Eternity and a moment - ebook

Eternity and a Moment, the title of the exhibition and its accompanying publication, has been inspired by a speech delivered by Lech Niemojewski (1894–1952), a distinguished Polish architect. The quote aptly conveys the successful dream of a strong, independent Polish state, and the short period of time (1918–1939) which saw the architectural and urban design plans — ambitious in both scale and panache — being realised. Niemojewski appears to be an excellent guide to the Polish architecture due to his various functions (Commissioner of the Polish presentation at the 1937 World Exposition in Paris, head of the art commission responsible for the interiors of MS Batory, the famed Polish ocean liner) as well as his engagement in promoting modernity. His substantial journalistic output also acts in his favour and testifies to his unique intuition which allowed him to promptly identify new phenomena and trends in Polish art.

■ Terraced house in Warsaw, design: Roman Piotrowski, Jan Reda, Józef Szanajca. Architektura i Budownictwo, 4/1936

■ House of Polish Sailor, Gdynia, design: Bohdan Damięcki, Tadeusz Sieczkowski. Collection of the Museum of the City of Gdynia

■ Chemical Technology Building of the Warsaw University of Technology, design: Czesław Przybylski, photo: Czesław Olszewski. Collection of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences

ETERNITY AND A MOMENT

THE SECOND POLISH REPUBLIC

To understand the role of architecture in promoting the recreated state, a crash course in Polish history post-1918, following the end of the WW1, might be of help. The very name of the newly independent state — II Rzeczpospolita, the Second Polish Republic — testifies to the gravity of this historic moment. Poland regained independence after 123 years of captivity and its new name suggested the idea of continuing old-time traditions. The country disappeared from the map of Europe in 1795, having been partitioned by the three neighbouring states: Prussia, Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia. After the end of the WW1, Poland reappeared on the map and various actions were undertaken to prove its respectable status, e.g. the monetary reform of 1924 which introduced Polish zloty (equivalent of 100 groshes), or the establishment of the Bank of Poland.

The new beginning was marked by a symbolic date of 11 November, today observed as the National Independence Day — on that day the Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland ceded power to Józef Piłsudski, author of the success of a famed military formation known as the Polish Legions. In 1920, Piłsudski was granted a unique title of the First Marshall of Poland; in 1926, he took control over the Ministry of Military Affairs. Ignacy Mościcki, a scientist, chemist and inventor, was elected as head of state. Both names — Piłsudski and Mościcki — hold a special place in the history of Polish architecture of the interwar period. Not only were there projects realised especially for these two statesmen, but many of these were even named after them, as a tribute.

3 × NATIONAL STYLE

Józef Piłsudski was not particularly keen on modern tastes. He spent a period of his life in Sulejówek near Warsaw, in a villa resembling mansions typical of Polish nobility, designed in the style of the so-called manor house architecture. Today, the villa houses a museum dedicated to the Marshall. Just as the name of the Second Polish Republic evoked associations with a strong Polish state, so did the form of the Marshall’s mansion, which drew on the tradition of the old residences of Polish nobility. This was one of the trends of a national style, next to the so-called Zakopane architecture style invented by artist Stanisław Witkiewicz, which was modelled on wooden mountain houses with local ornamentation typical of Podhale (region in southern Poland, at the foot of the Tatra mountains, with the capital in Zakopane).

The manor house style grew very popular, partly due to its historicising forms, and partly due to a broad scope of possibilities of adapting the rather plain volume with a column-supported portico, a triangular pediment, and a tall combination roof to various functions — an excellent example being railway stations. Referred to as ‘gateways to cities’ and designed on commission of the Polish State Railways (PKP), such railway station edifices were built, for example, along the suburban railway line connecting the country’s capital with the town of Grodzisk. They were also quite popular in the Eastern Borderlands areas incorporated in Poland after the First World War. Residential colonies for army officers and officials were also erected in this style — on a massive scale, both in the borderland territories and in Warsaw. In the capital, however, the professional elites soon developed a taste for modernist villas. The avant-garde architecture in Poland gradually became associated with social advancement and high status. Polish construction design in the years 1918–1939 offers very many examples of original modernist buildings commissioned by private clients. Today, they serve as the canon of modern Polish architecture.

