Stefan Kuryłowicz. Architecture of change 1989 - 2011

Abstract

The work of prof. arch. Stefan Kuryłowicz (1949-2011) marked a new chapter in the history of Polish architecture. His activity concurred with a profound socio-economic change that took place after the overthrow of the communist regime. For Polish architecture, this situation was a deeply pioneering one, as it brought the need of developing new types of buildings and a necessity to develop a different standard of architectural services. Design activities of prof. Stefan Kuryłowicz were combined with didactic and scientific work at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology. The result of his academic involvement were publications containing texts referring to: the theory of architecture, principles of practicing the profession and analysis of the change of public spaces. The paper shows architectural works of prof. Kuryłowicz and his theoretical description of the discipline on the background of the time in which both, building design and theory, were created and formulated by him. The main theme of theoretical achievements of prof. Stefan Kuryłowicz is the relationship of built architectural work and concepts of idea, expression and message. The idea is understood as principles formulated at the design concept stage. Expression of the work - as the sum of materially built means, that may realize the idea. The message - as a result of activities of all parties involved in the team’s creation of the architectural object and the influence of the environment of realisation shaped a part of the meaning of the architecture. The message in his interpretation becomes a way of denoting a part of the possible meaning of architecture. The analysed objects are: competition works from which a set of buildings of the Baltic Opera in Gdańsk (1973) and a set of buildings of Operetta Dolnośląska in Wrocław (1975) were selected, sacral buildings from which the church in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki (1979-1984) was chosen, commercial buildings of public utility - Fuji Film (1993), Zielna Point (1998), Nautilius (1996), Focus (1997), PLL LOT (1999), housing - Eko-Park estate (2002) and the National Forum of Music (2008). Buildings - awarded regularly - have become the determinant of the typology for Polish architecture in the environment of freedom after the transition of 1989. Prof. Stefan Kuryłowicz died in a plane crash in Spain in 2011.