuable source of knowledge about the castle’s history.

Keywords:

    kwidzyn

    castle

    watchtower

    court-office

    court-chamber

    chapel

Ewa Grochowska, Krzysztof Stefański - Palace and church in Smolice in Greater Poland – a Neo-Baroque work of Wrocław architecture company “Gaze & Böttcher”

doi:10.37190/arc210302

The article deals with the former palace of the von Zieten family and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Smolice, both located in southern Greater Poland, which are the most interesting neo-baroque architectural complexes in the early 20th century in Poland. Both are the work of Wrocławbased company “Gaze & Böttcher”, which has not yet been noticed by researchers. The buildings were founded by Helena von Zietzen née Woller, who financed these using the legacy of her father Samson Woller, a Lower Silesian industrialist. The palace was built in 1908–1911 in two or three phases as an extension of the previously existing small residence of Woller. The palace was built in 1908–1911 in several phases as an extension of the previously existing small Woller residence. At the same time, in the years 1907–1909, a large neo-baroque church with an axial composition on a cross plan was erected. Artists and craftsmen from Wrocław and Berlin took part in the decoration of the temple.        The palace in Smolice was mentioned in the publications of such researchers as T.S. Jaroszewski and J. Skuratowicz, however it was mainly considered the work of unrecognized artists. The archival research carried out by the authors made it possible to find the original designs of the palace by renowned architectural firm “Gaze & Böttcher” from Wrocław, which changed this situation.     The authors of the article, based on archival and bibliographic research as well as examination of autopsy objects, determined the authorship of the palace and the stages of its expansion, and in the case of the church, the authorship of individual elements of the interior. The architectural forms of the complex in Smolice were analyzed in the context of the achievements of “Gaze & Böttcher” company, which allowed us both to find common style features with other works of the Wrocław architectural office, and the distinctiveness determining the value of the buildings erected in Smolice.

Keywords:

    architecture-of-20th-century

    german-architecture-of-20th-century

    smolice

    architectural-company-“gaze-&-böttcher”

Beate Störtkuhl - Practices in building housing and settlements in the Nazi era. Case study: Breslau

doi:10.37190/arc210303

The aim of the article is to present housing development in Wrocław, after 1933, in National Socialism period. At that time, the goals and organizational structures of societies involved in the construction of new apartments and housing estates were revised. The activities of Herbert Boehm (1894–1954), who returned to the capital city of Silesia in 1936, will be presented. Boehm collaborated with Ernst May in the early 1920s as part of the Schlesische Heimstätte (Silesian Homesteads) housing company, and from 1925 on the creation of New Frankfurt; then, until 1941, he dealt with spatial planning in the town planning office of Wrocław. Boehm’s activity included the development of urban spaces and new districts both in the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. The article is based on sources from the State Archives in Wrocław and the Museums of Architecture both in Wrocław and in Frankfurt am Main.

Keywords:

    housing

    social-housing

    settlement

    national-socialism

Barbara Szczepańska - Restoration of the Market Square in Opole as the creation of a new vision of the city’s history

doi:10.37190/arc210304

The article aims to present the post-war restoration of the Market Square in Opole as a process of creating the city’s new history. The research subject included the tenement houses in the frontages of Opole’s Market Square, which were destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in the 1950s. The article analyses the process of restoring Opole’s Market Square, which is presented in the context of Opole’s changed national affiliation and the ideological and identity issues, therefore, ultimately impacting the form of restored tenement houses. The archival materials analysed during the research process were: written materials, kept in the State Archive in Opole, and design projects, kept in the State Archive in Katowice. The research is complemented by subject literature, in which the topic of Old Town restoration was present, historical publications concerning Opole and local press.     Our research established that Opole’s Market Square’s post-restoration image differs significantly from how it looked before World War II. The analysis of iconographical materials (pre-war postcards and photographs, as well as contemporary photographs) showed that, in the restoration process, the 19th-century tenement houses that differed from each other stylistically, became replaced with unified baroque-like buildings. The analysis of archival materials pertaining to the restoration of Opole’s Market Square proves that this process was not only meant to restore the Old Town’s spatial cohesion, reconstruct inner-city infrastructure and create new apartments, but also to present local authorities’ resourcefulness and to show that Opole has always been a Polish city, brought back to its Motherland in 1945. Stark differences between the pre- and post-war image of Opole’s Market Square provoke questions concerning identity in the context of restoration, values related to particular architectural styles and attempts to create a brand new vision of Opole’s history, in which “Polish” elements were displayed to legitimise incorporating the city into Poland and to constitute the city’s brand new identity.

