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This paper traces the continuities between the post-war Polish husband-and-wife architect duo of Oskar and Zofia Hansen, and their predecessors from the interwar avant-garde, the husband-and-wife artist duo of painter Władysław Strzemiński and sculptor Katarzyna Kobro. It argues that the Hansens’ Open Form (1958) approach extended the essentialism of Strzemiński and Kobro’s theory of Unism (1924) to advance a modern architecture. This paper analyzes the design for a memorial at Auschwitz-Birkenau that the Hansens worked on as part of a team for an international competition, called the Road (1958), as the crystallization of Unism’s influence on the theory of the Open Form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses highlights of the conference Art History and Its Institutions in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, held at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences and Institute of Art History of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland held on September 28-30, 2023. Topics included institutional art history in Poland, historiographical myths and narratives, dictionary of Polish artists and artists residing in Poland, emergence of museums and art history, and peripheral architecture.

Biographies of architects have a well-established tradition in the Polish historiography of architecture. This also applies to the historiography of Polish architecture at the turn of the 19th c., which predominantly revolves around biographical studies. However, architectural biographies of this period often concentrate on the architects active in big cities, while their colleagues working in provincial areas receive comparatively less research attention. The lack of in-depth exploration of this subject has a detrimental impact on our comprehensive understanding of the Polish architectural culture of that period, particularly its social aspects. Another notable trait of Polish architectural biographies concerning the turn of the 19th c. is the focus on the architects' creative output (e.g. projects, buildings). Researchers have hitherto paid relatively less attention to tracing the trajectory of individual careers and specific conditions that shaped their development. The inclusion of these aspects in academic discourse offers valuable insights into the social and political backdrop that influenced architectural activity. This holds particular significance in relation to the era of the constitutional Kingdom of Poland (1815-1830), which witnessed a rapid development of modern bureaucracy in the field of building and architecture. This article delves into the well-documented case of Bonifacy Witkowski. Notably, he was among the first graduates of architecture from the University of Warsaw, and within a few years of his graduation, he attained the position of a chief provincial builder in the Province of Mazovia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Architectus is the property of Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wroclawskiej and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 1945, Opole experienced a disruption in its history--a formerly German city had been incorporated into southwestern Poland during the change of European borders. In this new geopolitical situation Opole, along with other pre-war Eastern outskirts of Germany, became a part of so-called Recovered Territories. The name itself implied that those lands were perceived as not only incorporated into the country but brought back as undeniably Polish. The process of establishing (or "regaining") the Polish identity of those cities, among them Opole, was intended to omit some elements of the recent German past and emphasize others deemed inherently Polish at that time. This occurrence was also tied to the issue of rewriting and reinventing the city's history, during which architecture and urban planning were used as one of the most powerful tools. The article presents how architecture and urban planning were used in the process of establishing Opole's new, Polish identity since 1945. The attempts to rewrite and reinvent Opole's history are exemplified by the restoration of the historic city centre, as well as by new, post-war architecture and urban development. The legacy of that process still lingers in the city's urban fabric. The strive to emphasise "Polish" elements of the city while omitting or repurposing the German ones makes one pose questions about the role of architecture (both historic and new), urban planning, and the narratives created around them in the process of rewriting and reinventing a city's past and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Architectus is the property of Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wroclawskiej and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Eastern Review is the property of University of Lodz - Lodz University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article is devoted to the analysis of contemporary Polish multi-family architecture in the context of aesthetic irregularity. The research was limited to constructions from 2011–2021 and nominated for the Mies van der Rohe award as the objects with the greatest potential impact on shaping further trends. In their research, the authors focused on searching for the features of irregularities, which, in their opinion, have become a distinguishing feature of contemporary architectural aesthetics. The analyses in this study refer to three planes of the aesthetic dimension of architecture, namely the form, facade composition and material.

From the second half of the seventeenth century, French architecture was the inspiration for residences throughout Europe, including in Poland. In the eighteenth century especially, the Palace of Versailles with its layout of courtyards and gardens became the dominant model. The imitation of French architecture was a question of fashion, snobbery and cosmopolitanism for the Polish elite until the mid-nineteenth century. Besides the aristocracy, the ziemiaństwo (landed gentry) and upper classes often built their residences ‘à la française’, in the French style. The same trend could be found throughout the world: in Germany (Bavaria), the United Kingdom, Austria, Russia and even the United States. However, from 1870 in Poland, the French style took on an additional significance. At that time, Poland was under occupation, and the French style became a substitute for the national style. This was particularly apparent in the Prussian partition, after the Franco-German War. The Henry IV style, the Louis XIII style or the Grand Siècle style also became a political statement, a demonstration of support for France – the historical ally of Poland – in the face of Prussian domination. In the territories occupied by Russia or Austria, the French style was more a declaration of Europeanity and cosmopolitanism. This situation lasted until the early twentieth century, when a new Polish national style was born.

