The Architecture of Time. Time for Architecture

23 of June '26

Kuba writes to Jakub

Location: A former bakery, now a design studio

BAM! Kuba runs in, tosses his backpack on the floor, and hurriedly sits down at the computer.

“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” Jakub joked, glancing at Kuba.

“Great! ” Kuba jokes back.

“I can tell! You messed up again and are working your butt off?”

“ Come on, Jakub. This is a waste of time. I have to send eight emails, issue invoices, and make a few phone calls. I barely slept last night because I was so stressed—deadlines are piling up, and the clients are furious.”

— Maybe we should grab a coffee and talk. What’s been keeping you so busy all day that you don’t even have time to drink coffee and think about what’s going on around you?

— What kind of questions are those? Aren’t you an architect? That’s how everyone in our profession has worked since college.

— Everyone? I’m afraid I doubt that. Sit down—I made your favorite coffee. Take a look at your to-do list.

— Whaaaat?! What to-do list? Have you lost your mind or something? I know what I have to do, and in a minute, if you don’t stop bothering me, I’ll mess up all the important stuff.

— Kuba, I’m serious. Sit down. The coffee’s getting cold. Grab a pen and write.

— All right, I could use some coffee, but I don’t get what this list is all about? — Kuba sat down in his RM-57 armchair by the fireplace.

— Take it easy, don’t panic. Write down on a piece of paper all the tasks you have to take care of today. — Jakub stood up from his RM-58 chair and watched as Kuba gradually filled the entire page.

“Okay, now put the letters A, B, and C next to each one: A—very urgent, take care of it immediately; B — important, to be taken care of as soon as possible; C — to be taken care of, if possible, after tasks A and B are completed. Remember that an unaddressed C task may soon become an A or B task.

— Ugh, come on! What kind of nonsense is that? All these tasks are very important! How am I supposed to know which one is A, which is B, or which is C? — Impatient, Kuba threw his pen on the table.

— You don’t know? Ask yourself: what will happen if I don’t do this now, but a little later? Then look at the list and think about whether you even need to do some of these things at all—maybe it’s not your job, but that of the engineers or your coworkers, not the office manager.

“ What do you mean? Jakub, if I don’t do this, nobody will, and everything will fall apart! ” Kuba panicked.

— Calm down. Think about which tasks actually fall on the clients’ side, according to the contract—which the engineers should handle—and which administrative tasks your coworkers can take care of on their way to or from work.

“Okay, done, but I still have a lot of doubts. I have a ton of things to take care of, and it’s overwhelming me. I can’t stand these schedules, impossible deadlines, and all this pressure,” Kuba continued to worry.

— I understand, Kuba. Now focus on the most urgent matter and ask the client to push the deadline back by a week. Explain that you need to think through the project calmly. After all, that’s the truth. Call the engineers and ask them to handle the terms and conditions. After all, you’re the one paying them. Make sure they do their job. And now ask your colleagues to send most of the official paperwork by mail, even though I know officials like to handle everything with you in person. You can thank them when you receive the decision.

600 seconds later:

— So, how’s it going, Kubo? What’s the situation? — Jakub glanced at his list: almost all the items had been crossed off.

— Pretty good. I delegated the tasks and asked clients to reschedule their meetings, and one even canceled his on his own. The team sent brief status reports via email to the clients, and we’re waiting for their feedback. That calmed things down. The storm we were bracing for blew right past us. Can it be like this every day?

— Not necessarily. There’s no magic wand. But it’s worth thinking through a few things. Answer me this: what are you really short on time for?

Kuba shifted restlessly in the chair designed by Roman Modzelewski.

— I don’t know — he began. — I’d like to spend more time with my family, grow as a person, travel, meet up with friends more often, attend events and exhibitions organized by SARP. Write an article or two. I’d like to regain control of my life!

“Listen. Maybe you should take your wife and kids to the exhibition. See the world through their eyes for a moment. Slow down.” Extend the SARP field trip and visit one or two places along the way; take a detour during the site visit and see an interesting palace on the way. While waiting at the government office, go over your to-do list and sketch out a new project or plan your vacation. And above all, cross off a few clients and projects that aren’t profitable or conducive to growth.

— You talk as if the whole world revolves around architecture. Sometimes I want a break from it. Sometimes I’m so sick and tired of it. For others, it all comes more easily somehow.

— Even if that’s true, what does it matter? Other people’s lives—and yours? I don’t believe anything comes easily to anyone. Besides, the only thing we can truly change is our own lives. Start by working through your daily to-do list and tackle the second most important item: what you really want to do with your life over the next few years. You say you’re fed up. Can I ask you one question? What’s your true attitude toward architecture?

The time for rendering the high-resolution image has run out.

“ You know what, the truth is, I love architecture, ” Kuba finally managed to say.

— See, so do I! — Jakub smiled and looked at the last page of his Moleskine, at the list he’d made over a dozen years ago and has been pasting into successive notebooks ever since.

* * *

In conversation:
Jakub Krzysztofik —architect and urban planner—and
Kuba Krzysztofik —urban planner and architect.

You could have met them in Kraków at the exhibition “Shigeru Ban: Architecture and Social Action.” You surely recognized them. Both were dressed in black.

Note: This column contains product placement, although no one paid for it.