ARCHITECTURAL KNOW-HOW

The development of architecture of the interwar period can be described as spectacularly dynamic. It was driven by a broad-scale programme of investments commissioned by the state and powerful business entities, but also by hundreds of architectural competitions which paved the way for seeking innovative formal solutions. Graduates of architecture and structural design faculties were affiliated in professional organisations. The Architektura i Budownictwo (Architecture and Construction) monthly published not only articles penned by distinguished Polish architects and theoreticians of architecture, but also rich design and photographic documentation by such authors as Czesław Olszewski or the Photo-Plat company founded by artist Stefan Plater-Zyberk. Brimming with colourful photos, the exclusive Arkady (Arcades) magazine was yet another opinion-forming publication in the years 1935–1939, i.e. at the peak of the economic (and, ipso facto, urban planning and architectural) development in Poland. The subjects touched upon in Arkady reached far beyond architecture; they involved industrial design, arts and crafts, interior design, painting, sculpture and folk art — all the leading trends in European culture.

LIGHT-SENSITIVE ARCHITECTURE

In the period between the two world wars, photography was not just a vital element of Polish arts and culture, but also an important promotional tool. Precise shots of buildings taken by Czesław Olszewski or the pioneer female photographer, Zofia Chomętowska, a Polish aristocrat who was highly respected in the milieu of photographic artists, exerted a major influence on the unfading fascination with Polish interwar architecture, some of which survived solely in the memory of the light-sensitive film. Many remain unaware that to enhance the contrast and make the silhouettes of buildings sharper, water was poured on the cobblestones prior to the final shutter release. The term ‘media Modernism’, still in use in the history of architecture, is a perfect definition of the artistic-promotional effects achieved by Olszewski or Chomętowska in their photos of Polish architecture.

■ Grain Silo, design: Michał Paszkowski, Bolesław Szmidt. Collection of the Museum of the City of Gdynia

■ Rice mill, design: Kazimierz Krzyżanowski (attrib.). Collection of the Museum of the City of Gdynia

■ MS Batory ocean liner. Collection of the National Digital Archives

‘MARITIME POLAND’

The peace treaties signed by the end of the WW1 gave Poland access to the Baltic Sea — 140 kilometres of coastline. Quite rapidly, the town of Gdynia — a former fishing village turned holiday resort — became one of the most modern ports in Europe and a synonym of a modernist city. The dynamic development of the coastal centre was linked to the ambitious plans of building a strong ‘Maritime Poland’ which was to become one of the leading players in the international economy. Aside from the official and residential buildings, Gdynia’s urban tissue comprised an industrial complex of a sea harbour, a rice-shelling plant, and a cotton-sorting plant. However, even in such a modernist city as Gdynia there was space for various architectural styles, both those inspired by Polish manor houses as well as the ultra-modern, technologically advanced buildings.

The city’s history has been inscribed in its topography — the main thoroughfare, 10 Lutego Street, commemorates two events: Poland’s symbolic Union with the Sea that took place on 10 February 1920, and the publication day of the ordinance granting Gdynia’s town rights, i.e. 10 February 1926.

In 1936, a luxurious ocean liner MS Batory, coursing between Poland and America, set off on its virgin cruise from the ‘white city’ of Gdynia to New York. The vessel, named after King Stefan Batory, was often referred to as ‘the ambassador of Polish culture’ for the high artistic quality of its fittings — from tableware to the interior design of the formal spaces. A special commission supervised the design process in collaboration with leading Polish artists and factories. The architects drew inspiration from the oval forms and structural elements typical of naval vessels. It was the so-called streamline style, very popular at the time, featuring elements resembling a docked ship. Curvatures, terraces with balustrades that imitated railings on a ship’s deck, balconies in the form of a captain’s bridge, and porthole windows were the style’s most characteristic features. It was highly popular in the 1930s not just by the sea where modern resort towns, such as Jurata, were springing up, but also in the country’s interior, including Warsaw.

SKYSCRAPERS

The Polish western border (with Germany) was ultimately delineated in 1922, following a series of insurgencies, as well as plebiscites. As Upper Silesia was incorporated into Poland, its capital, Katowice, required a presentable infrastructure. Hence the creation of the classicist edifice of the Silesian Court, one of the largest administrative buildings in Europe at the time, and the Silesian Museum — the most modern institution of this sort in the continent back then, fitted with both service and passenger lifts, radiative heating and air conditioning. The Museum’s edifice, regarded as one of the best works by architect Karol Schayer, was demolished in the years 1941–1944. After the war, Schayer was the co-author of a new architectural vision for Beirut.

Due to the technologically advanced architecture (the first steel structure skyscrapers, developed by Stefan Bryła, were erected in Katowice) the city was sometimes compared to American agglomerations. The urban tissue was almost exclusively modernist and included private villas and luxurious properties for rent, with winter gardens behind glazed facades. This all placed Katowice next to Gdynia and Warsaw as an important point on the Polish map of modernity.

■ Castle residence of the President of Poland in Wisła, design: Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz. Architektura i Budownictwo, 5/1935

■ Idylla guest house in Wisła, design: Tadeusz Michejda. Architektura i Budownictwo, 4-5/1937

■ Sports Park in Wisła, design: Stefan Tworkowski. Architektura i Budownictwo, 4-5/1937

■ Sanatorium in Otwock, design: Edgar Norwerth. Architektura i Budownictwo, 12/1935

■ Wiktor sanatorium in Żegiestów, design: Jan Bagieński, Zbigniew Wardzała. Architektura i Budownictwo, 4-5/1937

THE MODERN CASTLE

Michał Grażyński, a doctor in philosophy and law, as well as the governor of Silesia at the time, was an enthusiastic promoter of modernist architecture in the region. It was on his initiative that the palace commonly referred to as the ‘Small Castle’ was built in the town of Wisła, at the site of a former Habsburg residence, as a gift of the Silesian Province to President Ignacy Mościcki. Furnished with a set of fittings made of bent chrome- and nickel-plated pipes, the palace boasted the most modern interior design in Europe. The rich furnishing included the first Polish piece to be granted a registered design by the Patent Office — an institution established on 28 December 1918, i.e. soon after Poland had regained her independence. The piece of equipment in question was a metal deck chair of innovative structure, patented with number 10310 by the avant-garde architect Bohdan Lachert. It belonged to the set from President Mościcki’s bathing room. Modern furniture made of metal and leather, canvas or fur, soon became a mandatory element of the interiors sponsored by the state, such as the ministerial pavilions arranged at exhibitions, or the interior of the saloon carriage for Marshall Józef Piłsudski.

ARCHITECTURE FOR HEALTH

The mountain resort of Wisła, where the holiday residence of Ignacy Mościcki was constructed and equipped with the first ever modern interior fittings so consistently designed, was chosen for this purpose also for symbolical reasons, as the ‘queen of Polish rivers’ — the Vistula (‘Wisła’ in Polish — lending the town its name) had its source there. At the same time, Wisła was — as it still is — a rapidly developing resort and centre of winter sports. This development was aided by the local architecture — examples include the ‘Idylla’ guest house designed by Katowice-based architect Tadeusz Michejda, or the Sports Park designed by architect Stefan Tworkowski from Warsaw.

