Architecture and urbanism

P2 is series of interviews with six architects who in various ways have referred to postmodernism in their work. The compilation of opinions of Czesław Bielecki, Marek Budzyński, Jerzy Gurawski, Wojciech Jarząbek, Romuald Loegler and Jakub Wujek shows the way Polish experiences with postmodernism have been shaped. The architects' memories reveal how the theories and formal solutions created in the West were confronted with technologies available in Poland at the end of the Communist Era and the times of political transformation as well as with the state building norms. The interviews provide a basis for reflections on the way postmodern ideas were present in Polish architecture of 1980s and 1990s.

Niniejsza książka jest zapisem rozmów z sześcioma architektami, którzy w swojej praktyce projektowej na różne sposoby odnosili się do zagadnienia postmodernizmu. Zestawienie wypowiedzi Czesława Bieleckiego, Marka Budzyńskiego, Jerzego Gurawskiego, Wojciecha Jarząbka, Romualda Loeglera i Jakuba Wujka pokazuje, jak kształtowały się doświadczenia związane z tym nurtem w Polsce. Ich wspomnienia pozwalają zaobserwować jak powstałe na zachodzie teorie i rozwiązania formalne były konfrontowane z dostępnymi technologiami i państwowymi normatywami budownictwa. Zebrane wywiady stanowią punkt wyjścia do rozważań nad sposobem obecności postmodernistycznych postulatów zarówno w rzeczywistości późnego socjalizmu, jak i w okresie transformacji.

With a shortage of affordable housing, social housing has become a priority on national agendas. However, designing social housing has a poor record, as reflected in the current demolition of postwar housing 'utopias'. This paper seeks to explore how the design of new social housing could increase the resilience of urban areas and its social and spatial integration in the contextual urban fabric. It examines the twenty-first century social housing area of Cité Manifeste, designed by renowned architects as an extension of Cité Ouvrière, a nineteenth-century mass industrial housing scheme in the city of Mulhouse, France. The spatial and social performance of these two cités are investigated, focusing on the urban interface between the streets and houses, and its patterns of evolution. Both schemes are well embedded in the wider street network, and Cité Manifeste has integrated better into the old quarter spatially than socially, yet not all parts of the design perform similarly. The comparison of the two cités and their components provides insight into the impact of architectural and urban design on the viability of housing developments.

The Master track programme in Landscape Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft was launched in 2010. It all began with the introduction of the discipline of landscape architecture to the Faculty in 1948. The journey from this modest post-war beginning to the tenth anniversary of the Master track programme in 2020/2021 has been an adventurous one and can be broken down into three stages. The first stage – preparing - was a period in which education in landscape architecture was introduced and gradually developed. The decision to offer a Master track in Landscape Architecture was taken in 2007 and led to the planning stage, an intensive period of research and development culminating in the launch of the Master track in 2010. In the third stage - cultivat- ing - the structure, content and delivery of the curriculum was refined and the scope of the programme was broadened. Over more than seventy years, the interplay between professors, teachers and students has brought landscape architecture education in Delft to a level of maturity of which the Faculty is justly proud.

The Great Lakes Megaregion is the largest and most populated network of metropolitan regions in North America. With an estimated population of sixty million, its territory encompasses major urban areas, including Chicago, Detroit, Windsor, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Buffalo, and Montreal. It also boasts a significant cache of natural resources—including one-fifth of the world’s fresh water by surface area—as well as thriving agricultural and manufacturing industries and numerous major research universities.     

The culmination of a recent project by the design firm RVTR, Infra Eco Logi Urbanism considers the role of design in shaping the future of the Great Lakes Megaregion. In order to envision regional possibility in an age of renewable energy, escalating mobility, and increasing urbanization, the project assembles regional maps, design propositions, photographs, related architectural projects, and critical writings, all of which explore the region’s key challenges. Rounding out the volume is a foreword that explores the role of transportation infrastructure in the development of the region and an afterword that situates this project within the broader architectural project of imagining possible future worlds.

Chegamos ao Século XXI, com um valor médio de área de espaços verdes por cada lisboeta de 9,1 m2/habitante, se não incluirmos o Parque de Monsanto, e de 26,8 m2/habitante se o incluirmos. Este índice de área de espaço verde por habitante corresponde a áreas maioritariamente cobertas por árvores e, por isso, é conhecido por “índice verde”. Foi generalizado para as grandes cidades do mundo e caracteriza a relação entre o número de habitantes e as áreas permeáveis e plantadas com árvores, infraestruturadas para passeio, estadia e recreio, que se entremeiam no espaço construído, impermeável e frequentemente de alta densidade que ocupa o resto da cidade.
O índice de Lisboa só inclui jardins e parques públicos a cargo da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (CML), porque são estes que oferecem recreio e estadias à população e para os quais a autarquia investe em manutenção, restauro e vigilância.
É intenção deste trabalho apresentar valores das áreas arborizadas de Lisboa obtidos de fontes seguras e informação quantificada, para reduzir o efeito perverso da informação subjectiva que serve por vezes os defensores do ambiente mas que também contra eles se vira por falta de rigor e precisão. Será também apresentada a evolução dos movimentos internacionais que foram introduzindo ao longo da história o “verde” na cidade e a forma como influenciaram o construir da cidade de Lisboa. Para esta serão apresentadas as espécies arbóreas de arruamento que foram sendo usadas desde 1929 e que constituem a massa de árvores que faz parte da vivência da cidade e da sua imagem.