Copyright of Space & Form / Przestrzeń i FORMA is the property of West Pomeranian University of Technology, Department of Architecture & Urban Planning and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents the history and accomplishments of Jesuit architecture in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the late sixteenth to the late eighteenth century. The author sees Jesuit architecture as a distinct and homogeneous element within Polish architecture. The paper starts with a brief presentation of the existing research in the subject. It moves on to enumerate the activities of the Society in the field of construction, divided into three major booms: the first roughly between 1575 and 1650, the second between 1670 and 1700, and the third from 1740 to 1770, divided by periods of relative decline caused by a succession of devastating wars. The paper identifies the most important architects involved in the construction of Jesuit churches, as well as their most notable works. The paper ends with a brief note concerning the fate of the Jesuit churches after the suppression of the Society and the partitions of Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Henryk Genello was an architect who rendered great service for the Polish railway architecture during the 2nd Polish Republic. Together with engineer and architect Hipolit Hryncewicz, he designed around 50 railway stations in the Eastern borderlands, in the Vilnius Headquarters of the State Railways. In the 20s of the 20th century, he was designing in national style, while at the end of the 20s his designs already bore distinct modernist traits, and in the 30s they became totally functionalist. A valuable realisation of Genello and Hryncewicz was a representative "modernised" railway station on the border in Stofpce, essential for the evolution of Polish railway architecture of the 2nd Polish Republic. At the turn of the 20s and 30s of the 20th century, Genello designed railway stations on the Ustroń - Wisła line. They were realised in national style, partly wooden, inspired by the Polish mountain resort architecture of Zakopane. Another important Genello's realisation of 1935 was a small building of a railway stop - Zułów, which in the 2nd Polish Republic had a memorative character of Marshall Piłsudski silhouette. It probably was the last "national" realisation in the Polish railway architecture. His works done in this style were characterised by simplicity, pure form, and drew on local types and motives of Polish architecture. Undoubtedly, Henryk Genello was better fulfilled when he designed in the earlier, historicising style, creating his own type inspired by local motives. His later functional realisations are characterised by simplicity, pared-down and austere form of elevations deprived of detail. It is certain that Genello belonged to the most important railway architects of the 2nd Polish Republic, working since 1932 as adviser in the Ministry of Transport, he shaped railway architecture of that time from its administrative and technical side. The same function Genello performed during the first years after the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the Romanesque style influence on the decorative art of Veliky Novgorod in the pre-Mongol period. The main attention is paid to two unique fragments of monumental-decorative wood carving found by A.V. Artsikhovsky during excavations in 1953. Modern Russian researchers refer them to the Northern European artistic tradition, while Scandinavian scholars deny this interpretation and consider that Novgorodian artifacts relate to the Old Rus art itself. The article gives a detailed analysis of the historiography and put forward a new hypothesis. According to it, the Novgorodian fragments represent the local variant of early Romanesque art that probably came to Russia through Central Europe. The style of the Novgorodian finds is analyzed in detail. It does not correspond to the Scandinavian styles that exist during this period. Particular attention is paid to the stylistic comparison of the Novgorodian artifacts and stone remains of the First Wawel Cathedral in Krakow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Technical Transactions / Czasopismo Techniczne is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A wooden summer house in Szumin, built between 1969 and 1970, is a spatial manifesto for theOpen Form— a theory formulated by Polish architect, artist, and educator Oskar Hansen (1922–05). Oriented towards participation, process, and change in the hierarchy between the architect and the user, or the artist and the spectator, Hansen's theory formed a strong conceptual basis for his architectural, artistic, and pedagogical practice. Being a faithful expression of these ideas, the house is a spatio-temporal, transitional object, defined by constant adaptation to the changing needs of its users. In 2014 the property came into the custody of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland. A conservation strategy was developed to preserve both the idea and the physical aspect of the site. With its dominance of concept and artist's intent, this house has a stronger resemblance with a work of art than with built heritage. Therefore, the procedures developed for the conservation of contemporary artworks have been applied. These tools help to evaluate the range of necessary interventions and to set up a conservation programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Out of all Polish residences that represent the historical trend, the palace in Jablón built in 1904-1909 at the behest of Count Tomasz Zamoyski borrowed most fully from English architecture. Conscious of his expectations, the investor founded a magnificent country house, the builders of which drew liberally on the wealth of English historical styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Art / Umění is the property of Institute of Art History of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This work defines the old quarter on three levels. The first is the architectural configuration, which is dominated by preindustrial structures. The second is the discourse concerning the cultural heritage. The third is the spatial perception of the everyday users of the town. The old quarter of Wroclaw was rebuilt after 1945 and for that reason the fundamental question arises how far the original old quarter is reflected in the reconstruction. The search for an answer first involves an examination of the architecture. I come to the conclusion that the reconstruction represents a continuation of the picturesque architecture of the pre-war era. The urban landscape which thus came about divides into zones depending on the extent to which the structures which had been destroyed have been rebuilt. In the past years it was determined that the image of the old quarter produced by the media, such as guides and picture-books, removes socialist buildings from view. Not least among the findings of this work is that the eye-catching "historical" facades contribute a positive message in today's consumer society and an increasingly Europeanised world. The level of examination of day to day life is based on the collection of data among 63 students using the method of mental mapping. The students present a spatial concept with an overabundance of historical buildings, but in a context which also has regard to present-day orientations such as pedestrian precincts and shopping centres. The overall thesis is that today's old quarter of Wroclaw would be significantly smaller than before the war. But partly for this very reason "historic", i.e. reconstructed, buildings and structures play a disproportionate role in today's city life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]