In the interwar period, it became ever more popular to engage in different leisure activities, do sports, focus on hygiene and health, and be in contact with nature. In order to prevent the spread of tuberculosis, the state invested heavily in special TB clinics. The treatment required clean air, long hours of resting on deck chairs and basking in the sun on specially designed terraces or rooms. Modern architecture accommodated this well, as it postulated access to fresh air (ventilation), sun (natural light), and greenery (resting, psychological effect). Original architectural solutions — modern, functional, carefully designed with respect to landscape — were being employed all across the country in the period of the Second Polish Republic. Amongst the finest health resorts were the Children’s Sanatorium (Józef Piłsudski Healing Centre) in Istebna in the region of Upper Silesia (Jadwiga Dobrzyńska, Zygmunt Łoboda), or the Wiktor sanatorium in Żegiestów (Lwow-based architects Jan Bagieński, Zbigniew Wardzała). This modernist edifice with its glazed staircase shaft, composed well with the landscape of the Beskidy Mountains, and was regarded as the most luxurious guest house in the late 1930s.

The advancement in the means of transportation increased demand for travelling. Seaside resorts beckoned; mountain tourism, so far considered elitist, was becoming popular. The cable car to Kasprowy Wierch was the first such type of project in the reborn country, and most certainly the only one designed as world-class architecture. An astronomical observatory, adjacent to the end station, was integrated into the surrounding alpine landscape thanks to the use of local stone. The only larger research station was located on top of the Pop Iwan mountain in the massif of Karpaty, on the Polish-Czech border (Ukraine today).

EXHIBITION ARCHITECTURE

In 1929, the largest exhibition in Poland — Polish General Exhibition (PWK) — opened in Poznań, the capital of Wielkopolska Province (Greater Poland), to mark the 10th anniversary of Poland’s independence. The effects of the dynamic economic development as well as the scientific and technological advancements were presented in pavilions which were unconventional in terms of their architectural form. Their function was to advertise and promote. The Union of Polish Cement Plants (commonly referred to as Centro-cement) pavilion, for example, resembled a cement silos, the Artificial Fertilizer Pavilion demonstrated the structural potential of iron, while the pavilion of ‘Women’s Work’ boasted an ultramodern form. Only two cities — Gdynia and Kraków — were granted separate pavilions. The Polish government also held its own display, organized in the pavilions arranged in the Governmental Palace. The following departments were presented: Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Internal Affairs (with an extra pavilion of State Monopolies), Ministry of Treasury, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Military Affairs, Ministry of Religious Confessions and Public Education, Ministry of Transport, Post Offices and Telegraphs, Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Reforms. The exposition’s goal was pronounced loud and clear: “It is to demonstrate the might of Polish culture and economy to those at home and abroad. It is to boost internal consumption and international export. It must serve as a powerful propaganda tool in favour of Poland abroad.”

Following the closure of the Poznań presentation, the history of general exhibitions continued. Another was planned in Warsaw; it was to mark the 25th anniversary of Poland’ independence. The idea to organize a large exhibition in the capital was born as early as 1916. The planned domestic and international displays were to be located by the Vistula. For almost a quarter of a century the area was a theme which regularly recurred in the various designs offered by different architects. It was not until 1934 that the plans gained momentum when Stefan Starzyński was appointed Civilian Commissar of Warsaw as he promoted opening the city towards the river: “ the need to draw Warsaw closer to the Vistula is, in many respects, analogous to the country drawing closer to the sea by way of the development of Gdynia and maritime shipping.” The plans of international exposition have been preserved in the names of streets of the Saska Kępa city district: Francuska, Czeska, Brukselska, Genewska, Meksykańska, Międzynarodowa (French St., Czech St., Brussels St., Geneva St., Mexican St., International St.).

PROMOTING POLAND ABROAD

Poland actively participated in international exhibitions. In 1933, a monumental photomontage Polonia, composed of black and white photos of contemporary architecture and sized 6 x 3 metres, was displayed at the 5th Triennale di Milano, L’Esposizione Internazionale delle Arti Decorative e Industriali Moderne e dell’Architettura Moderna. Promoting a country by way of photographs of most presentable modernist buildings was particularly on point in Italy, where modern architecture was one of the powerful mechanisms of advertising a state. The lettering Polonia was inscribed in the photomontage in the Futura plain font created by Paul Renner. Approximately at the same time, following a long research on the specification of Polish letters, graphic artist and typographer Adam Półtawski developed a two-component typeface referred to as the ‘Polish national typeface’ or ‘Półtawski’s Roman type’.

