ZZZ politics
Lodz will have a new city hall! No more "Lodz scattered office"! Although the competition was a conceptual one (not a realization one), and there is a long way to go before the ceremonial ribbon-cutting of the new magistrate's office, but it is already worth looking at it today. However, instead of discussing the winning project, it is worth looking at the issue more broadly and considering what the new investments say about the policy of the Lodz authorities.
The seat of power should meet several basic conditions. It must be grand and visible from a distance. Preceded by a square lined with granite slabs creating an appropriate foreground. The form of a tower (skyscraper) is desirable, so that representatives of the public can look down on this society. The vertical nature of the authority-population relationship should be emphasized. A wide staircase and a monumental (yet modern) portal must lead to the interior. The vestibule should be spacious and high - so that the citizen feels his own smallness, heading for a meeting with representatives of the authorities... Enough! No more jokes! The matter is serious. The city hall-tower in the New Center of Lodz, regardless of what form it will eventually take, is an illustration of several disturbing processes that can be observed in the actions of the city authorities.
New Lodz City Hall
il. Błażej Ciarkowski
Centralization. The city's mayor justifies the need to build a new city hall by the malfunctioning of the current dispersed structure. In light of the digitization of the office, which has been underway for more than a decade, and the real prospect of a complete transition to a virtual circulation of documentation, it is difficult to take this argument seriously. Is it really necessary to have a huge edifice so that, in the third decade of the 21st century, an inspector from department A carries a file to a sub-inspector from department B? It is worth remembering that the centralization of community centers in Lodz was also justified by savings. As you can see, this tendency, backward and in many ways harmful, is close to the heart of the current authorities, who, with a commitment worthy of the 1990s, are ready to justify their every move with "cost optimization."
"The city can't afford...". "The city must make money...". These are other arguments that often appear in public discussions. Listening to them, one gets the impression that the discussions are not about policies, but about a company with very limited liability. "Lodz Ltd." is guided by the profitability of the investment viewed in a relatively narrow perspective. Will a city hall in NC£ revitalize the neighborhood? Rather yes. Can the sale of the current UMŁ headquarters provide a massive cash injection into the budget? Of course! However, no one has considered how the city will be affected by the move of several thousand people out of Piotrkowska Street. Employees of the Office on their way to and from work use service outlets, stores, restaurants. Won't the artificial revival of the New Center be another blow aimed at the historic center?
Patching holes in the city budget by selling municipal real estate is a simple solution and, in the short term, very effective. The problem begins, however, when areas that should not be privatized are put up for sale. These include Green Ostoja - an area of several hectares of former tree nursery, which is an ecosystem of special value. According to the provisions of the MPZP, the city, which, contrary to popular opinion, does not complain about an excess of greenery, part of the property is to be sold to developers and developed. The fuses protecting against questionable transactions have been removed. Councilors have practically nothing to say, as the mayor's signature is sufficient to conclude the transaction (as long as the value of the property being sold does not exceed 1 million zlotys).
concretosis
il. Błażej Ciarkowski
Łódź is building an image of an investor-friendly city. More than two years ago, a draft revitalization resolution appeared allowing the demolition of historical buildings in "poor technical condition" on condition of subsequent reconstruction. One probably doesn't need to convince anyone of the disastrous potential consequences of such a provision - virtually every historic building in the areas covered by area revitalization could be considered to be in sufficiently dire shape. The project was rejected, but the very fact of its creation illustrates a certain way of thinking.
revitalization cadres
il. Błażej Ciarkowski
Relatively recently, the Lodz architectural community was shaken by the news of the resignation of the management of the Municipal Urban Planning Studio. Despite the lack of a clear statement regarding its reasons, it was whispered behind the scenes that the reason was the decisive turn of the Lodz authorities "towards developers." The fact is that a few days earlier the city's first deputy mayor had met with a businessman who has long wanted to erect a high-rise building in the city center, despite the fact that the provisions of the local zoning plan limit the height of buildings there to 25 meters. After talking to a representative of the authorities, the businessman announced that he would graciously reduce the height of Misztal Tower from 110 to 70 meters... Plans to build a city hall-tower in the New Center also contradict the provisions of the plan. Does this mean that the MPU created them in isolation from the city's development strategy? Or has the "wisdom of the stage" changed?
The recipe for all of Lodz's problems is supposed to be new investments. This year's Pritzker Prize winners, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, who argue that architecture is not always about building new things, would be unlikely to have anything to look for in the Promised Land. Here, in the characteristic manner of peripheral countries, there is a cult of growth and novelty. Investments are supposed to be showy and... expensive. The result of this policy is the scaled-down infrastructure of the New Center and kilometers of renovated sidewalks lined with granite slabs. However, it only took a few or so months for the elegant, expensive sidewalks to become decayed and the illuminated plants to wither. Instead of flowerbeds, boaters can "admire" frayed geotextile, and in place of lawns - a threshing floor.
Once again, the 3xZ policy wins. Build, neglect, forget.
And most importantly - pay up!
Błażej Ciarkowski
This article is part of the series Architecture (a)Political.
Part 1 ARCHI-WASHING
Part 2. pathvolence
