#CongressArchitecturePoland
The Congress of Polish Architecture in May was intended to draw the attention of the public and politicians to the role of the architectural community in shaping the space around us. We asked Piotr Fokczynski, President of the National Council of the Polish Chamber of Architects, about his impressions right after its conclusion.
"Space - value and responsibility" was the slogan of the Congress of Polish Architecture, a joint venture of the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland, the Association of Polish Architects and the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, which took place on May 14 and 15 at the Polish History Museum in Warsaw.
I believe that Poland can be a country where public space is treated with due attention and care - just like other cultural assets. A country where the quality of architecture results from responsible decisions and clearly defined standards. A country where residents have a real sense of influence on the environment in which they live. The Congress of Polish Architecture can realistically change the way we think about space in our country. Together we can create conditions in which architecture will become one of the most important pillars of Poland's development - modern, beautiful and responsible
- wrote Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, in a letter sent on the occasion of the opening of the Congress.
On-site, more than 1,000 participants took part in twenty panels and debates, online - more than 5,000, a total of nearly half of the affiliated architects. The Congress discussed, among other things, why Poland needs an architectural policy, the promotion of Poland and Polish culture through the projects of Polish architects, housing policy, education and the impact of architecture on health. There were debates about the ethics of the profession, the new life of monuments, public procurement and participation, as well as architects' rates, which was organized by A&B. A recording of the panel moderated by Małgorzata Tomczak, editor-in-chief of A&B: "Architects' rates. Between the free market and the responsibility of the profession" will be published soon!
However, at the event - with a few exceptions - government decision-makers were absent, and there were few representatives of the younger generation. Nevertheless, there was a good atmosphere in the museum spaces - full of cordial meetings, long conversations, exchange of experiences and hope that perhaps this meeting will become an impetus for change. Will this happen?
We have prepared for you a series of several interviews with the organizers and participants of the Congress - with Piotr Fokczynski, President of the National Council of the Polish Chamber of Architects since 2022, Marek Chrobak, President of the Main Board of the Association of Polish Architects since 2024, Mateusz Mastalski from the Danish studio Henning Larsen and Monika Arczynska from A2P2 office.
During a conversation with Piotr Fokczynski, just after the Congress ended, we asked, among other things, about expectations for the Warsaw Charter summarizing the event, which is to be a contribution to the work on the National Architectural Policy, about which Piotr Fokczynski has considerable ambitions:
Poland, although the last to join it, will probably have one of the better formulated architectural policies.
We also talked about cooperation with politicians, the role of education and changing the formula for teaching the profession, and the law on the architectural profession.
Using the Congress to strengthen the prestige of the profession, but also our internal discussions and such an internal examination of conscience is the Chamber's task.
- said Fokczynski.
The conversation took place during the Congress of Polish Architecture 2026, an event of which Architecture&Business was a media partner.
