LUCJAN KORNGOLD 1897 – 1963
EDIFICIO CBI ESPLANADA 1946 – 1950
office buildingin São Paulo
„Mr Antoni, what do they say about my work in Warsaw?
– Do you want my honest opinion? Nothing.
– Indeed, nobody talks about Korngold in Warsaw.“
Antoni Słonimski, Notes from my travel to Uruguay
The thirty-storey office building Edifício CBI Esplanada dominates the main square of São Paulo, Ramos de Azevedo, to this day. When commissioned in 1950, it was the highest building made of reinforced structure in the world (105 m). Lucjan Korngold, a Polish architect of Jewish descent, gave the building a minimalist form of a cuboid and filled the façade with a thick net of large window frames. The design was of utmost importance at the time when air-conditioning and heating systems were not a universal standard. The deeply embedded window frames produce an effect of chiaroscuro on the façade. As a result, the building is recognized as one of the landmarks of the cityscape of São Paulo. In 1992 the building was put on the list of the Council for Protection of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the City of São Paulo.
Lucjan Korngold was born on 1 July in 1897 in Warsaw. In the early 1930s he opened his own architecture firm. His villa projects, which combined modern form, classical elegance and attention to detail, brought him both fame and popularity. His villas located until this day on Francuska, Obrońców, and Koszykowa Streets in Warsaw may serve as perfect examples of his architectural style.
In 1933 Korngold moved to Tel Aviv, where he designed several interesting projects, including the Rubiński house. After two years, he returned to Poland. After the outbreak of World War II, Korngold, his wife, and their son emigrated to Brazil via Rome, which was made possible through his wife’s connections in the Italian embassy. While in Brazil, Korngold designed several important office buildings and institutions in cooperation with renowned local architects. After receiving his Brazilian citizenship, the architect turned to designing luxurious modernist villas. He participated in numerous local and international congresses and exhibitions. The architect was on the jury of numerous architectural competitions. He kept up-to-date with technological innovations and adapted them to his projects. Korngold died in 1963 in São Paulo. His son lives there until this day.
Illustrated by ALEKSANDRA JASIONOWSKA
MACIEJ NOWICKI 1910 – 1950
PARABOLEUM 1952
Dorton Arena in Raleigh / USA
„In the constant struggle for professional success, a vague thought flashes your mind that if you achieve one, it will change all fundamental issues closer to your heart than any other professional achievements.“
„Out of this world venue“ was the name the Dorton Arena gained even before its construction started. Apparently, an investor also used this exact term to describe this one-of-its-kind architectural design. In 1949 Nowicki created an unprecedented design of two enormous parabolic concrete arches leaning towards each other (thus its name Paraboleum) modelled on the idea of a suspension bridge. The arches made a foundation for the suspended roof. This flexible multi-functional space that can hold eight thousand spectators was opened three years after Nowicki’s death. Initially designed as a livestock pavilion, today the arena houses big sporting events and concerts. It is recognized as a landmark of the city. As early as 1957 the venue was listed among top ten buildings that have had the biggest impact on the development of American architecture. In 1972 the Dorton Arena was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the USA.
Maciej Nowicki was born in Chita, in what is today’s Russia. His father was appointed as consul general in Chicago, where Maciej discovered a new world, learned a new language and took up drawing lessons. After returning to Poland, Nowicki earned a degree from the Architecture Department of the Warsaw University of Technology.
In 1945 Nowicki returned to Chicago as a cultural attaché of the Polish Consulate. Before long, he moved to New York, where he cooperated in designing the renowned building of the United Nations headquarters. From New York, the architect moved to North Carolina, where he was the head of School of Design at North Carolina State College and started working on the Paraboleum. A few years later, Nowicki engaged in designing a new city in India, Chandigarh. Unfortunately, he did not manage to implement the project. The architectural design of the Dorton Arena in Raleigh brought Nowicki wide international acclaim and won him a prestigious place among the pioneering architects of the 20th century.
Illustrated by ALEKSANDRA JESIONOWSKA
KRZYSZTOF INGARDEN 1957
EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND IN TOKYO 2001
„Architecture can be a bridge between people and cultures.“
Krzysztof Ingarden and Jacek Ewý faced a serious challenge of fitting a stately and significant building into a densely built-up area of overcrowded Tokyo. How to follow all the rules and regulations imposed by the capital’s strict urban planning? No wonder that it took a full six years from winning the contest for designing the Polish Embassy in Tokyo in 1995 to its grand opening. With its indirect references to such traditionally Polish materials as bricks and stones, Ingarden successfully captured the Polish character of the building. This posed a great challenge because, as the architect explains himself, Polish architecture does not have distinctive features. Architectural styles in Poland are very much representative of a local region, which can be clearly noticed in the distinguishing features of land development in the mountainous regions and Mazovia plains.
The architect was born in Wrocław into a well-known family. His grandfather, Roman Ingarden, was a prominent philosopher while his father, Roman Stanisław Ingarden, was a renowned physicist. In the 1980s Ingarden completed his doctoral internship at the Tsukuba University in Japan. It was a turning point in his career which shaped his identity as an architect. In Japan, Ingarden worked for highly acclaimed architect Arata Isozaki. The architecture of Kraków, where the architect lives now, has been enriched with a number of prestigious and unconventional buildings designed by Ingarden, including the Wyspiański Pavilion, ICE Congress Hall, and the Małopolska Garden of Arts, which have become the city’s landmarks.
Throughout his professional career the architect has been linked by strong bonds with Japan. Thanks to Ingarden, the main architect of the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków was Arata Isozaki. Ingarden gave a series of lectures in universities in Great Britain and Germany. Since 2002 he has been the Honorary Consul of Japan in Kraków.
Illustrated by ALEKSANDRA JASIONOWSKA
ROBERT KONIECZNY 1969
AATRIAL HOUSE 2003 – 2006
around the city of Opole
„Standardized things are bad. Imagine making a one-size shoe. It would fit some but not the majority. The same is true for standardized architecture.“
What is the best house in the world like? It’s built on the outskirts of a city where there aren’t many other buildings. It’s functional and modern. It has got spacious glazing and it’s finished with natural stone and wood. This is what the Aatrial House looks like. A reversed design allows to enter the house from the inside – contrary to the standardized entry from the outside – through a driveway located under the building and opening up into a front yard.
It took three years to build the house. Konieczny had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve from the very beginning. He was also well aware of the challenges he would have to face. The investors asked the architect not to reveal too many details about the project including its location. They had worries about a sudden influx of architecture enthusiasts from all over the world, which were soon justified. In 2006 the project received the title of House of the Year awarded by the World Architecture News portal. What’s more, in 2008 the design won a prize in the International Architecture Awards. There are still fans who would like to see the design with their own eyes. However, located somewhere on the outskirts of Opole, the house is not easy to be found.
What matters most for Robert Konieczny is the concept, which frees each of his projects from any conventional solutions. In 1999 the architect and Marlena Wolnik started an architectural firm KWK Promes, which has gained wide recognition for numerous unconventional designs. One of their recent projects, the National Museum – The Dialogue Centre Przełomy in Szczecin, won the title of the 2016 Best Building in the World by the World Architecture Festival. It’s the first time that this prize has been awarded to a Polish firm. In 2007 Konieczny was put on the list of the top 44 architects of the younger generation as prepared by the „Scalae“ publisher. The same year the KWK Promes architectural firm was ranked among the top 101 most exciting architectural firms in the world.
Illustrated by OLEKSANDRA JASIONOWSKA