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When I grew up I have started to travel around Poland and became more
interested in aesthetics and general appearance of the buildings. I can still
remember how impressed I was when I arrived to Warsaw for the first time.
All those white monumental buildings, skyscrapers covered in a glass,
different scale and proportions of the buildings which looked much bigger
than anything I have ever seen before, made me realize that there is much
more things to learn about architecture than I thought. Facing ‘new’ reality
and seeing all these wonderful and unusual buildings made me realize that
I would like to expand my education in this direction.
During my further research I will establish the main points on which I will
resist my future dissertation. Under each paragraph I will note what I would
like to develop and investigate in the next phase of my research. Moreover,
at the end of my essay I will designate Polish buildings that I have chosen to
research in my final dissertation in which I will introduce their creators and
demonstrate how the buildings evolved and changed with the time.
Modern Architecture is a period in Architectural history which was
developing between 1918 and 1975. For the first time architects completely
moved away from historical styles and presented to us simplicity and lack
of decorations. Although modern buildings were able to fulfill certain and
strict requirement to ‘satisfaction of all needs‘
The most interesting was the fact that modernists believe that the
building supposed to be the work of an abstract. Very important were the
maxims: ‘Less is more’ (Mies van Der Rohe) and ‘Ornament is a
crime’ (Adolf Loos).
In 19th century in European countries, modern movement in architecture
developed very independently and in very different ways. The main cause of
this evolution was mainly related to the great development of engineering
and an introduction of new materials such as iron and steel. Engineering
and industrial progress was appreciated and accepted by architects and that
is the main reason which had an important impact for the birth of
Modernism.
One of the very important years in the history of Modernism was 1884
when the first skyscraper with a frame construction was built. Wiliam Le
Baron Jenney elaborated a solution to the problem of fireproof construction
for tall buildings and took this advantage during design process of Home
Insurance Building. His idea was to substituting steel in the structural
system to cast iron, which melt at high temperature.
After the First World War (1914-1918), Modernism in Poland was not
widely known and practiced. Mainly it occurred in the style of elite
buildings, such as private villas, public buildings or cooperative housing
estates. In the 30s when the functionalist tendencies were no longer so
popular and architects were still looking for something ‘new’ modernist
forms were often combined with elements that were giving impression of
steadiness, solidity and durability.
The largest numbers of modern-style buildings were built mainly in the
large cities of Poland as Warsaw (Saska Kepa, Old Zoliborz, Old Mokotow),
Gdynia and Katowice (southern district and Ligota). In those cities until now
there are entire neighborhoods of buildings influenced by the modernism.
The Post-War Modernism (after the Second War) had a much wider range
in Poland and it was much more important for the country architecture
progress. Its largest development occurred between 1956-1957 and
continued until late 80s as a nationally regulated practice guideline for the
design of new buildings.
Unfortunately, after the Polish political system was changed in 1989,
many wonderful pre-war and post-war modernist building had been
completely devastated and disfiguring. As the biggest issue of this time we
can consider the poor state of knowledge of the history of architecture in
the society, and also incompetent and shoddy repairs often performed on a
massive scale not by architects, but ordinary builders. The main maxims of
modernism such as 'Less Is More' and 'Forms Follow Function' had been
totally forgotten and omitted.
As we all know the history had a huge impact on the polish architecture.
After the First and Second World War, the whole country was almost
demolished, and required total reconstruction. However, many structures
have survived or have been restored and reconstructed. I would like to
research further on these buildings in my final dissertation.
1. Acknowledgment
- my main dissertation’s objective will be to examine architectural and urban
planning theories and practices of post World War II Warsaw, Poland within the
wider context of Modern History
2. Introduction
- personal interest in Modern Architecture
Artists:
- Le Corbusier - leading representative of the modernist style
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Adolf Loos - precursor of modernism
- Louis Henry Sullivan - modern building technologies
Bibliography
Books
- ‘History Of Modern Architecture Volume II’ Leonardo Benevolo, Press Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 1999
- ‘The Polish Avant-Garde, Architecture Town-Planning’ Olgierd Czerner, Hieronim
Listowski, Interpress Publishing, Warsaw, 1981
- ‘Glimpses Of Polish Architecture’ Roman Soltynski (translated by Peter Jordan),
Standard Art Book Co. Ltd., London
- ‘East European Modernism, Architecture in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland
Between The Wars’, Edited with Introduction and Essays by Wojciech
Lesnikowski, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, 1996
Visited sites
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernizm_(architektura)
http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/4575125/polska-sztuka-okres-1944821189-i-
lata-90.html
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1335661
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Poland
h t t p : / / w w w. f a u . u s p . b r / i p h s / a b s t r a c t s A n d P a p e r s F i l e s / S e s s i o n s / 2 4 /
BARTETZKY.PDF
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernizm_w_Polsce
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48843000/Modern-Architecture
http://eng.archinform.net/stich/740.htm