One of the most interesting exposition projects was perhaps the promotion of Poland at the Art and Technique in Modern Life exhibition in Paris in 1937. Its strategy, accepted by commissioner Lech Niemojewski, was to present a country of advanced technologies — hence the display of Polish RWD sport aircrafts (abbreviation derived from the first letters of the names of their constructors: Rogalski, Wigura and Drzewiecki), as well as the Pm36-1 railway aerodynamic engine produced at the Fablok — the First Factory of Locomotives in Poland, located in Chrzanów. National colours — white and red — were also used in the promotion: the curtain wall of the avant-garde pavilion was designed as a white-and-red aviation chess board. Architect Barbara Brukalska also used these colours in her arrangement of ‘a room of an aircraft constructor’.

A NATIONAL ARCHITECT

The name of the co-designer of the Honorary Rotunda at the 1937 exhibition in Paris is also worth mentioning here. Bohdan Pniewski was one of the most distinguished Polish architects, highly respected by the government circles. His flagship style was simplified classicism, with numerous references to historical trends and a monumental scale, as well as bright-coloured sandstone cladding and precisely designed and executed details. Pniewski was responsible for turning the Brühl’s Palace into the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for redeveloping the complex by adding a wing to the edifice, housing a ballroom and apartments for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Józef Beck. Photographs of the Palace were published in the American Life magazine, among others. Pniewski’s architectural oeuvre also comprised many visionary projects which were never actually executed. These include the Maritime Basilica with three turrets in Gdynia. Its form referred to the shape of a three-masted galleon — the architect was clearly fascinated by marine motifs.

■ Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw, design: Bohdan Pniewski. Collection of the National Digital Archives

■ Functional Warsaw schemes, concept: Jan Chmielewski, Szymon Syrkus. Warszawa funkcjonalna, 1934

A PERFECT INDUSTRIAL TOWN

Another axis of the country’s economic development strategy next to ‘Maritime Poland’ was heavy industry. In 1936, the Central Industrial Region (COP) was created in south-central Poland, its model industrial town being Stalowa Wola on the River San, boasting modern urban design and architecture. The local Southern Manufacturing Plant was dedicated to the dynamically developing arms industry production. COP was considered the largest economic undertaking of the Second Polish Republic and, as such, was promoted not merely through architecture, but also in literature and fine arts. A prominent journalist, Melchior Wańkowicz, devoted two books to the Central Industrial Region, in which he described both the existing investment projects as well as those still in the pipeline: Stalowa Wola, the Rożnowo water dam, the ‘Stomil’ tyre manufacturing plant in Dębica, and the cellulose production factory in Niedomice. Painter Rafał Malczewski created a series of oil paintings titled Central Industrial Region — a painterly reportage. The work was commissioned by the government and was to be displayed in the interiors of the Main Railway Station in Warsaw.

MODERN URBAN PLANNING

The rudiments of modern urban planning, which served as the basis for designing the industrial character of Stalowa Wola, were included in a study titled Warszawa funkcjonalna — przyczynek do urbanizacji regionu published in 1934. The work was developed by Szymon Syrkus, once a prime mover behind the modernist Praesens group, and Jan Chmielewski, an urban planning pioneer, representative of the Society of Polish Urban Planners. The idea of this pioneering study, also referred to as ‘Warsaw maximum’, was to generate a sustainable development of the city as a multiple-nuclei region so as to relieve the city centre. The architects engaged in shaping a new model for the capital as a result of their participation in the 4th International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM) in Athens, which was devoted to the analysis of urban structures. The postulates put forward at the Congress are known as The Athens Charter (1933).

