Pawel Grobelny is an internationally acclaimed Polish designer of what is between buildings - public spaces, small architecture and urban furniture. On September 5 this year, he will speak at the Strongly Green City conference during the Green is Life trade fair, whose slogan calls for "Join the green vanguard!". Are Polish cities ready for a green revolution?
Ola Kloc: "Join the green vanguard!" is the slogan of this year's edition of the Green is Life fair. In your opinion, are we ready for a "green vanguard"? How could it manifest itself in Polish cities?
Pawel Grobelny: I think we need to be ready for a change in thinking about shaping the public spaces of our cities. There must be even more emphasis on greenery in urban spaces. Greenery understood not only in the context of decoration, but above all in the context of adaptation to climate change and spaces that will be spaces of respite in the city. This is not only parks, but also squares, pocket parks and their appropriate density in the city space, so that we have such spaces at our fingertips as residents.
Benches for the city hall square in Logroño, Spain
Photo credit: Josema Cutillas
Ola Kloc: Your design efforts focus on small architecture and urban furniture located in public spaces, what are the challenges of integrating them with nature?
Pawel Grobelny: Very often my furniture is integrated with greenery. This is the case, for example, with the benches for the Albertine Garden in front of the Royal Library in Brussels. These benches were fitted into recesses in existing hedges. The width, depth and length of the benches were derived from the existing urban garden.
Benches for the Albertine Garden in front of the Royal Library of Brussels
© designer archive
In turn, in the pocket park in Poznan's Chwaliszewo, a large bench that is a kind of urban terrace is surrounded by greenery. And benches, sitting platforms, tables and children's toys in the courtyard of the Saperska 30 estate in Poznań are interspersed with grasses and multi-trunk trees. In the case of the latter project, there was a difficulty in planting taller vegetation, since the entire courtyard is located on the roof of a parking lot.
The courtyard of the Saperska 30 estate in Poznan for OKRE Development
Photo: Dawid Majewski
Ola Kloc: What was it like developing the waterfront of Słupeckie Lake in Wielkopolska?
Pawel Grobelny: Here I was introducing design interventions into the existing nature. I was very keen that these interferences should be as delicate as possible. They did not compete with nature in any way, but only complemented it. An important aspect was to allow residents and tourists to experience this space from different perspectives than usual.
A project to develop the waterfront of Słupeckie Lake in Wielkopolska
photo: Janusz Nowak
The project was also consulted with local ornithologists, and this consultation resulted in one significant change. Initially, we assumed the introduction of a viewing platform inside the Swedish Mound (the remains of the borders of the Lusatian culture stronghold). But due to the birds nesting there, we changed the design and extended the platform outside to a certain distance.
A project for the development of the waterfront of Słupeckie Lake in Wielkopolska
Photo: Janusz Nowak
Ola Kloc: A certain intimacy can be perceived in your projects - although they often invite interaction, as in the case of Circle Form or the Saperska 30 courtyard in Poznań, I have the impression that with their green surroundings, tall grasses, they shape places for tranquility and relaxation. How do you manage to balance these two aspects in public space?
Pawel Grobelny: I think that when designing public space, we have to be aware that we are designing for everyone. Some people need interaction, others need tranquility. A good public space, even on a small scale, should allow for different scenarios of its use. On the one hand, it should invite the establishment and fostering of social relations, but on the other hand, it should allow for tranquility, separation from others.
Circle Form, a pocket park in Chwaliszewo, Poznań.
© designer archive
A good example, in my opinion, is the courtyard of the estate on Saperska Street in Poznań, which is very well received by residents. I think this reception is due to the fact that the space meets various needs. We have a large illuminated terrace to meet in larger groups of residents, but we also have a lot of smaller furniture surrounded by larger grasses where we can hide from others. Sometimes, stepping out into the common courtyard, we feel like being alone, other times we feel like meeting someone. Depending on which part of the courtyard we choose, we can choose whether we also want rest from others, or on the contrary, we need interaction and networking. And greenery in shaping such micro-spaces within a larger establishment plays an extremely important role.
Ola Kloc: What will you talk about at the Strongly Green City conference during the Green is Life fair?
Pawel Grobelny: The lecture will be based on completed and implemented public space projects. Special attention will be paid to the very process of creating such projects, the methodology and research preceding the creation of such spaces. I will present both overall projects of public spaces and landscapes, small architecture, as well as urban furniture designed for specific cities and urban gardens.
Work and rest platforms in La Défense, Paris, France
© designer's archive
Ola Kloc: Thank you for the interview.
Join the green vanguard! Let's meet on September 5 at the Strongly Green City Conference during the Green is Life Fair in Warsaw.
Check out the 2025 conference program
Organizers
Agencja Promocji Zieleni, Polish Nurserymen Association (www.zszp.pl)
Al. Jana Pawła II 80 lok. 71, 00-175 Warsaw, Poland
tel. 22 435 47 20 (21-22), [email protected]