The article uses the example of Kazimierz Dolny to describe factors which influenced the degradation of architecture and the natural surroundings of a small Polish town. Kazimierz Dolny has a special place in Polish culture and in the collective consciousness of the Poles as the archetypical small town.
Through a combination of its location and history, Kazimierz Dolny’s outstanding qualities came into being. The 17th century brought prosperity and dynamic development relating to the trade in grain which influenced the wealth and ambitions of the townsmen. From this period the examples of high class architecture date, which were created by Italian masters, such as Santi Gucci and Jakub Balin. The decline of the town in the 18th century held back its develop- ment which had previously created its specific charm. Grand buildings like churches, granaries and town houses began to be surrounded by small wooden houses with gardens that spread across lavishly green hills. The layout of the town is defined by the broad river which gives a sense of space.
At the end of the 19th and in the first decade of the 20th century Kazimierz was discovered by artists: painters and writers later followed by filmmakers. They recognised the beauty of the neglected Polish province with its monuments and unspoilt nature. Thanks to them Kazimierz began to form its own legend and became a fashionable summer re- sort and a place to be seen. New architecture was in line with the international trend for recreating national and regional styles. Such architects, as Jan Koszczyc-Witkiewicz and Karol Siciński worked in Kazimierz during this period. After WW2 the provincial character of the town was main- tained, reflected by the restoration efforts made towards damage caused by the war.
Increasing tourism due to the fame of the place has con- tributed to the gradual destruction of the charm of the town and of the landscape surrounding Kazimierz. The exceptional value of the town for Polish culture means there is pressure from local government authorities, businessmen and architects who want to express their ideas and realise their ambitions in this particular place.
The article analyses the destructive influence of social, political, legal and economic transformations on the architecture and landscape of the town. Although it is Kazimierz Dolny that is discussed in the paper, many of the processes described are universal. There are many places worldwide with similar problems regarding new developments that are not sympathetic with local building traditions or history, and which suffer from the burden of increased tourism affecting the local landscape. Usually proper spatial planning and the strict observance of these plans are considered the only measure to prevent the uncontrolled devastation of landscape.
A review of historic legal acts, such as consecutive zoning plans, shows that the final acts were influenced by different. factors. At the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s these acts reflected the technocratic ideology mandated by the communist government. Grand modern buildings and roads were planned to showcase the ideas of the then present political regime. This plan for rebuilding Kazimierz was eventually thwarted by the protests of people who considered the town’s beauty priceless. After the political transformation in 1989, the local self-governing authorities were granted al- most unlimited freedom in zoning. The idea of freedom and free management of one’s property influenced the liberal approach the local authorities took towards spatial planning regulations and the demands of investors and land owners.
Emerging wealth in the new economic circumstances by certain groups within society led to increased interest in investing capital in properties situated within the boundaries of the Kazimierz Landscape Park. There were many undesirable effects as a consequence of this. Developments degrade the landscape of the most valuable spots, with investments eventually spreading to the suburbs leaving the burden of providing and paying for the infrastructure onto the local community. The majority of these newly built villas were not permanently inhabited; their purpose was apparently only to raise the self-esteem of their owners.
Since the beginning of the 1990s the mobility of tourists has vastly improved. They travel in their own cars and park in every free spot. Mass tourism strips Kazimierz of intimacy and small scale. There is pressure from the tourist industry to invest in big capacity buildings, which are of a greater scale and alien to whatever has been built in the town so far. Some architects use their influence and authority to advocate the interests of their rich clients. They are ready to interpret the regulations in such a way that they can approve even the most inappropriate project. Architects following their ambitions get involved in some experiments and debatable manifestoes of their creativity which deface the town. Very often these buildings are their own houses.
Based on the analyses of different factors that form the architecture and landscape of Kazimierz, it is evident how significant social movements and non-government organisations are. Present government authorities responsible for spatial planning do fail. Protests and other steps taken by local communities have had an impact, and have led to changes in investments plans which were hostile to their surroundings. Although the investors have influence, legal support and money, the social voice still remains a greater power. A good example is the development of a modern con- crete-and-glass SPA hotel of over 16 thousand m2 located in Krakowska Street, in the place of the granary demolished at the beginning of the 20th century, which was blocked at the end of 2016. This investment, even though it was inconsistent with requirements of local spatial planning, received an approval of the Provincial Authority.