Maya Mawusi -
podcast #30 of the series "Foundations"
The episode and the entire series are also available on Soundcloud and Spotify:
In the latest episode of the "Foundations" podcast, we recall a conversation with Maja Mawusi from the Faculty of Architecture at Gdansk University of Technology, who completed a year-long internship at the Copenhagen office of Henning Larsen Architects, one of Europe's most respected offices working in the sustainable design trend. It's a conversation about courage, the educational path leading through Denmark, Italy and Germany, her first steps in international architecture and her work on one of the most important Polish masterplans of recent years - the Imperial Shipyard in Gdansk.
Denmark - a place where architecture has a different rhythm
In the Danish education system, an internship is not an add-on to studies - it is a mandatory part of them, and its role is as important as the design semester. It was this element that attracted Maja to Copenhagen. As she says, she knew from the beginning that she wanted to confront university skills with practice in a real office, preferably one that works at the intersection of urban planning and architecture.
Henning Larsen, one of Denmark's most recognized studios, proved to be the perfect place for this. The office operates in more than a dozen countries, but it is the Copenhagen Office that is the central laboratory of ideas, where architecture, sustainability and digital design intersect at every stage of design.
The division between "architect" and "constructing architect" was a surprise to me," says Maja.
In Denmark, these two roles function in parallel, and their competencies are clearly defined. The architect leads concepts, works on vision and urban planning. Instead, the Constructing architect handles technical design, BIM and construction coordination. In Poland, such a division is practically non-existent, and coming into contact with it forces young designers to be more fully aware of where in architecture they see themselves in the future.
Imperial Shipyard: a project that does not let you forget about yourself
The main subject of Maja's work during the internship was a masterplan for the Imperial Shipyard in Gdansk - a space of crucial importance to the history of Solidarity, but also a valuable post-industrial heritage that has been left in limbo for years. Today, the shipyard is becoming the arena of one of Poland's largest transformation processes.
Maja worked directly on several parts of the project, learning the mechanics of working on an establishment of enormous scale. She recalls that urban planning here was not about simply drawing street grids, but was a deep process of negotiation and interpretation.
Youcan't do anything there without understanding the history," he says.
Every step required dialogue with preservationists, the city, the developer and residents. She participated in the creation of view axes, the delineation of public spaces, the modeling of buildings and the study of the relationship between what is new and what is untouchable.
The biggest challenge proved to be the search for a contemporary language for the site, which is a symbol of the struggle for freedom. Danish methodology - very pragmatic, based on evidence, analysis and scenario testing - helped her look at the Shipyard not as a monument, but as a living organism.
Germany, Italy and the search for her own place in the profession
Denmark was not Mai's first foreign experience. She also studied in Italy and worked in Germany, where she encountered a completely different design culture.
Italy - more intuitive and focused on aesthetics.
Germany - precise and rigorous.
Denmark - open-minded, interdisciplinary, user- and environment-oriented.
These are three different schools, but only together do they give a complete picture of architecture," he stresses.
What can a young architect learn from this story?
Maja Mawusi's path shows that contemporary architecture requires courage from young designers - courage to change places, seek out environments, verify their own competence and confront other design cultures.
Her experience with Henning Larsen was not a "trip for prestige," but a conscious step toward a deeper understanding of the city and the responsibility that comes with the architectural profession. It also proves that architecture today thrives primarily where interdisciplinarity, data analysis and human sensitivity meet.
Aleksandra Skorupa
Maria Cipinska
Listen also to other podcasts
from the "Foundations" series:
26. architecture for the people. Oliwia Blaszczak on the social role of space.
29. Zofia Fedorów on working in Polish architectural offices
