Malgorzata TOMCZAK

Editing: WXCA

The issue is edited by the WXCA studio. The subject is Traces.

This is definitely their time, a young Warsaw studio that, with several other offices that I won't mention here, because it's finally theirs - WXCA's number - that sets a new quality in the space of our cities.

They have been operating for a rather short time for an architectural studio, where the portfolio and investors' trust is built up over long years, but they have a lot of successes and wins in architectural competitions. When asked about the recipe for success, they answer that architecture is done with the heart, and even though I am skeptical of such declarations, because we all know how difficult this profession is and how it is rather easy to lose heart to it by constantly struggling with the matter, regulations and the so-called professional reality, I believe them.

What also sets them apart is that they treat architecture as a challenge. They negotiate space, solve problems and nurture relationships - both within the team and with external partners. This makes me optimistic that the era of old-architects is really coming to an end, that there are fewer and fewer people willing to enter competitions for the most iconic building. Especially since in Poland just a decade, two or three ago these competitions sometimes took on a rather "local" color.

WXCA's strategy is a calm, cubic and interestingly detailed architecture, which primarily tries to accurately answer the question posed about function, organization of space, context. It lacks the famous architectural ego. And that's a good thing. After all, the point is to make our cities welcoming spaces, not an exhibition of icons "to be admired."