Stanisław Fiszer draws from different styles. He sees his departure from Poland as a ‘widening of the array of aesthetics’ which inspire him. Some consider Fiszer’s realisations to be supreme examples of postmodern architecture because they incorporate details and elements of the most diverse origin. The postmodern works of Fiszer include a school in Régalles (1980) and the Theatre and Media Library in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (1994). In 1988, the Marais district in Paris saw the construction of the research centre of the French National Archives. The solid, heavy form was finished with the use of stone and black metal. Another unique building is the monumental hotel at the Thermes Nationaux in Aix-les-Bains (2000), which combines modernist simplicity with ancient motifs.
Bohdan Paczowski – through Italy to Luxembourg
Bohdan Paczowski is a graduate of the Kraków University of Technology. He also studied at the Polytechnic University of Milan. In the early 1960s, he settled abroad permanently – first in Italy, later in Paris. Today he lives in Luxembourg, where he co-runs architecture studio Paczowski et Fritsch Architectes. Besides his designs, Paczowski is a writer, penning essays on culture (his anthology Zobaczyć (editor’s translation: To See) was published in 2006 by słowo / obraz terytoria), and a photographer
The studio Paczowski et Fritsch Architectes was founded in 1989 and has since then realised multiple projects in Belgium, France, Switzerland and predominantly Luxembourg. In 1994, the expansion of the European Court of Justice was completed. The result is a massive form with darkened windows, located behind a row of smaller, stone-decorated pavilions. In 2007, Rocade de Bonnevoie, one of the city council’s headquarters, was unveiled with the studio’s input, and then an airport terminal in Luxembourg a year later. Both are characteristic for their frigid modern form, in which metal and glass are dominant. Apart from public utility buildings, Paczowski’s ensemble has also designed residential buildings, offices and commercial objects.
Polish Embassy in New Delhi, designed by Witold Cęckiewicz and Stanisław Deńko, 1973-1978
In 1973, SARP (the Association of Polish Architects) organised a closed architectural competition for the design of the Polish Embassy in the Indian capital, New Delhi. Out of eight project groups invited to compete, the first prize was awarded to a design by Kraków-based architects, Witold Cęckiewicz and Stansiław Deńko. On a relatively small plot, the architects had to squeeze in not only the Embassy building, but also several accompanying objects, such as the trade advisor’s office, the ambassador’s residence, a school for the embassy staff’s children as well as recreational spaces. The construction of the complex was completed in 1978.
Witold Cęckiewicz and Stanisław Deńko decided to use a novelty material at the time: reinforced concrete. Using it, they built a complex of simple buildings raised onto 11-metre columns, which is today considered one of the most interesting examples of post-war modernism.
Many years later, Deńko recalled working on the design:
We were heavily influenced by Le Corbusier, but back then everybody was influenced by him. We wanted to translate Corbusierian language into Indian reality, so to speak.
The Polish Embassy in New Delhi is a geometrical, simple, modernist building adapted to the challenges of the sweltering Indian climate, such as lifting the buildings up onto columns to allow for the creation of a large shadowed area. Also, the two-ply roof helps ventilate and cool the interior, while the heart of the complex is an atrium with a swimming pool. The architects also thought of numerous terraces for meetings. An important element of the design are also the concrete trusses that protect the glass façade from overheating. These light breakers, aside from their practical function, also have a decorative one.
Polish architects in the Middle East and Africa
In the 1970s and 1980s, the collaboration of Polish government with several Middle East and Africa nations resulted in interesting architectural projects. Polish architects travelled to Damascus, Baghdad, Tripoli, Abu Dhabi, as well as Nigeria and Ghana to build housing estates, schools and entertainment venues. They also created urban plans for city centres and neighbourhoods.
The authors of the book Postmodernism is Almost All Right: Polish Architecture After Socialist Globalisation explain:
The export of architecture and urban planning was the feather in the Polish People’s Republic’s cap. It constituted an element of political and economic support given by the Eastern Bloc to the newly-formed countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Wojciech Jarząbek, one of the most important Polish postmodern architects and the man behind Wrocław’s Solpol, designed a commercial and office complex called Al Othman in Kuwait. Jan Jacek Meissner, Małgorzata Mazurkiewicz, Marek Dunikowski and Wojciech Miecznikowski designed the monumental National Library in Damascus. An architecture team led by Wojciech Zabłocki created the Olympics centre in Latakia, Syria, while Stefan Kuryłowicz and Jakub Wacławek competed for the design of the Parliament building in Algiers. The general consultant for urban planning in Baghdad was Tadeusz Ptaszycki, the head designer of Nowa Huta (the urban plan for which was developed by the state agency Miastoprojekt Kraków).
34/35 Dessauer Straße residential building in Berlin, designed by Romuald Loegler, 1991-1993
Internationale Bauaustellung (IBA, Interbau) was an international exhibition cycle on urban planning and construction, organised in Germany throughout the 20th century (both before and after World War II). During each of the exhibitions, architects presented innovative and experimental urban designs, which were supposed to answer urgent city needs, e.g. cheap residential buildings. One of the most important exhibitions was the 1987 edition organised in Berlin. Since the topic of the IBA’87 was on the urban revitalisation, rebuilding and reconstruction of historical buildings, Rem Koolhaas, Aldo Rossi, Zaha Hadid, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Rob Krier and many other architects were charged with designing infills for an exhibition in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood.