Today (June 13) at 6 pm, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Prof. Stanisław Juchnowicz—architect, urban planner, Honorary Citizen of the City of Krakow and co-designer of Nowa Huta, the International Training Center of the Krakow University of Technology will be named after him! The ceremony will take place at 1 Skarżyńskiego Street in Cracow.
The event will be attended by the professor's family, Deputy Mayor of Krakow Jerzy Muzyk and the authorities of the Krakow University of Technology, along with Rector Prof. Andrzej Szarata and Dean Dr. Magdalena Kozień-Woźniak and students of the ICC. A plaque commemorating the professor will also be unveiled.
Meanwhile, on June 14, the centenary of the professor's birth will also be celebrated by the Museum of Krakow. At the Krzysztofory Palace at 6:30 pm, the exhibition View of the Cracovians—Stanisław Juchnowicz will be opened, presenting memorabilia related to the hero of the exhibition. The exhibition in the Fontanow Room is part of the permanent exhibition „Cracow from the beginning, without end” and will be available until the end of September 2023.
Prof. Stanisław Juchnowicz
Stanisław Juchnowicz was born on June 10, 1923 in Lida, and was an architect, urban planner, professor of technical sciences, soldier of the Home Army and a long-time employee of the Cracow University of Technology. From 1984 to 1987, he was dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Cracow University of Technology. The professor was also the founder and director of the WA Institute of Urban and Regional Design at the Krakow University of Technology and long-time chairman of the Commission on Urban Planning and Architecture of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
The professor was a co-author of the urban plan for the New Steelworks—from 1950 he was part of the design team of the New Steelworks and was the chief designer of the B-1, B-2, B-3 and A-11 housing estates. The „Spatial Development Study of Krakow—East”, developed under his direction, opened the discussion on the future of the New Steelworks. As a former soldier of the Home Army, Prof. Juchnowicz was also involved in plans to erect a monument to the Home Army in Kraków. He undertook numerous initiatives and projects to improve the ecological conditions of the city (including the creation of the Meadows of Nowa Huta ecological site).
He was also the founder and head of the urban planning studio for the housing of the Main City in Gdansk (1949-50), the author of projects for the city centers of Chorzów, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Santiago de Chile and the expansion of the Nigerian cities of Zaria, Gaya, Gombi and Bichi. An expert on UN city planning, he was the creator of the first plan for Abuja, Nigeria's new capital.
For his work, Prof. Stanisław Juchnowicz has been awarded many prizes: Award of the City of Cracow in the field of science and technology, as well as state and industry awards. In November 2013, he also received the title of Honorary Citizen of the Royal Capital City of Krakow. He was a social activist, a member of the Social Committee for Renovation of Kraków Monuments, founder, chairman (1983-1989) and honorary chairman (1989-2020) of the Polish Ecological Club—the first independent environmental NGO in the former Eastern Bloc. As an expert of the PKE and the anti-communist opposition, he created the philosophy of Poland's eco-development and participated in the Round Table deliberations. Professor Stanisław Juchnowicz died on January 31, 2020 in Krakow.
PK International Learning Center
In 1985, on the initiative of Professor Stanisław Juchnowicz, the Center for the Training of Urban Planners for Developing Countries—now the PK International Training Center—was established at the Cracow University of Technology. The professor came up with the idea for the center during his stay in Nigeria, where in 1972-79 he was the organizer and dean of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. His stay in Africa allowed Prof. Juchnowicz to learn more about the problems of urbanization in developing countries, especially environmental problems.
Over many years of experience, a comprehensive system for the admission of foreigners, diploma nostrification, preparatory education and university referral has been developed at the PKCC, including cooperation with diplomatic missions, government offices and agencies and Polish universities. The current activities of the Center include courses that prepare students to undertake studies and research in Poland in the fields of technical, natural, economic, humanistic and artistic sciences.
During its 38 years of activity, the PKCC has prepared several thousand foreigners to study in Poland, including nearly 2,000 scholarship recipients from the Government of the Republic of Poland. At present, the polytechnic unit is one of only nine centers in the country with accreditation from the National Agency for Academic Exchange, authorizing it to provide preparatory education for foreigners (including learning the Polish language) to study in Poland. This academic year, 164 students are preparing to study in Poland at the PK International Learning Center.
In addition to didactics, scientific and design projects are carried out at the Center. The commitment to research in the fields of urban planning, sustainable development, as well as multiculturalism and education for sustainable development, initiated by Prof. Stanisław Juchnowicz, is maintained. Since 2015, a postgraduate course in Urban Sustainability Management has been implemented at the ICCP, and starting in 2019, the Center also runs a postgraduate course in CSR Management.
