Elections of new authorities for the 2019-2023 term[results] were recently held in local SARP branches. In the pages of our portal, we decided to give you a glimpse into the plans of the association's newly elected presidents. See how Hubert Wąsek, president of the SARP Czestochowa branch, answered our three questions. We invite you to read more!
SARP, or the Society of Polish Architects, is an organization of architects throughout the country. Its history can be traced back to 1877 - the initiative of builders and engineers from the Krakow Technical Society, and later, in 1899, the activity of architects in the Warsaw Society for the Promotion of Trade and Industry. A continuation of these activities was the Delegation of Polish Architects, established in 1908, whose main task was to represent the aspirations of Polish architects operating in all annexations - creating common architectural expositions, organizing competitions, developing a common position on the protection of the architectural profession, making demands on the organization of architectural education and developing the rules of architectural competitions.
In 1919, the Warsaw Circle of Architects organized the First General Assembly of Architects, and in 1926 the Association of Polish Architects - SAP - was established. At the congress of Polish architectural associations, the establishment of the institution of periodic conventions of delegates (Delegation of Polish Architects) was passed, and the Union of Associations of Polish Architects - ZSAP - was established in Poznan. In 1934, the General Assembly of Delegates in Warsaw established the Association of Architects of the Republic of Poland - SARP, which united the existing organizations of architects. The name was changed in 1952 to the Association of Polish Architects, but the acronym SARP was retained.
SARP Częstochowa Branch
Hubert Wąsek
president of the SARP branch in Częstochowa
© SARP Częstochowa Branch
A&B: What program of activities of the SARP branch do you assume for the nearest future? Are there any changes planned?
Hubert Wąsek: Competitions, competitions. In a moment we will settle one and announce another, and another one is on the horizon. It's a great joy and no small challenge after years of pause in our organization of contests. And as for challenges: in this term of office we are fighting to restore the position of City Architect in Czestochowa. We painfully feel its absence. Daily activities, our goals, are invariably determined by the statute of SARP: caring for the quality of space, the stature of the profession, the development and protection of creativity and the integration of the community.
A&B: How many members are there in the branch and how much are the dues?
Hubert Wąsek: The Częstochowa branch currently has 62 male and female members. Dues: 10 PLN per month. Retirees and pensioners are exempt from dues.
A&B: Why is it important to be a member of SARP?
Hubert Wąsek: The association is for those who want to act, to have an impact on the reality around them. The activities of each branch are based on community work, usually by a few people donating their time for the common good.
Why do we need all this? Our colleague Marek from Szczecin put it most simply and beautifully (we have colleagues all over Poland, inter-branch cooperation brings concrete results): "We want people to love Architecture". - only and so much. The reward is the joy of small successes, changes for the better in the space around us: a working clock after years on the beautiful post office building of Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, a restored sgraffito by Stanislaw Lyszczarz, more new objects created as a result of competitions held.
