Architecture In Poland Research Articles

THE DYNAMIC-STATIC METHOD (DSM) FOR STRUCTURAL DISPLACEMENT ANALYSIS USING THE EXAMPLE OF A WOODEN CHURCH IN DOMACHOWO (POLAND)

Abstract. Medieval architecture in Poland is not widely represented in the tangible cultural heritage. A preserved structure with traces of medieval architecture is the parish church in Domachowo in southern Greater Poland (Wielkopolska). Due to numerous alterations and modernisations, it is now a complex structure showing clear signs of a damaged original geometry.For this reason, a project was initiated to measure the stability of the structure, especially under the influence of extreme external factors: mainly gusts of wind and uneven sun illumination. The implementation of the project required using two methods of measurement: static, at fixed time intervals, and dynamic, recorded on an ongoing basis during the operation of variable loads. The outcomes consisting of a combination of both methods and the unconventional use of precise inclinometers for measuring wooden structures, opens up new possibilities for real-time analysis of structural deformations and ongoing monitoring of technical conditions.The subject of this paper is to present the methodology of the conducted static-dynamic measurements (DSM) and the interpretation of their results, mainly in the context of assessing accuracy, stability of long-term readings with inertial sensors, and basic structural assessment.

BRONISŁAW BULIŃSKI (1934–2021) – 60 LAT W SŁUŻBIE RATOWANIA ZABYTKÓW ARCHITEKTURY DREWNIANEJ

Monuments of wooden architecture in Poland are appreciated by art historians, and the most valuable of them have been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. These include sites that Bronisław Buliński of Jaroslaw, who operated a specialist conservation company for many years, was involved in rescuing and preserving. His talent, knowledge and commitment enabled the restoration of many wooden churches and orthodox churches in south-eastern Poland.

Pytania i konkrety: dolnośląska architektura przemysłowa po 1945 roku

The subject of post-war industrial architecture in Poland is still a little recognised topic, remaining on the margins of the interest of researchers dealing with the history of architecture in the second half of the 20th century. In the intensively urbanised Lower Silesia, there were more than 40 study and design offices operating, which in the 1960s, together with university research institutions, provided the scientific and technical support for the region’s dynamically developing industry. The offices, employing architects, constructors, engineers and technologists, designed for several thousand Lower Silesian plants: these included factories and steelworks of national importance, but also much smaller, local enterprises with a narrow specialisation – most of the plants were located in pre-war facilities that, over time, required modernisation and expansion. What such a process of modernisation of infrastructure was like, what new architectural and constructional forms appeared along with it, can be seen on the example of the Hutmen Non-Ferrous Metals Metallurgical and Processing Plant in Wrocław, which was rebuilt and expanded after the World War II. An analysis of the architectural substance, the circumstances of the establishment and its contemporary condition can be a starting point for considering methods of valuing and protecting post-war industrial architecture.

Vita brevis, Ars longa – applied art and modernist architecture in Poland: Transformation of approach to applied art and contemporary protection

The main aim of the present paper is to present the latest achievements in the process of protection of the applied art which was a part of post 1950s architecture in Poland. During the period 1945–1990 many buildings were adorned with different applied art forms: sgraffito, wall paintings, mosaics and other art techniques. The research focuses on the transformation of the society’s approach to applied art after a period of neglect and different forms of protection. In many cases applied art forms like mosaics and ceramic artworks became longer lasting elements than the architecture which they originally adorned. After the demolition of modernist constructions, artworks are frequently transferred to new architecture. That process proves that vita (architecturae) brevis, ars longa.

