Meet the hosts of the next online meeting as part of the spring edition of the Festiwal Otwartych Pracowni Architektonicznych, an event accompanying the Energy Regeneration of Cities congress. On June 1, we will take a look at Katowice's Unikato to get a behind-the-scenes look at the work of Robert Konieczny's team, the KWK Promes studio.
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The spring edition of the Festiwal Otwartych Pracowni Architektonicznych will begin in Warsaw, at the headquarters of the JAZ+Architekci studio (May 29 at 13.00), on Thursday (June 1 at 13.00) we will move to Katowice, where we will take a look at the KWK Promes office of Robert Konieczny, and on Friday (June 2 at 13. 00) we will move to Lublin, to the headquarters of the Krajobrazy studio led by Wojciech Januszczyk.
KWK Promes
June 1, 1 pm
The studio is based in a building of its own design — the characteristic Unikato in Katowice. The realizations of the fourteen-person office are appreciated and awarded all over the world — the team has been nominated for the European Mies van der Rohe Award as many as twelve times, and Szczecin's Breakthroughs Dialogue Center of their design was hailed as Europe's Best Public Space in the European Prize for Urban Public Space competition.
The Breakthroughs Dialogue Center in Szczecin
Photo: Juliusz Sokołowski © KWK Promes
Robert Konieczny, a member of the French Académie d'Architecture and the Association of Architects of the Czech Republic Obec Architektů, not only works in the building he is the author of, but also lives in — his home is an unusual Ark fixed on a steep mountain slope.
Konieczny's Ark
Photo: OLO Studio © KWK Promes
Are you curious about how projects are created in KWK Promes studio? Or maybe you are intrigued by the musical past of the frontman of the Silesian office? Get your questions ready, because you will have the opportunity to ask them already on June 1, and in the meantime we invite you to a short Q&A session with Robert Konieczny!
Ola Kloc: Where did the name of the studio come from?
Robert Konieczny: I used to have a music band, where our biggest hit was the name ;). Therefore, when it came to the name of the studio, I didn't want to spend too much time coming up with it. The name "Promes" was the first to emerge — "Pro" for design, "R" for Robert, "M" for Marlena (my wife at the time), "E" for Elwira (my mom) and "S" for Stanislaw (my dad). Then I began to like the fact that our names (my then wife Marlena's and mine) give the abbreviation KWK (Konieczny and Wolnik-Konieczny), just like a coal mine. Promes stayed, and that's how the name KWK Promes came about. The name had an industrial association, it was associated with Silesia. What I set up for myself came to fruition. Unlike the rock stories with the band "Kutafon", this time a little better ;).
Ola: The studio is for us....
Robert: It's hard for me to speak for the whole team, because it's each individual who certainly has his own opinion. For me, however, the studio is an important place in my life and in my world. To say that it's a second home is perhaps a bit too much, but a third is certainly so.
Quadrant House
Photo: Jarosław Syrek © KWK Promes
Ola: What was your first joint project about?
Robert: With Marlena we were active together even before the company was formally established. We mainly did foreign projects and competitions. Because the studio is perceived by foreign critics as a conceptual studio, I will focus on those early days, when our projects were not yet realization projects, but study projects, purely conceptual. We competed in international competitions, in which we managed to get prizes, namely the Verona Bridge and the idea for the new use of Governor's Island in New York. Despite the fact that we were not formally KWK Promes at that time, the projects and awards in competitions made us get rid of the complexes we had. Returning from the States, we decided that we would set up our own office.
Plato Gallery of Contemporary Art in Ostrava, Czech Republic
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © KWK Promes
Ola: The dream project is....
Robert: My dream, indeed my goal and direction, is to come up with a type of building or way of building that will become a kind of universal patent on how to build in times of climate catastrophe, because we all know that architecture has to change. This fascinates and absorbs me, also every now and then I come back to it with my thoughts and actions. These are the kind of projects we try to develop in our studio.
Miedzianka
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © KWK Promes
Ola: My favorite design tool is....
Robert: I strive for, and I think it should be so, that in the beginning there is always only paper and pencil, possibly also a mockup. The computer comes only later. This is because no one has invented a faster way to convey a thought to a solution than just hand and pencil. The computer is no substitute for that. Try signing with a mouse — it is not perfect. Only when a concept is born as a result of discussion and brainstorming, then you can sit down at the computer.
Philip Jodidio's book "Robert Konieczny KWK Promes: Buildings + Ideas".
© KWK Promes
Ola: Does the team have any regular habits / rituals?
Robert: On a day-to-day basis, they are certainly meals together — sometimes in the office, sometimes somewhere outside. This is very cool, I like it. We stick together as a team and when there are any exhibitions or other invitations we try to participate with the whole office. Also, in our office, all team members, including interns, are naturally involved in design discussions. In my experience, this is not the standard in many other studios.
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FOPA is a companion event to the 3rd International Congress on Energy Regeneration of Cities.
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