Although the era of star architects is slowly passing, new projects announced by famous studios continue to generate great excitement. Recently there has been a lot of noise about the concept that Renzo Piano is preparing in Konstancin-Jeziorna, now the media are circulating information about Daniel Libeskind's involvement in a new project. In which Polish city and for whom will the famous architect work?
It's been a long time since a building stood in Warsaw, the design of which came from the hand of Daniel Libeskind, an architectural superstar with Polish-Jewish roots. After several years, Libeskind is returning to the country of his birth to create a new project. This time it's about Auschwitz, and more specifically, the villa that belonged during World War II to Rudolf Hoess, commandant of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. The work was commissioned by the Counter Extremism Project, an American social organization dedicated to countering extremism, anti-Semitism and deepening radicalization processes.
Rudolf Hoess villa in Oswiecim - It will house the ARCHER center
Photo: Cor2701 © CC BY 3.0
ARCHER extremism research center in Oswiecim
CEP purchased the Rudolf Hoess Villa in late 2024 with the intention of establishing a research and education center under the name ARCHER, which is an acronym for Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization. The property at 88 Legion St. in Oswiecim, acquired by the organization, is actually home to two buildings - a pre-war modernist villa where the camp commandant lived, and a second, post-war single-family house.
According to the organization, the development plan for the site is to be handled by Daniel Libeskind.
At this time, as we pay tribute to the victims and families of the Holocaust on the 80th anniversary of these tragic events, I feel extremely honored to be part of a project of such historic significance and scale. By transforming this house- once a symbol of unimaginable evil-in ARCHER at House 88, a center for education, action and remembrance, we can ensure that future generations will never forget what happened here. I hope that this project will become a lasting legacy, turning horror into hope and reminding us all that even from the greatest darkness we can create a beacon for the world.
- explains the architect.
Daniel Libeskind and his studio will work on creating a master plan to map the further development of the research center in the historic Rudolf Hess villa.
Detail of the Jewish Museum in Berlin
Photo: Jorge Royan © CC BY-SA 3.0
Who is Daniel Libeskind?
Daniel Libeskind is an American architect with Polish-Jewish roots. Born in 1946 in Lodz, Poland, he spent much of his childhood and youth in Tel Aviv and later in New York. His architecture is described as deconstructivist, using the language of expressive, highly geometric forms covered with metallic finishes. The architect's most important buildings include the Jewish Museum in Berlin or adaptations of the Royal Museum in Ontario. In Poland, Libeskind designed the Zlota 44 skyscraper in Warsaw.
Jewish Museum in Berlin - bird's eye view
photo by Guenter Schneider © Studio Daniel Libeskind
Nexus 21, or Libeskind in Lodz.
Daniel Libeskind is accustomed to projects that strongly influence the perception of the space around them. Although Zlota 44 is not one of his most daring projects, buildings such as the expansion of the Bundeswehr Military-Historical Museum in Dresden and the Denver Art Museum building have significantly changed their surroundings. In a similar way, its realization in Lodz, announced for a good few years, was (and perhaps still is) supposed to look like this. Nexus 21, as this was the name of the investment, which was to stand at the intersection of Wschodnia and Jaracza streets, drew the attention of Lodz residents and those interested in architecture with its deconstructivist form, typical of Libeskind. It quickly became apparent that how the architect's "iconic" style would be received depended largely on the context. In the case of the Lodz proposal, negative reactions prevailed.
If we assume that it is an attempt to find answers to the challenges and problems of modernity then... Libeskind's project is not modern. It is turn-of-the-century architecture, the golden age of star-architecture. It is an icon that will never be an icon, for their time has passed irretrievably. It represents an expensive decoration that has not only gone out of fashion, but may even seem inappropriate.
- wrote Blazej Ciarkowski for A&B in 2021.
Royal Ontario Museum
Photo credit: Raysonho © public domain
Libeskind aside
What are the surroundings of the Oswiecim villa that will be the subject of Daniel Libeskind's project? 88 Legionów St., where Rudolf Hoess lived, is an address located at the back of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, right next to its wall, among the greenery on the banks of the Soła River. Even if Libeskind indulges in his typical extravagance, it is likely that the out-of-the-way location and lush vegetation will make the building less of an icon.
It should be noted, however, that at this point the design or even the scope of the planned work is not known. Although Rudolf Hoess's villa is not directly under conservation protection, it has not been said that the changes Libeskind will make to the villa of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp commandant will significantly alter the building's external appearance.