Keywords:

    architecture

    urban-planning

    recovered-territories

    opole

    restoration

Joanna Majczyk - Monument of Earl Aleksander Fredro. Concepts of location in Wrocław’s spatial structure

doi:10.37190/arc210305

The Monument to Aleksander Fredro was brought to Wrocław in 1956 and placed in the Wrocław Market Square to become a favourite meeting place of the city inhabitants after some years. The final location decision was preceded by a discussion, reported in detail in the press. Initially, it was thought that the small and rather cosy monument form precluded its placement in the large, open space of a central city square. After all, Leonardo Marconi’s work was designed for the small Lviv Academic Square, located in the vicinity of the Fredro family’s residence gardens. However, the writer’s sculpture took a special meaning in post-war Wrocław. Firstly it was perceived as a symbol of Polishness, a metaphorical link between the Recovered Territories and the lost Eastern Borderlands, and secondly, it was the first “Polish” monument to be unveiled in the centre of former Breslau. This is why the monument was finally placed in the city’s most important square, in place of the equestrian monument to Friedrich Wilhelm III, demolished after Word War II, thus symbolically “sacralising” the Wrocław market square.     This paper aims to present a discussion, now forgotten, on the location of the Fredro monument, to which not only decision-makers but also citizens of the city were invited. The paper presents previously unpublished concepts for the location of the monument in various, nowadays not obvious, spots in Wrocław.

Keywords:

    art

    monumental-sculpture

    leonardo-marconi

    aleksander-fredro-monument

    lviv

    wrocław

    regained-territories

Tanima Bhattacharya, Joy Sen - Integration of art in urban design for balanced rejuvenation of public spaces. A case study of Chandigarh

doi:10.37190/arc210306

“Urban space” exemplifies the synergy of space in an urban location and its structural or compositional elements from the social and institutional forces. Contemporary public spaces tend to perform commemorative functions related to different activities for the users, starting from physical, social, to psychological and aesthetic concerns. These public spaces add dynamism to social life; hence, public spaces need to be built in a way that promotes healthy interaction and community well-being.     However, in contemporary urban scenarios, the expeditiously booming population is deliberately encroaching the open spaces in and around the city, making it more claustrophobic, cramped, and oppressive which further affects the physical and mental health of the stakeholders. As a result, imageability and happiness associated with public and semi-public urban spaces are choking. Therefore, to cope with the situation, urban public spaces need to get rejuvenated through the infusion of the sense of connection, emotional attachment, aesthetic sensitivity that promotes public interaction and exchange. Considering the scenario, the present paper aims to explore the possibilities of integrating art in urban design to rejuvenate public spaces and promote happiness among the stakeholders. The findings of the paper argue and further establish that the installation of the artistic elements alters the visual perception of the space, activates public participation and involvement of the local community, which finally aids to rejuvenate local identity associated with the public spaces. To establish the proposed argument, the paper assesses the public spheres of the first planned city of India, namely Chandigarh, and attempts to demonstrate the potential of art elements of design along with physical infrastructure in securing happiness and urban rejuvenation. Assessment of the public spaces of Chandigarh, the happy city of India, confirms the perception that only integrated application of infrastructure and art elements of design can ensure good imageability and secure happiness through balanced urban rejuvenation.

