The beginning of February promises to be very interesting! On February 3, the BUDMA trade fair in Poznań starts, and with it ARCHI-STRADA - a meeting for architects of the future. What will happen on this architectural stage?
The triad of concepts formulated by Vitruvius, emphasizing the three basic conditions that a good building must meet, namely firmitas (durability), utilitas (utility) and venustas (beauty), has been the foundation of architecture for centuries. Is this still the case today? Is durability still important now that we are tearing down buildings that are several years old? Does utility still matter? And finally, beauty - what is it at a time when trends change faster than projects are implemented? It is aesthetics that will be the main protagonist of this year's ARCHI-STRADA.
The idea behind the event is to create a platform to support the integration of the community of manufacturers, investors and architects in order to strive for harmony between architecture and the environment and its user, to save natural resources, and to focus on efficiency, sustainability and safety. Among other things, the ARCHI-STRADA stage will host the Design and Architecture Forum, which the organizers promise will be:
a pretext for a public debate on the challenges of contemporary architecture, on how to define the true tastes and needs of specific users, on aesthetics as a tool for building place identity and quality of life, and on the search for a balance between beauty, ecological and social responsibility.
measurable aspects of aesthetics
On February 3, the D&A Forum will open with a summit meeting attended by Piotr Fokczynski, President of the National Council of the Polish Chamber of Architects, and Marek Chrobak, President of the Association of Polish Architects, among others.
Aesthetics, as the leitmotif of the event, is not only about classification, which is attempted to be encapsulated within the terms "pretty" or "ugly." Marta Wierusz, an architect from the APA Wojciechowski studio, will talk about the conscious and subconscious evaluation of the aesthetics of space and how it affects the behavior of users, while Justyna Dziedziejko, a landscape architect from the topoScape studio, will talk about the beauty of nature on the example of the award-winning design of the park on the Warsaw Uprising Mound, which is in the running for the Mies van der Rohe award this year. The two designers, together with Dawid Strębicki of Atelier Starzak Strebicki and cognitive scientist Professor Maciej Blaszak, will also participate in a debate on the measurable aspects of aesthetics, which will be moderated by Jakub Głaz - architecture critic, editor of A&B.
"Storm" Action Park in Warsaw, proj.: Archigrest and topoScape
Photo: Michal Szlaga | Illustrations courtesy of Archigrest studio
Special guests at the event will be Carl Bäckstrand, architect from the Swedish White Arkitekter studio and juror in this year's edition of the Mies van der Rohe Prize competition, and Maciej Jakub Zawadzki - architect and urban planner, founder of MJZ and the think-tank LURE - Laboratory for Urban Research & Education.
special guests: Carl Bäckstrand and Maciej Zawadzki
© organizers archive
aesthetics of reuse
A new aesthetic and certainly a growing trend is reuse - Oskar Grąbczewski of OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci studio will talk about revitalization, re-use and recycling, using the recently completed TBS housing complex on Mariacka Street in Katowice as an example.
Read more: Silver architecture with a brick heart - the new TBS at Mariacka Street in Katowice.
New TBS building on Mariacka Street in Katowice, proj.: OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
photo: Michal Kolonko © OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci
aesthetics of everyday space
Aesthetics (or lack thereof) also applies to the space of everyday life. On February 5, on the ARCHI-STRADA stage, you will meet Magdalena Milert, known on social media as @Pieing, an architect and editor of A&B, who will talk about her book "For whom is the city? How to create a space that cares about us" and Gregory Friday, architecture critic and author of books, including his latest, "Temple and Dumpster. Architecture for Life."
Magdalena Milert; Grzegorz Piątek
Photo: Adrianna Soltys; photo: Karolina Jackowska
It will also be an opportunity to meet with us - at 11:30 a.m. we start with a debate organized by A&B, "Aestheticization of architecture and urban spaces. What will the future of Polish cities look like?" with the participation of Prof. Agata Twardoch, Urban Planner of the City of Gliwice, Michal Lorbiecki, Urban Planner of the City of Chorzow, Przemo Łukasik, architect from the Medusa Group studio, and Karol Nieradka, architect from the maxberg studio and president of SARP Szczecin Branch. The debate will be moderated by Małgorzata Tomczak, editor-in-chief of A&B. You are welcome!
Read more: What will the future of Polish cities look like?
The debate "Aestheticization of Architecture and Urban Spaces. What will the future of Polish cities look like?"
© A&B
You can find the detailed program of the event and additional information on the ARCHI-STRADA website. See you in Poznan!
