Architecture In Poland Research Articles

Elementary Forms and Meanings in Contemporary Sacred Implementations in Poland

The simplicity and elementariness of forms present in contemporary sacred buildings is an expression of a modern approach to architecture. Monasteries, churches, shrines and chapels shape spaces with structures coherent in their ideological assumptions. One can often find their references to objects and thoughts derived directly from religion. The coherence of the external structure and the interior of sacred buildings is certainly another dominant feature of their idea. An important role is played by light, which emphasizes the importance and impact of space on human emotions through its play. The introduction of the landscape to a temple through spacious glazing, especially in the altar area, encourages the users to reflect on their unity with nature, but also results in the fact that the expression of the interior is never the same. As the seasons and arrangements of greenery change, so does man. Since transience is part of our own existence, it is worth reminding about it in the spatial structure of churches and chapels. The simplicity of expression can also be enhanced by other factors, such as façade materials adapted to the context or basic land development. Contemporary sacred architecture is not just chapels, churches and monasteries. There are also smaller-scale structures. The power of their message also lies in the elementariness of the form and meanings. It is the simplicity that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. On the one hand, it shows the way, but on the other hand it gives freedom. And so does religion. The architecture of small forms, such as chapels, determines the elementariness of meaning expressed through a very simple message. The idea that can be read in a very short time period of time, walking or driving by this type of structures. Contemporary sacred architecture in Poland is heading in a very good direction, but the number of projects of high architectural values is still relatively small. This is mainly due to the low architectural awareness among people who manage religious property. However, certain projects show that the creative potential is very high and can positively change the general expression of Polish sacred architecture.

Post-war modernist architecture in Poland as part of the european heritage of twentieth- -century concrete-based architecture

Czasopismo Techniczne » 2019 » Volume 8 » Post-war modernist architecture in Poland as part of the european heritage of twentieth- -century concrete-based architecture A A A

Beginnings of Landscape Architecture in Poland

The article describes the period from the end of the nineteenth century to the 1950's. It presents the achievements of the pioneers of Polish landscape architecture, associated with various aspects of the design, planning and protection of the landscape, in addition to professional education. In the majority of European countries, the development of landscape architecture as a separate profession is dated to the interbellum period. In Poland there is currently no doubt as to the fact that landscape architecture is an independent professional discipline. However, several decades ago this topic was the subject of spirited discussion among Polish specialists, which took place on the pages of specialist periodicals. The discussions that took place at the time between outstanding garden planners, practitioners, scientists, didactic and popularizes who came from various different fields concerned the profession and the preparation of specialists, in addition to the name itself. One of the pioneers – Zygmunt Hellwig, wrote: "I believe that the shaping of the landscape is an art and science that is currently completely independent, one that has grown equally well from the foundations of horticulture, architecture and a number of similar disciplines, one that can absolutely no longer fit within the framework of the professional preparation and qualifications of an architect-builder."(1935). The landscape architecture profession developed very dynamically. Significant projects, now considered icons, were being developed, e.g. Żelazowa Wola, a monument park dedicated to Chopin or Skaryszewski Park in Warsaw. At horticultural fairs one of the more important sections was garden planning, where individual cities prided themselves in their achievements in the design of public parks. University education started to be provided in this speciality. Franciszek Krzywda-Polkowski, who had obtained an education in architecture, was the first to introduce landscape architecture to a university curriculum and organised and supervised the Landscape Architecture and Park Science Division at the University of Life Sciences starting from 1928. He also taught at the Warsaw University of Technology. His diploma candidates, Alina Scholtz and Gerard Ciołek, made significant contributions to the development of landscape architecture in Poland. A. Scholtz, an outstanding designer, became one of the founding members of the International Federation of Landscape Architecture (IFLA) in 1948. G. Ciołek was the creator of the Polish school of the revalorisation of historical garden layouts. His comprehensive scientific works on the history of garden design had a pioneering character. He is the author of the fundamental work Ogrody polskie (1954).

Gründerzeit – Od skandalu do stylu

Przyjmuje się, iż architektura ‘okresu założycieli’ – ‘Grűnderzeit’ występowała w Niemczech w latach 1870-1920, to jest dłużej niż do zakończenia I wojny światowej stanowiącej swoistą cezurę XX wieku. Na terenie Polski, w miarę rozprzestrzeniania się przychodzącego z Europy postępu technicznego, styl Grűnderzeit następował pod koniec XIX wieku z niewielkim tylko opóźnieniem w stosunku do Niemiec, a wraz z nim jeszcze 12 stylów okresu historyzmu. Budynki z okresu Grűnderzeit, powszechnie obecne w centrach polskich miast pomimo zniszczeń spowodowanych II wojną, stanowią zwykle obiekty najstarsze i choćby z tego powodu uznawane są za estetyczny kanon historycznej zabudowy mieszkaniowej. Zamiarem autora jest przywrócenie do literatury polskiej terminu Grűnderzeit jako bardziej precyzyjnie określającego styl niż termin ‘historyzm’, używany do opisania praktycznie każdej formy architektonicznej z okresu poprzedzającego modernizm. Autorowi chodzi też o spowodowanie w polskiej literaturze dekonstrukcji terminu ‘historyzm’ i wyodrębnienie z niego terminu Grűnderzeit, ponadto o rozprawienie się z funkcjonującymi na temat stylu Grűnderzeit uprzedzeniami oraz o wykazanie związków i wpływu tego stylu na architekturę tkanki miejskiej większości polskich miast, nie tylko tych położonych na zachód od Wisły. Bezrefleksyjność lub też pogląd, iż architektura z przełomu XIX i XX wieku na terenie Polski nie miała korzeni w XIX wiecznej architekturze Europy, a jeśli nawet miała, to na pewno nie były one niemieckie, w erze globalizmu która właśnie wtedy się rozpoczynała, nie wytrzymuje próby.

The legacy of post-war architecture in Poland as a record of political, social and economic changes

Polska powojenna architektura i urbanistyka to fenomen, który jest niezwykle zróżnicowany zarówno formalnie, jak i pod względem treści. Chociaż polscy architekci nie byli nigdy całkowicie odizolowani od architektury europejskiej i światowej, od 1945 do 1989 roku ich kreatywność architektoniczna była silnie uzależniona od przemian politycznych, społecznych i gospodarczych zachodzących w Polsce. Zjawisko to postrzegane przez jednych w negatywnym świetle, a pozytywnym dla innych, obrazuje różnorodne emocje i uczucia związane ze zmianami w materialnym dziedzictwie, obejmującymi również skrajne podejścia do idei ochrony dziedzictwa powojennego
 Artykuł omawia osiągnięcia architektoniczne w okresie 1945-1949, kiedy polska architektura nie była jeszcze poddana totalnemu nacjonalizmowi i centralizacji wprowadzonej przez komunistów. W ciągu tych kilku lat, kiedy polska architektura była stosunkowo swobodna i pozostawała w bezpośredniej relacji z międzywojennym modernizmem, nastąpił okres silnego rozwoju ideologicznego. Podobnie jak w przypadku innych krajów pozostających w sferze wpływów Związku Radzieckiego, w latach 1949-1955 polska architektura naznaczona była walką kosmopolitycznego modernizmu przez totalitarny, neoklasycystyczny zamiar odzwierciedlenia społecznych i gospodarczych przemian socjalizmu (Socjalny Realizm). W okresie 1955-1960, znanym jako "odwilż październikowa", nastąpił krótki zwrot Polski w kierunku rozwoju architektury podjętego przez świat, natomiast w latach sześćdziesiątych w stronę socjalistycznego modernizmu (‘soc-modernizm’), który okazał się kluczem do powojennej modernizacji Polski w wymiarze politycznym i społecznym.Architektura niektórych obiektów publicznych była wciąż naznaczona eksperymentalnymi elementami awangardy. W tym samym czasie, szczególnie w przypadku budownictwa mieszkaniowego, pojawiały się pierwsze wystandaryzowane obiekty całkowicie podporządkowane technokratycznym dogmatom ‘realnego socjalizmu’, szczególnie rygorystycznym pod względem ekonomicznym i użytkowym.
 Kolejna część artykułu opisuje nowoczesną architekturę socjalistyczną lat 1970-1980, kiedy to nastąpiło znaczne otwarcie Polski na Zachód zarówno w sensie politycznym, jak i ekonomicznym. Dekada wyjątkowo dynamicznego rozwoju w budownictwie mieszkaniowym (już częściowo uwolniona od dogmatu norm i skrajnej standaryzacji) w połączeniu z kredytami zaowocowała szeregiem ambitnych obiektów publicznych, w tym wielu bardzo interesujących kościołów, które powinny być wymieniane i opisywane na tle krajów tak zwanego Bloku Wschodniego. Zaprezentowano również osiągnięcia architektoniczne z lat osiemdziesiątych. Był to okres narastającego kryzysu społecznego i politycznego oraz trwająca likwidacja radzieckiego modelu komunizmu i zastąpienie go przez bardziej demokratyczne struktury. W polskiej architekturze oznaczało to uwolnienie rynku architektonicznego i powrót indywidualnej twórczości architektonicznej. Konsekwencją tego był bezprecedensowy rozwój, inspirowany głównie przez ideologię postmodernizmu i pluralizm stylistyczny. W latach dziewięćdziesiątych dodano do tego intensywnie rozszerzającą się komercjalizację i neoliberalizm dialogu architektonicznego, który w praktyce oznaczał koniec etosu społecznego architektury Modernizm w Polsce.