Synagogi w płomieniach. Kres polskiej architektury synagogalnej w latach 1939–1941 w ikonografii niemieckich żołnierzy

The outbreak of World War II marked the beginning of a tragic period in history that determined the fate of Polish Jews. From its first days, the German terror was not only remembered as a prelude to the Holocaust, but also as the beginning of the end of synagogue architecture in Poland. The iconography presented in the article draws attention to the burning synagogues and, at the same time, the end of a world that was indisputably part of the culture, art and identity of Poland before 1939.In the landscape of Poland it constituted a kind of individuality, which in the vocabulary of the Third Reich was perceived as: “Jewish culture and architecture” (Judische Kultur und Architektur), “Jewishtypes” (Judische Typen), “subhumans” (Untermenschen). This is the vocabulary of the German soldier who has occupied Poland since September 1939. And although some of them had already become familiar with this world during the First World War, it was mostly the young recruit born between1920 and 1922 who perceived it in an alien way, unprecedented for him. Convinced of their mission to expand their living space (Lebensraum), and thus their right to rule over Poland and Eastern Europe, the young Germans simultaneously made a visual perception of Polish Jews. The main part the article consists of iconographic documents visualising the silent historical source and studies of the subject created after 1945. They cover the period from 1939 to 1941 and depict the process of destroying Polish synagogue architecture. These are significant years because it was during this period that the largest number of synagogues built in Poland before 1939 were destroyed.

Architecture and Recreation as a Political Tool—Seaside Architectural Heritage of the Worker Holiday Fund (WHF) in the Era of the Polish People’s Republic (1949–1989)

The Worker Holiday Fund (WHF) was set up just after the Second World War as a state-dependent organization that arranged recreation for Polish workers under the socialist doctrine. The communist authorities turned organized recreation into a tool of indoctrination and propaganda. This research aims to characterize the seaside tourism architecture in the Polish People’s Republic (1949–1989) against the background of nationalized and organized tourism being used as a political tool, to typify the architecture and to verify the influence of politics on the development of holiday architecture in Poland. The research methodology is based on historical and interpretative studies (iconology, iconography and historiography) and field studies. The research helped distinguish four basic groups of holiday facilities: one form of adapted facilities (former villas and boarding houses) and three forms of new facilities (sanatorium-type, pavilion-type and lightweight temporary facilities, such as bungalows and cabins). The study found that each type of holiday facility was characterized by certain political significance and social impact. Gradual destruction was the fate of a significant part of WHF facilities, which, in the public awareness, are commonly associated with the past era of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL) as an “unwanted heritage”.

Sacral Architecture in Poland after 1945 with Particular Reference to the Archdiocese of Częstochowa

The study attempts to analyze the post-war sacral architecture in Poland based on the example of churches built after 1945 in the area of the present archdiocese of Częstochowa. It presents the history of sacral architecture, with particular emphasis on the years 1945–1989. It further discusses issues concerning the style of churches and problems related to structures with very large areas and cubature. Problems related to churches erected as “catechetical centers” and smaller filial churches are also mentioned. The presented issues concerning the chosen archdiocese may constitute a representative example of sacral architecture in Poland.

Conservation Issues of Post-War Modernist Architecture in Poland

The following article addresses a broad spectrum of subjects relating to the protection and conservation of postwar modernist heritage in Poland. It is divided into three sections, each comprising several related aspects of the issue. The first section briefly explores the legal and organisational structure in place for monuments protection. The second section focuses on […]

The use of terrestrial laser scanning in the preservation of valuable architectural objects

In the present day, we are witnessing the dynamic development of our country. We observe a growing number of new construction investments, which are designed to meet the needs of the market. Streets are being widened to cope with the growing number of vehicles, modern office buildings and skyscrapers are being built in the largest Polish cities, which at the same time have valuable architectural objects in their oldest districts. Such objects, due to their age, are susceptible to damage, and thus to the threat that their value will be lost. Such damage may occur in the course of construction works that destabilize the soil structure, which may lead to damage to the building’s foundations and, as a result, harm or destroy the most important structural elements of the monument. Another important factor is the operation of industrial plants that emit harmful substances, which have a negative impact on façades and other external elements, such as, for example, relief sculptures. It may be difficult and complicated to remove the effects of the risks described above if the documentation necessary to carry out protection or renovation works is incomplete or insufficiently detailed. A separate issue worth discussing are architectural objects made of perishable materials such as wood [Bernat et al. 2014]. There are many objects of wooden architecture in Poland, such as: Catholic and Orthodox churches, open-air museums, and other relics of bygone eras. Apart from the obvious threat of fire and its negative effects, one can also mention the negative impact of precipitation, whether in the form of rain causing the wood to soak and, as a result, to rot, or the risk of damaging the foundations during a flood. The listed threats have a direct and indirect impact on the structure of such historical buildings. Therefore, it is important to take care of their detailed survey, with the view to preserving and maintaining them. It is also worth mentioning a large number of castles located in our country. The condition of their structures is very diverse and ranges from newly restored buildings to those with only foundations left. In all cases, it is important to obtain accurate plans and models of these building objects. This will serve to preserve their dimensions and shapes. Such data can be used to develop documentation necessary to carry out reconstruction or renovation in order to return the building to its former glory, and thus obtain another object worth seeing.

Niedatowana relacja o kościele parafialnym w Rembieszycach ze zbiorów Archiwum Diecezjalnego w Kielcach (trzecia ćwierć XIX wieku)

Rzymskokatolicka parafia w Rembieszycach (woj. świętokrzyskie) powstała w 1438 r. z inicjatywy rodu Odrowążów – właścicieli Rembieszyc i pobliskich wiosek. Źródła historyczne poświadczają w okresie staropolskim obecność dwóch kościołów parafialnych: najstarszy, wzniesiony przed 1438 r., uległ zniszczeniu w wyniku starości; drugi, wystawiony w 1751 r. staraniem miejscowego proboszcza Ludwika Sakiewicza, spłonął w latach dziewięćdziesiątych XVIII stulecia w bliżej nieznanych okolicznościach. W latach 1798–1799 ówczesny kolator Franciszek Saryusz Wolski ufundował trzecią świątynię, która przetrwała do dziś w niemal niezmienionej formie, stanowiąc cenny zabytek drewnianej architektury sakralnej na ziemiach polskich. Publikowany dokument przedstawia wygląd i stan tego obiektu sakralnego w drugiej połowie XIX w., opisuje jego wystrój i wyposażenie, pomniki nagrobne, wyszczególnia kolejnych księży pracujących w parafii. Źródło to w istotny sposób wzbogaca naszą wiedzę na temat miejscowej świątyni i samej parafii.

Wooden sacral architecture in Greater Poland. An interdisciplinary case study of the church in Domachowo

Sacred wooden architecture in Poland is a huge and still unrecognised research problem. It covers a number of issues of interdisciplinary character: from the properties of building materials and carpentry techniques, through constructionand architectural-spatial solutions, to cultural and natural conditions. Hence, the best way to study this problem is interdisciplinary research. The necessity of cooperation of representatives of various scientific disciplines became the basis for creating a team to study the wooden church of St Michael the Archangel in Domachowo, so far dated to 1568. As researchers representing various disciplines (including archaeology, history, art history, history of architecture, architecture, architectural conservation), we cite sources and research that allow us to formulate a thesis that the past of the Domachowo church dates back to the 14th century. Moreover, we present the research and methodological problems inscribed in the aforementioned church building, understood as a whole. Such a multifaceted approach allows us to redefine the current knowledge about the church in Domachowo.