Keywords:

    urban-art

    imageability

    urban-space-design

    public-space

    art-and-rejuvenation

Wojciech Niebrzydowski - The work of Paul Rudolph in the context of the brutalist idea of As Found

doi:10.37190/arc210307

Paul Rudolph was one of the most important representatives of brutalist architecture and played a significant role in introducing this trend to the United States in the 1950s. One of the foundations of brutalist architecture was the New Brutalism doctrine developed by Alison and Peter Smithson. The idea of As Found was closely related to this doctrine. Knowledge of the impact of the As Found idea on Rudolph’s views and projects is insufficient and requires deepening. Therefore, the main aim of the research presented in this article was to define the relationship between the work of the American architect and the principles resulting from the idea of As Found. The nature of the research problems determined the use of the method of historical and interpretative studies, which employed, inter alia, an analysis of the literature and a comparative analysis of buildings. On-site studies of Rudolph’s work in New Haven, Boston and Niagara Falls were of great importance. It was determined that the relationship between Rudolph’s work and the idea of As Found was consistent in such aspects as the use of ordinary materials, exposing materials without cladding and plaster, striving for rough textures, reinterpreting historical solutions and elements, and stimulating emotions of users. On the other hand, discrepancies appeared regarding the role of structural and technical elements in shaping buildings and striving for the uniqueness of forms. Completely inconsistent with the idea of As Found were: the intuitive design method, the use of confusing and surprising solutions, extreme expression of forms, and imitations. The conducted research may be helpful in understanding why brutalist architecture took a different course than assumed by the creators of the idea of As Found and the doctrine of New Brutalism.

Keywords:

    paul-rudolph

    brutalist-architecture

    idea-of-as-found

Krzysztof Mycielski, Tomasz Trzupek - Design priorities on the example of the modernization of Abram Gurewicz Health Resort in Otwock

doi:10.37190/arc210308

The purpose of the paper is to present Abram Gurewicz Health Resort in Otwock as a non-typical but also unique example of the Nadświdrzańska architecture. The next aim is to reevaluate the concept of decoration as the constitutive factor of the Nadświdrzańska architecture, using Monestiroli’s theories regarding ornament and decoration. A comparative analysis of the Gurewicz building against the background of other buildings of the Nadświdrzańska architecture shows that the discussed building is a specific version of a characteristic composition of forms. Another goal is to show the processes behind the reconstruction of the Health Resort in the context of the situation of that object in 2015 in order to finally carry out design priorities behind the modernization based on the preservation of three identities: function, form and material.

Keywords:

    świdermajer

    nadświdrzańska-architecture

    wooden-architecture

    modernization

Maciej Janowski - Kinetic House. Mobility in shaping the function and form of the contemporary house

doi:10.37190/arc210309

The aim of the article is an analysis of private houses, which, thanks to the mobility of their elements, meet the needs of modern residents. The subject of the research are selected houses built in 1996–2011 in Europe and the USA, supplemented with analyses of the phenomenon of mobility in the works of, among others, Gerrit Rietveld and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The article analyzes the changes in form and function as a result of introducing mobile elements into the home, adapted to the psychophysical needs of their owners. Mobility in home architecture is a factor that allows us to complete and extend the fulfilment of these needs using the contemporary architectural language derived from the Modern Movement. Analytical and comparative methods were used during the research.     The research shows that the development of the kinetic house includes more and more important elements of the building, which significantly changes the perception of the form, as well as its dynamics and articulation. In kinetic houses, the loosening of the functional and spatial structure as well as the use of in between space is visible, which, combined with the mobility of elements, proves the summation of phenomena occurring in the contemporary architecture.     A kinetic house creates great opportunities for changes in the form and living spaces, the type, scale, and time of which depend on the lifestyles of residents. Spatial diversity supplemented with mobility may compensate for the lack of changes or the impossibility of their control in other spheres of human life activity. It is also a factor conducive to the creation of a Place by the residents. As the mobility of the elements of the house increases, the level of personalization of the form and space as well as the identification of residents with the Place increases. Experiencing changes in form and space becomes more intense.

Keywords:

    kinetic-house

    mobility

    identity

    place

Magdalena Wąsowicz - Graphic depictions of form and space in architecture: a visual perception outlook

doi:10.37190/arc210310

The article discusses the issue of the interpretation of two-dimensional graphic representations in architecture which spatially order and divide the visual field into figure and ground (background) by means of perceptive criteria. The Gestalt theory was used to explain the relationship between graphic representations in architecture and the shaping of the built environment corresponding to the recipient’s perceptive possibilities. The article demonstrates that each two-dimensional representation of an architectural idea can be subjected to an analysis and interpretation in respect of the system of figure-ground fields. The ordering of gestalts in the visual field can also refer to urban and plot development plans, sections, projections and façades. The gestalt-based graphic technique makes it possible to record the relationship of space and material objects in architecture, identify space characteristics as well as clarify functional organisation, circulation, zoning and other characteristics in a building. In the article, the author proposes the classification of representations into four categories, such as: 1) interior space of the building and its material structure: walls and internal space as well as openings in the aforesaid walls, 2) body of the building in the context of surrounding spaces, 3) interior space and space surrounding an architectural structure, as well as 4) programme components. This classification is presented using examples of contemporary buildings.

Keywords:

    architecture

    psychology-of-vision

    gestalt

    architectural-space

    architectural-graphics

Krzysztof Klus - The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison of Nowa Huta and Ruczaj neighbourhoods

doi:10.37190/arc210311

An important element of any residential complex is accessibility to various services. Restriction of this accessibility affects the quality of residents’ life. Furthermore, it causes negative side effects i.e. traffic intensification. Unfortunately, as an outcome of the Polish systemic change of 1989, centrally-driven urban design standards that controlled appropriate rules were abolished. Those rules were instead left to local authorities and private development. Currently, the only tool allowing local authorities to control specific residential complexes’ functional structure is the local zoning plans. Since their beginnings, they have not yet been introduced to vast areas in the country.     In this paper, the author compares the results of a central, holistic urban design to almost unrestricted freedom of a private sector. For this purpose, two residential complexes developed during different political and economical conditions were chosen. The first one is Nowa Huta, built as a model socialist city. The whole complex was carefully designed by a team of urbanists and architects, inspired not only by Eastern but also Western Block’s examples. On the contrary, the second one, a Cracovian neighbourhood named Ruczaj was brought to life only by a private sector, only restricted by decisions on land development and management conditions. Neither a central programme nor plan was created for this area.     The study compares the accessibility of basic educational facilities (nurseries, kindergartens, primary schools) considering them essential. Firstly their numbers were compared, showing significant disproportions between two neighbourhoods. For Ruczaj a significant deficiency of such facilities was observed. The next step taken was a comparison of pedestrian accessibility. To achieve that, areas of walking distance were determined. 500 m for schools and kindergartens and 1000 m for nurseries. That even more highlighted the previously observed difference. Of course for all of the analyses, current spatial and demographic conditions were taken into consideration.     Based on the research done in the paper, the author shows the positive influence of a well run centrally driven, spatial policy of a city on the services accessibility. As a consequence, the author is willing to support postulates demanding new centrally driven urban design standards.

Keywords:

    urban-design-standards

    spatial-design

    urbanistic

    residential-complex

    cracow

Bogna Krynicka - Between tradition and modernity – a study of contemporary architecture in the Austrian alpine region on the example of the W2 Manufaktur studio

doi:10.37190/arc210312

This paper aims to show the influence of traditional, historical rural architecture on the contemporary architecture of the Alpine region in Austria. The subject of consideration are the latest projects and realisations of theW2 Manufaktur design and construction studio based in Leogang – one of the most famous ski resorts of the Salzburg region. W2 Manufaktur was founded by Alfred Waltl, an experienced designer, whereas this paper has been authored by one of the architects who lead projects in the construction/reconstruction/extension of hotel complexes. The article presents the design paradigms adopted by the studio’s architects such as respect for the landscape and the local tradition in construction, a kind of “synthesis of arts” combining architecture, art (design), advanced technologies, and sometimes greenery shaping. The text mainly relies on my design experience and studies of old Alpine architecture.

Keywords:

    contemporary-architecture

    alpine-architecture

    wooden-building

    w2-manufaktur