Inkluzje spraw polityczno-społecznych i światopoglądowych w badaniach z zakresu historii sztuki średniowiecznej. Studia przypadku

Medieval art frequently had political functions. After depicting the scope of political aspects and an example of political thoughts in Ottonian illuminated manuscripts there is an analysis of perspectives on medieval art. For example, point of view at Romanesque architecture can be marked in terms of outlook typical for a particular period. All the more important is the large-scale recent research on Romanesque architecture in Poland. There are attempts at demythologization of art and attempts to free the approach to art from ideology. Two different examples of well-known Gothic equestrian statues were discussed. Approaches to both sculptures and reception of them became politicized. The aim of discussions in this article was to point the political aspects in approach to works of art and in analyses of them. One of the conclusions is that the changing within the space of time political factor should be in many cases taken into consideration. In addition to that, the works of art should always be treated first of all as aesthetic, artistic objects.

Urban planning solutions in the context of dispersion of road pollution

AbstractDense road network change the landscape as well as in many different ways affect the environment and living organisms. The works on reducing the exposures to traffic pollutants carried out all around the world. In the last decade, noise barriers in large numbers began to appear along the main streets and became a common feature of urban architecture in Poland. Besides being barriers to the spread of the noise on the neighboring areas these constructions might also contribute to reducing the spread of air pollution, especially road dust particles with associated trace metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn).The aim of the study described in the article was to examine if the extent to which “green walls” noise barriers and transparent acrylic-glass noise barriers located along roads can contribute to a change in the spread of trace elements from the road traffic to outside of the road area. Toxic metals which occur in road dust in significant concentrations (Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn) were selected and their concentrations in soil samples were examined. The samples were collected at close vicinity of the road edge in an open area as well as in an area with noise barriers.

Unconscious aspects of sustainability in modern and postmodern religious architecture in Poland

The emergence in recent decades of the idea of sustainability and sustainable development significantly affected the innovative approach to architectural design and urban planning. The article presents contemporary examples of the Polish works of sacred architecture and urban planning, which prove the unconscious use and incorporation of the concept of the architectural values of the environment, including climate, solar energy and other natural elements such as landform, structure or green water. The analysis of the contemporary examples of architecture, realized in the second half of the twentieth century, confirms that such actions are taken. The search for a friendly urban space combines the comfort of living with the comfort of the natural environment. The contemporary objects and sacral complexes testify to integrated planning with nature. The system of architectural and urban planning objectives is clearly reflected in the functioning of thecity and how to organize the use of space, including an attempt to rebuild a sustainable relationship between the infrastructure and the natural environment. When designing the contemporary forms, sacred has become very important in addition to the historical past, the identity of individual urban structures, at the same time, maintaining the high quality of the environment. Projecting of harmony with the local climate and the use of natural conditions in urban planning.

The diversity of modern forms of preservation of rural and small towns’ wooden architecture in Poland

In this paper I discuss the modern forms of preservation of wooden historical monuments, included in the legal framework, such as protection via an entry in the records or monuments’ list, protection in open-air museum, being declared historical monument, protection via creation of a cultural park. I am pointing out the tragic state of the protection and conservation of the resources of this part of heritage. I discuss in wider scope the idea of open-air museum in Poland and the specificity of preservation of wooden monuments in the open-air museums as being the most rational and effective so far. I show positive protection examples via making use of and adaptation of the monument to the new function- cultural, educational or museum. I also emphasize the role of education and society participation in the protection of rural architecture. The wooden architecture is only 11% of all monuments registered in monuments’ list. In this situation, according to Polish law, the vast majority of monuments, not mentioned in the registry, cannot be protected. It is necessary to quickly create comprehensive regulatory framework and take action in the field of identification and inventory of wooden architecture as well as creating effective preservation programs. There is a chance to preserve the significant part of heritage by further diversification of forms of protection and adaptation in cooperation and substantive assistance of conservation department and museums as well as financial support of the governments. I present specific proposals of solutions to this problem.

Poland: Dangers to the Sacred Wooden Architecture in Poland

Poland: Dangers to the Sacred Wooden Architecture in Poland

The church complex in Radruż

The Orthodox church and stronghold complex located in Radruż is so famous that it is considered one of the most fabulous executions of defensive-sacral wooden architecture in Poland. Built in the 16th century, it comprises the church and other elements that constitute an outstanding illustration of Orthodox Church building art, its symbolism and principles according to which hundreds of similar Orthodox or Greek Catholic churches were constructed. On the other hand, it is clearly defensive in nature, resembling a small medieval fortification, and the conjunction of the religious and defence function is what makes it unique. Conservation works performed in recent years were concluded in 2013 with listing this complex – and three other Orthodox churches situated in the same area – among world heritage by UNESCO. Largely because of this, Radruż – a small Polish borderland village that was almost completely unknown several years ago – nowadays attracts tourists from around the world. This clearly testifies to the fact that the conservation and renovation of historical churches can contribute hugely to the development of such vast, little populated, but beautiful areas and to their increased popularity.

Review: King Sigismund Chapel at Cracow Cathedral (1515–1533), by Stanisław Mossakowski

Stanislaw Mossakowski King Sigismund Chapel at Cracow Cathedral (1515–1533) Cracow: IRSA, 2012, 376 pp., 277 b/w and 89 color illus. €120, ISBN 978838983114 The importance of Cracow as a center of Renaissance humanism during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries has long been recognized by Anglophone historians and linguists interested in the early modern achievements of scholars at the Jagiellonian University and their contacts with Italian counterparts. Among the more familiar figures are the humanist Filippo Buonaccorsi, called Callimachus (1437–1496), who served as tutor to the sons of King Casimir IV Jagiellon (r. 1447–92), and Nicolaus Copernicus, who studied ancient Greek, mathematics, and astronomy at the Jagiellonian. In spite of Cracow’s renown as a humanist center, there is a paucity of English-language scholarship dedicated to the architecture of Poland-Lithuania, which at its greatest extent, in the early seventeenth century, was the largest state in Europe. This lacuna is in part due to factors such as the linguistic inaccessibility of secondary scholarship written in Polish, as well as geopolitical circumstances between 1939 and 1989. Thus Stanislaw Mossakowski’s erudite monograph King Sigismund Chapel at Cracow Cathedral (1515–1533) , first issued in Polish in 2007, is a significant scholarly achievement. Mossakowski, the well-known and prolific former director of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, presents here the mausoleum that most clearly embodies some of the earliest Italian Renaissance visual forms to appear in the European borderlands of Poland-Lithuania. The study underlines the relevance of the Sigismund chapel to classically inspired architecture, and by extension to the rich traditions that inform East-Central European architectural history. In nine highly detailed chapters examining the monument’s site, patronage, ideology, and iconography, Mossakowski asserts the uniqueness of the commission and its significance to the broader history of early modern European, and particularly Italian, art and architecture. The centrally planned, elliptically domed monument, located on the south side of the Wawel cathedral nave, decorated and vaulted …

Uwagi na temat stylistyki czternastowiecznego przekazu o inwestycjach obronnych Kazimierza Wielkiego

The text which is entitled Quomodo regebat regnum et populum and lists castles and towns allegedly built and fortified (surrounded by walls and moats) by Casimir the Great is discussed. Researchers of medieval military architecture in Poland often tend to forget that the text, which in 1872 was accepted by Jan Szlachtowski as part of the Chronicle of Jan of Czarnków and as such published in vol. II of Monumenta Poloniae Historica was re-examined by Wojciech Kętrzyński who proved it to be a fragment of another chronicle. The text was again published by Kętrzyński in 1897 as part (chapter 8) of another chronicle which he had reconstructed. Kętrzyński findings have been accepted by Polish historiography (J. Dąbrowski. J. Bieniak, J. Wyrozumski) and the chronicle reconstructed by him from several texts has been named the Cathedral chronicle of Cracow. The changes in punctuation which were introduced to the 1872 edition of Quomodo regehat... by Jarosław Widawski in 1973 had already been present in the Kętrzyńskie edition of 1897. while the latter text is far more logical and explicit than that interpreted by Widawski. Attention is called to the fact that Quomodo regebat... is a chronicle and thus a literary work and therefore its literary narrative stylistics should not be ignored by its interpreters. Consequently, the text should not be treated literally and the list of defence investments regarded as a full record of all Casimir the Great’s undertakings in this field. For this reason, despite the latest opinion of Leszek Kajzer and Jerzy Augustyniak, this writer proposes to widen the scope of studies of the defensive town walls built in the reign of Casimir the Great.

A Variety of Religious Architecture in Poland

Before I attempt a brief survey of the numerous and varied examples of religious architecture in Poland let me mention a few well-known facts. Poland, having grown out of a tribal community, and having early developed a national character, after the Union with Lithuania (first a personal union in 1386 and then a State union in 1569) began expanding rapidly. At the turn of the fifteenth century a new model of parliamentary monarchy was established, a model functioning in an already multinational, federal state, which ceased to be the ‘Republic of Two Nations’ and became instead the ‘Republic of Many Nations’. I do not intend to analyse here all the achievements, changes, and mistakes of Poland, but I would like to stress that between the fifteenth century and the eighteenth century the Poles were in a minority. This minority, however, decided the country’s fate, as it was Polish noblemen (szlachta) who set the political and cultural pace. It has never been accurately assessed what percentage of the whole society the noblemen were, but it must have been high, probably the highest in Europe. According to some sources, the Poles who felt themselves free and regarded Poland as their commonwealth formed ten per cent of the whole population. We should also note that at that time the process of Polonization took place mainly among the nobility, and that the Poles who were in a minority in the Polish-Lithuanian State were at the same time a majority among those who ruled that State. I am not saying that as a Polish nationalist, but as an historian who has a deep respect and friendly feeling for all the nations and denominations which once inhabited this large and unique country. The Union of Lublin put the final touches to this distinctive commonwealth, which appeared too early in the Europe of nationalism and absolutism to survive.

Review: Guide to Architecture in Poland by Adam Miłobędzki

Review: Guide to Architecture in Poland by Adam Miłobędzki

Timbered Architecture in Poland

Research Article| July 01 1947 Timbered Architecture in Poland Hans Philipp Hans Philipp Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (1947) 6 (3-4): 14–17. https://doi.org/10.2307/987379 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Hans Philipp; Timbered Architecture in Poland. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 1 July 1947; 6 (3-4): 14–17. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/987379 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of the Society of Architectural Historians Search This content is only available via PDF. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.