Brutalism in the Architecture of Polish Churches

The main research problem presented in the article is the impact of brutalism on sacral architecture in Poland. The author analyses six churches built in the second half of the 20th century. In addition, he compares their features with the global brutalist trend of this period. The following churches were examined in the article: Church of St. Michael in Sopot, Church of Our Lady the Queen of Poland in Kraków – Nowa Huta, Church of St. Jan Kanty in Poznań, Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Łódź, Church of St. Jadwiga the Queen in Kraków, Church of St. Joseph the Worker in Kielce. The brutalist style in architecture was initiated in the 1950s. It was based on Le Corbusier’s post-war buildings and the architectural program developed by Alison and Peter Smithson called the New Brutalism. The brutalist style quickly spread throughout the world, reaching its apogee in the 1960s. In Poland, however, it was introduced relatively late and to a limited extent. Its influence is particularly visible in the architecture of Polish universities, apartment buildings, but most of all churches. The search for original, monumental forms of contemporary religious buildings coincided with such features of brutalism as individualism, strong expression and the use of raw materials. The new churches had to be different from the clichéd, standard and often repeatable buildings of socialist modernism. Brutalist architects in other countries followed similar assumptions. They rejected machine aesthetics of functionalism and preferred dramatized, complex forms. Based on the analysis of the presented churches, brutalist features and elements characteristic of Polish sacral architecture were indicated, including: monumentality, massive plasticity, complexity, strong chiaroscuro effects, expressive and sculptural forms, exposure of internal functions in building facades, emphasizing the importance of movement and articulating elements of pedestrian circulation, preferring craftsmanship over industrial methods. Architects often created rhythms on facades by repeating structural elements, and also introduced reinforced concrete details such as: roofs, gargoyles, window frames, brise soleil and ondulatoires. They favored rough and picturesque textures of concrete, brick and stone.

Residential districts of the socialist realism period in Poland (1949−1956). Analysis, comparison and protection

The article analyzes four residential districts from the period of Socialist Realism in Poland: Marszałkowska Residential District in Warsaw, Kościuszkowska Residential District in Wrocław, residential Nowa Huta in Cracow and Downtown Residential District in Szczecin. These districts are analyzed in terms of urban layout, architectural forms, building intensity, and green areas. Common features of these housing complexes, characteristic for socialist realism architecture in Poland, were also examined. The authors also consider the protective methods of individual housing complexes. Each of the examined residential districts is considered in two aspects - the urban layout and architecture as well as the form of protection and it condition of the present day. For each analyzed housing complex, a map was prepared showing the scale of the urban layout and the percentage share of pre-war buildings, buildings from the period under study, and buildings erected in later years.

„Exploratory search” – kłopoty architekta informacji z terminologią


 Information environments (co-) designed by information architects should significantly support the users in obtaining information. Using English-language literature as source of examples, the author characterizes user activity type referred to as exploratory search, especially the concept of information foraging, which she suggests calling “traversing information environments”. This article aims at clarifying and organizing Polish terminology related to exploratory practices and user experiences. The analysis of Polish sources on information science of the 21st century evidences the terminological disorder. The author believes that order, precision and terminological consistency are especially needed in the dynamically developing area of information architecture in Poland, especially if treated as an academic discipline. The findings contribute to the theory and methodology of the Polish school of information architecture. The author believes that a constructive discussion of information professionals might be initiated by the proposals presented in this article.

Modernity in Architecture as the Synergy of Ideas, Tradition and Nature - Opera in Bialystok

The author of the article the is analysing the problem of modernity in architecture on the example of the concept of Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic in Bialystok – one of the most interesting project of contemporary architecture in Poland. It shows a kind of new way in creating modern public building not only in Poland but also in Europe. That means a special synergy of ideas, tradition, technology and nature in architecture – the sophisticated way to achieve modernity in contemporary design. The project was based on three ideas – which concerns mainly to local context (religious hills, Orthodox and Jewish cemeteries), tradition of antique architecture and saint places of Israel and the city centre of Bialystok. Significant role in the project plays the greenery – plants on elevations, poles, roofs, introduced on a few different levels. This ecological aspect refers to the very important tendency of 21st century – sustainable architecture. The complex was designed by studio of Marek Budzynski Architect and was constructed during 2005−2012. We can define the project as the synergy and synthesis of the tradition with the modernity, integration of architecture, culture, technology and the landscape.