Stefan Starzyński, the Mayor of Warsaw, was a keen enthusiast of regulating the city urban structure. It was upon his initiative that a design of the governmental Józef Piłsudski Quarter was produced. The Marshall passed away on 12 May 1935; over the course of several days following his death, symbolic graves were arranged in cities as far apart as Vilna and Katowice. The funeral service organised in Warsaw took place at the Pole Mokotowskie Park, with a military parade and plans for an ‘urban design monument’ which, however, was never executed.

MONUMENTAL WARSAW AND KRAKÓW

The edifice of the National Development Bank (BGK) — the sole financial institution entirely owned by the State Treasury — was one of the pioneering architectural projects in Warsaw. The building may serve as a geological mini-atlas of Polish deposits. It was to promote the local economy by way of architecture, and boost prosperity. The facades were clad with dark andesite, while the interiors were panelled with marble and alabaster slabs. Rudolf Świerczyński, author of the BGK central office, was the author of several other formal buildings in Warsaw constructed in a similar style. This architect and professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw Polytechnic, would cover entire exteriors with local materials — different in each of his designs. The Ministry of Transport was clad with clinker brick and the headquarters of the Polish Navy Directorate with polished sandstone except for the socle which was covered with hammered granite (as a matter of fact, the Navy headquarters were to be part of the impressive Józef Piłsudski Quarter). Worth mentioning are the co-creators of these architectural pieces, the structural engineers without whom erecting a building of such a scale would not be at all possible. While speaking of the vital role of materials in Polish architecture, one should also mention architect Romuald Gutt, who designed most of his Warsaw buildings in grey cement brick, treating this plain material in a truly masterly fashion, generating a chiaroscuro, sculptural and purely decorative effects. Now and again one may come across the notion of a ‘Warsaw brick’, which has its origin precisely in Gutt’s projects.

In Kraków, monumental edifices rose along the prestigious Trzech Wieszczów Avenues (streets named after the famous Polish poets: Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki and Zygmunt Krasiński). Together, they constituted a coherent urban design of a model district: the Jagiellonian Library created by Wacław Krzyżanowski, member of the National Council for the Reconstruction of the Country, as well as the National Museum and the University of Science and Technology (AGH) which boasted monumental architecture with a pronounced geometrical division, complete with sculptural decoration (never executed in the case of the Jagiellonian Library).

PROMOTING POLAND THROUGH ARCHITECTURE

Upon arrival to the capital of Poland, a mobile traveller, an interwar homo viator, would find himself or herself at the Main Railway Station, which was located in the very centre of Warsaw and envisaged as a metaphor of the entire country. The building was left unfinished before the outbreak of the Second World War; its designer, architect Czesław Przybylski, passed away midway through the project’s execution. Nonetheless, the Main Railway Station remained a spectacular example of the promotion of Poland by way of a synthesis of fine arts, i.e. visionary architecture supplemented by painting, sgraffito, sculpture, bas-relief, graphic art, mosaics and stained-glass. The main hall was supposed to house a small figure of Polonia on a pedestal, placed against a mosaic depicting personifications of Polish natural resources and the five continents. In the arrivals hall, a bas-relief composition titled Warsaw — the Capital of Poland was displayed on the wall. The grand opening of the completed Warsaw Main Railway Station was planned for 1940. The outbreak of the Second World War on 1 September 1939 rendered these plans unviable.

■ Ministry of Transport in Warsaw, design: Rudolf Świerczyński. Architektura i Budownictwo, 5/1935

■ Polish Navy Directorate in Warsaw, design: Rudolf Świerczyński. Architektura i Budownictwo, 1/1936

■ Doctor Reyman’s House in Warsaw, design: Romuald Gutt. Architektura i Budownictwo, 5/1935

■ Insurance Association Building in Warsaw, design: Romuald Gutt, photo: Czesław Olszewski. Collection of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences

■ National Museum in Kraków, design: Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, Czesław Boratyński, Janusz Dumnicki, Janusz Juraszyński, Edward Kreisler, Bolesław Schmidt. Collection of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków