Halina Skibniewska’s Good Flat

Abstract

The search for the best solutions in residential architecture has been one of the major areas of interest of architects connected with Warsaw University of Technology’s Faculty of Architecture ever since it was founded in 1915. Great achievements in the field were made by Halina Skibniewska (1921-2011), who designed many housing developments Warsaw: Sady Żoliborskie (1958-1963), Sadyba (1972-1974), Szwoleżerów (1974), the Winogrady estate in Poznań (1963-1964) and the Białołęka district of Warsaw (1975-1986). Her contribution to residential construction led her to receiving numerous awards, including the Mister Warsaw title given for the best building in the city, although the true measure of her success was the fact that all of her contemporaries wanted to “live at Skibniewska’s”. The article describes the most important objectives assumed by Halina Skibniewska when designing residential buildings and estates, illustrated with examples of her designs. It was her conviction that designing is the culmination of a long process and should be preceded by analysis, taking into account the local landscape conditions, and sociological, demographic, psychological and economic aspects. She valued direct social consultation just as much as she did scientific research, even carrying out discussions with children. She paid a great deal of attention to the structure of the family as the main users of residential buildings, and to the effects of this structure on the spatial and functional arrangement of the home, which was reflected in the doctoral dissertation. These studies resulted in the creation of the so-called open home model method, which is a concept of a flexible flat which can be modified in response to the changing needs of its users. Halina Skibniewska’s social sensitivity meant that she was the first person in Poland to analyse the problems of elderly and disabled people, and to design flats in response to the conditions shaped by the state of their health and how able-bodied they are. An extremely important question for Halina Skibniewska were the surroundings of buildings, which she considered a kind of extension of home. She became famous not only as a designer who was concerned with providing housing developments with the necessary services and facilities, but also as a zealous defender of existing nature, capable of changing the location of the stairs on a block of flats being designed in order to preserve two old mulberry trees for future residents. Not all the suggestions of this Warsaw architect proved possible to implement in the politicised economic conditions at that time, but many of her ideas were reflected in the architecture of housing developments and estates, which had and still has a positive influence on the residents’ quality of life. There is no doubt that many of her views are still valid today, and can be an inspiration for contemporary architects in their quests.