The Question of Appropriateness. Museums Established in Synagogues in Communist Poland: The Cases of Łańcut and Włodawa

World War II and the subsequent period of communist rule severely diminished the amount of historic Jewish architecture in Poland. It is estimated that in the mid-1990s there were about 321 synagogues and prayer houses in the country, all in various states of preservation. This article examines two case studies of synagogues that were salvaged by being transformed into Judaica museums. The first of these is the synagogue in Łańcut and the second concerns the complex of two synagogues and one prayer house in Włodawa. The article contains an analysis of both examples from the perspective of the following factors: the circumstances under which the institution was established, the place that the history and culture of Jews took in the Museum’s activity, the way that Judaica collections and exhibitions were constructed, the substantive, educational, and research activities that were undertaken, as well as the issue of what place these monuments occupy in the town’s landscape.

Masters and teachers, housing innovations in designs of the professors of the Faculty of Architecture in the Warsaw University of Technology at the beginning of the 20th century

The Faculty of Architecture in the Warsaw University of Technology (FA WUT) was established in the first quarter of the 20th century, when in European architecture and art, traditional trends were intertwined with new ideas, which inspired building´s creativity. In 1915, the Society of Science Courses and the Association of Technicians attempted to create a Polish university and polytechnic in Warsaw. Finally, at the newly created technical university, an independent architectural faculty was established. The members of the Organizing Committee and future professors represented the diversity of the architectural environment, both thanks to the education in various European schools (polytechnics, military schools and art academies), as well as the different aesthetic interests. This diversity was fully reflected in the architectural creativity of that period. At the beginning of the 20th century, the traditional craft thinking turned into the scientific interpretation of spatial activities, which stimulated the interest in novelty. The innovation was understood as in humanistic disciplines -like the ability to discover and test the solutions which deviate from the standard and which induce a rapid change in quality. Innovations of this period took the form of abstract and realistic ideas, methods based on alternative sets of criteria and technologies. They concerned the urban and architectural scale as well as the detail. In the particularly demanding living environment design, they manifested themselves in many objectively new values, such as functionalism, social housing, extensive typology of dwelling layouts, innovative reinforced concrete constructions of open plans, new standards of insolation, ventilation and many others. The paper is a summary of analyses regarding modern thoughts about living, present in selected projects and realizations of FA WUT professors, 1918-1939. We discuss the project of an extremely minimalist villa in Gdynia designed by Bohdan Lachert and Józef Szanajca (1926), Barbara and Stanisław Brukalski house at Niegolewski Street in Warsaw (1928), considered the first implementation of avant-garde architecture in Poland, the sanatorium house in Konstancin (Skolimów) by Helena and Szymon Syrkus (1930-1931) or the housing estate of the Warsaw Housing Cooperative. The aim of the analyses is to define innovative solutions: more functional, efficient and human-friendly, spatial and technical innovations, in the scale of the building, housing estate and a wider urban and social environment.

Modernity and Compromise: The Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Warsaw and its Designer Władysław Pieńkowski

Despite the considerable influence he exerted on post-war church architecture in Poland, the designer Władysław Pieńkowski (1907–1991) is today an altogether forgotten figure. The current paper outlines his biography and his early oeuvre; this is because his experience in designing office blocks and industrial plants gained while working under the supervision of the most outstanding Polish architects of the mid-20th century, was to be of key importance to his later, independent designs for ecclesiastical buildings. The paper focuses on a particularly important work, one which in many ways constitutes a breakthrough in the architect’s career, namely the church of St. Michael the Archangel in the Mokotów district of Warsaw. This was the first entirely new church to be erected in the capital of Poland after the year 1945. Its construction depended on the dynamic changes in the balance of political forces. The church could be built owing to the support of the PAX Association circle, including the direct involvement of Bolesław Piasecki. In spite of their patronage, however, construction works were repeatedly halted and extended over several years, and the architectural design had to be reworked. The paper contains an analysis of three fundamental designs for the church, now held in the St. Michael the Archangel parish archive and in the architect’s records preserved by his heirs. The first design dates from the period of 1948/9–1951, the subsequent one from the year 1954, and the final one from 1956–1961. The evolution of the design moved from the initial continuation of forms typical of the pre-war Modernised Revivalism, through a peculiar reference to Socialist Realism, to rigorous Modernism. The church of St. Michael the Archangel became Pieńkowski’s testing ground; there, he tried out several solutions which he would consistently utilise in the subsequent years of his career, e.g. the large-scale application of prefabricated elements in both the construction and the decoration of the edifice. The construction of this church was concurrent with important events of a political (the Thaw) and religious nature (the Second Vatican Council). Tracing the history of the design for the Warsaw church and clarifying its connections with contemporaneous church architecture in Poland and in Western Europe made it possible to present the key problems faced by the Polish designers of ecclesiastical architecture in the first decades of the People’s Republic of Poland.

A Church for the Polish People: On the Contest for the Parochial Church in the Warsaw District of Praga

The present article discusses the architectural contest for the design of the Praga parish church in Warsaw, announced in 1886. The author aims to establish whether this event had any significant impact on the development of Polish architecture and its theoretical principles. He reviews the reasons for its importance and attempts to establish whether it constitutes suitable material for more thorough studies, the results of which would merit a prominent place in the historiography of 19th century architecture in Poland. The critical interpretation presented in this article is based primarily on texts published in Przegląd Techniczny, which discuss the successive stages of the contest, as well as selected press articles and essays written in direct connection to this enterprise. The author analyses texts by Karol Matuszewski, Franciszek Ksawery Martynowski, Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and Józef Pius Dziekoński, which are crucial for understanding the complex nature of the issue of the contest. The analysis leads to the conclusion that it was not the ultimate form of the church, but rather the combination of emotions, hopes, interests and controversies provoked by the announcement of the contest and the phrasing of its requirements that determined the crucial role of this event in the history of Polish architecture in the latter part of the 19th century.

Turning “Polish Boxes into German Houses”: On the Transformations of Architecture in Poland during the Second World War as Exemplified by the Changing Design of the Zajdensznir Tenement in Radom

The issue of construction projects conducted by the Germans in occupied Poland is researched with increasing frequency by both historians and historians of architecture. One of the reasons for this is certainly the exceptional role of the works of architecture as historical documents that constitute a tangible reflection of the historical moment in which they were constructed. When viewed from this perspective, the case of one of Radom tenements acquires an almost symbolic significance. The Functionalist building was designed by the Lvov engineer Artur Haskler for Mr Hersz Zajdensznir and his wife, Róża; its construction began shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was intended to compete one quarter of the most prestigious sections of Radom’s city centre. The works were interrupted after the Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Both the architect and the owners of the tenement were Jews, which radically altered their position. The fate of Mr and Mrs Zajdensznir remains unknown. Haskler, who had been involved in the construction of the telecommunication network, which had begun in 1939 and was still unfinished, was allowed to stay outside the ghetto until the completion of the relevant works. In addition, he was ordered to alter the design of the Zajdensznir house, which was already under construction, so that it could be used as quarters for the staff of the German Postal Services East. The architect entirely changed the concept for his design. The original Functionalist form, representing a type of architecture not condoned by the Nazi authorities, was altered in keeping with the principles of Heimatschutzarchitektur; the building acquired a much more conservative form inspired by traditional architecture. The arrangement of the interiors was altered as well, attesting to the fact that Haskler had familiarised himself with the German norms regarding residential construction. The residence of the staff of the German Postal Services East, together with other edifices built in Radom by the Germans during the Second World War, as well as the very history of its construction, constitute a telling testimony to the history of the era. In the context of the urban design of Radom’s city centre, these edifices are valuable as historical monuments and they certainly enhance it as an original urban structure with successive morphogenetic units discernible with remarkable clarity.