The ZAMIESZKANIE competition organized by produktydladomu.pl, a sub-portal of Architecture and Business is addressed to male and female students of Architecture Faculties, Interior Design Faculties and design majors from all over Poland. They are encouraged to submit their works that address the challenges of residential architecture. The first prize winner or winners will win 5,000 zlotys and a one-year subscription to the Architektura & Biznes monthly.
Interview with the jury of the competition:
Prof. Tadeusz Pietrzkiewicz
Professor Taduesz Pietrzkiewicz is an interior designer and research and teaching staff member affiliated with the Faculty of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, where he is active in the Interior Design Department. In his research and projects, he focuses on the issue of inhabitation and sacred spaces, which he sees as places of manifestation of ideas in space, relating to existential problems.
Also at the center of his interests is ethics in architecture, which he sees as the basis of the design process. Professor Pietrzkiewicz is the author of the concepts of "do-imagination" and "creative do-imagination," which he defines as an individual way of establishing holistic and creative values. He draws attention to the need to reflect on values in the context of the contemporary crisis of universal principles, which he considers crucial for conscious architectural design.
competition INTELLIGENCE
© A&B-
Aleksandra Skorupa: What makes the "ZAMIESZKANIE" competition unique compared to other initiatives for male and female architecture and design students?
Tadeusz Pietrzkiewicz: The issue of inhabitation links architecture with the meaning of our human existence. It carries with it questions fundamental to human existence about the degree of our connection to space and place. It sounds a bit philosophical, because it is an issue that ties architecture to philosophy. And this connection is not surprising, but rather confirms its rule. I refer here to the deep connection between architecture and ethics and aesthetics.
Can generations raised in modernist and post-modernist blocks of flats still feel a connection to place, as it were, following in the footsteps of Heidegger's thought? Probably, there may be something like that... But, first of all, it is important to realize that our lives are undergoing significant changes. What's more... we see the increasing dynamics of these changes. Perhaps, in modern times, we are becoming nomads again. We wander the world in search of fulfillment. We carry home with us in our hearts and along with a suitcase that holds possessions.
Could this "suitcase", when properly configured, become a vehicle for habitation? Could she become a kind of architectural necessity (container) to help us tame any new space? Could it lay the groundwork for habitation in this way?
But it is also a possible case that, after a rather long-standing dominant reluctance to tie ourselves to a place, this inclination will change. Perhaps we will once again want to erect our own place-bound homes? What they would be - we don't know. There are many more similar questions and they can be formulated in different areas... Do we reconcile ourselves to the system of habitation proposed by developers? Can it be improved? (In terms of the developer's scheme for configuring apartments, we still cannot convincingly define the living space of apartments).
In addition, other alternative attempts are being made to initiate living spaces. I do not have ready answers to the questions I have formulated here. They may become an afterthought within the framework of this competition. But it does not have to be so. I am curious about the opinion of young designers. They will speak with their designs....
Aleksandra Skorupa: What features or innovative solutions in the designs draw the jury's attention the most?
Tadeusz Pietrzkiewicz: The conditions given in the Rules of Competition are decisive... But, following the clear - hidden between the words - premise of the question posed, I would add that solutions - let's call it: progressive, searching - are always appreciated. As can be deduced from the previous answer, exploration is also possible within the framework of improving known patterns of behavior.
Moreover, one never knows what the participants will surprise us with. This unknown prompts us to participate in the jury. We are certainly open to different interpretations.
Aleksandra Skorupa: Why, in your opinion, should male and female students engage in the search for innovative and ecological solutions in the context of contemporary architectural challenges?
Tadeusz Pietrzkiewicz: The quick sketch I've drawn around the problem of habitation - I'm thinking of the answer to the first question - makes us aware of the seriousness and scale of the issue at hand. The problem is as important as our relationship to space is to us. It is a question of the existence of human beings as individuals; the existence of everyone in our midst, as well as those who will come after us. This relationship will always be there. Even when we ignore it. Ignoring it, unfortunately, will mean linking it to the current economic outcome of the sale of premises.
Ecology, which you mentioned in your question, is undoubtedly very important. In order for it not to become just a lever of commerce, we most likely need to see it in the background of the humanistic aspect I developed.
Aleksandra Skorupa: How can participation in the competition affect the further professional development of the participants?
Habitation is such an important architectural issue that it should be constantly raised. This competition not only brings the benefits of prizes and glamour, but the main benefit comes from the form of obligation to participate in important topics. Whoever will speak up in an important way on the issue of habitation will mean a lot and can do a lot of good for architecture.
Aleksandra Skorupa: Thank you for the interview.
