Every city weaves a story about itself - reliving great events and commemorating tragedies, wounds that sometimes cannot heal. Cities and their communities weave stories, very often unable to move beyond the realm of the past. However, there are exceptions to this rule.
During the festival there were several walks focusing on the architecture of Gdynia
photo by Przemysław Kozłowski
For the thirteenth time, the Weekend of Architecture was held in Gdynia - an event where architects and architects, specialists in many fields, socialites and community members, as well as residents and residents can start a discussion about architecture together. The motto of this year's edition was "Essence" and what it is for the city. The strength of the event is most strongly expressed precisely in the ability to weave a story about the city, and, just as importantly, to go beyond the boundaries of the past.
Archi Lectures concerned not only Gdynia, but also other cities
Photo: Przemysław Kozłowski
immerse yourself in the city
One can look at Gdynia from a wide variety of perspectives, not only those we most associate with the modernism of the interwar period. During the Architecture Weekend, we could discover Gdynia, if only from the perspective of Jewish investors, the megastructures of late modernism, the dilemmas of the preservationist or the interiors of townhouses, which social activists very often inventory and restore in their free time. The strength of the Gdynia Archi Walks is diversity - this story about the city was led by people with very different perspectives.
There is no single correct history of Gdynia - the essence of this city is still worth discovering, very often anew.
walk in the footsteps of architects and investors of Jewish origin
photo by Przemysław Kozłowski
architecture is a bridge, or a place for discussion
In addition to the opportunity to learn about the city through Archi Walks, an important highlight were the Archi Lectures, lectures and debates spread over the three days of the festival, which discussed the problems and opportunities facing Polish cities. During the festival we could listen to lectures about great projects, the positive values of competitions or small changes that made a big difference in cities. The value of architecture was discussed on the example of not only Gdynia, but also Olsztyn, Bytom, Szczecin and Bialystok. The exchange of knowledge made it possible to understand what the success/failure stories of individual visions and changes were.
One of the Archi Lectures; from left: Mariusz Twardowski, Dorota Omylska, Karol Nieradka, Barbara Marchiwcka, Wojciech Niebrzydowski, Marlena Pilch
Photo: Przemysław Kozłowski
The lectures were a place of synergy between architects and architects, popularizers and popularizers of architecture, as well as social activists and socialites who take care of the city's heritage on a daily basis. There was no shortage of trending topics in the panels and lectures - the issue of climate change in construction, the carbon footprint or the role of social challenges for architecture developers.
From left: Dorota Omylska, Sandra Przepiórkowska, Anna Becker, Karol Nieradka and Paweł Paradowski
photo: Przemysław Kozłowski
No less important was the creation of a field of discussion about what is "renewal" in architecture. Once again, as in other cases, the opportunity to speak here was given to architects and architects, authors of the most popular Polish realizations in this field, as well as private investors and investors of small Gdynia realizations - people fighting to preserve what is most important in a coastal city.
SARP president Agnieszka Kalinowska-Sołtys during a lecture on the carbon footprint
Photo: Przemysław Kozłowski
it's worth spinning a tale thinking about the future
Weekend of Architecture is not only Archi Walks and Archi Lectures - during the festival we could participate in meetings with authors of books, vernissages, workshops or watch films.
In addition to lectures and walks, there was an award ceremony for the Polish edition of the Golden Cubes Award
photo Przemyslaw Kozlowski
The Architecture Weekend allows us to see a broader context in telling about Gdynia, going beyond the past that the city boasts. Discussions about the present, often about difficult and controversial topics, were equally entertaining.
In the story of Gdynia, one could see the broader context
photo by Sandra Szmigiel
