What is it like to design the best public space in Europe? We will be looking for the answer to this question with Marcin Maraszek and Maciej Kaufman from the Warsaw studio Archigrest during the 10th edition of the Open Architecture Studio Festival!
Broadcast of the meetings will be available on our channels
The autumn edition of the Festival of Open Architecture Studios will begin in Silesia, at the headquarters of the TOPROJEKT studio(November 18 at 13.00), then we will move to Warsaw, where we will take a look at the offices of Nizio Design International(November 21 at 13.00) and Archigrest (November 22 at 13.00). Live broadcasts will be available on A&B's Facebook and YouTube!
Interior of the studio at 83 Marszalkowska Street
© Archigrest
Archigrest
November 22, 1 pm
Marcin Maraszek and Maciej Kaufman founded their joint studio in 2018, today the team consists of seven people. They are not afraid of any scale - they undertake single-family house projects, as well as urban and landscape complexes, a perfect example of which are two Warsaw parks created in cooperation with topoScape landscape architecture studio: Żeranski Park (still under construction, but we have a feeling it will soon be famous!) and Park on the Warsaw Uprising Mound.
Żeranski Park in Warsaw
© Archigrest
The latter has been the subject of much publicity for some time now - as it has won almost all industry awards: Grand Prix of the Architectural Award of the President of the City of Warsaw, Grand Prix of the architectural award of Polityka, international LILA Landezine award, distinction of the Minister of Development and Technology and... European Prize for Public Space 2024, an award for the best public space in Europe!
Park on the Warsaw Uprising Mound
photo: Michal Szlaga
They take part in architectural competitions where the main criterion is quality. Recently, they have won First Prize in the competition for the design of the revitalization and adaptation of the palace complex and defense assumption in Bieżuń (in cooperation with topoScape), Second Prize in the competition for the design of multi-family buildings at 30B 1 Sierpnia Street in Warsaw (in cooperation with EMA Studio) or Third Prize in the competition for the design of the District Court and District Prosecutor's Office in Końskie.
palace in Biezun
© Archigrest
How are their projects created?
We look for non-obvious inspiration in the "ruins of the future": unrealized and forgotten visions of a better tomorrow, on stalled construction sites and abandoned spaces taken over by the fourth nature, the architects explain.
The interior of the studio at 83 Marszalkowska St.
© Archigrest
Are you curious about what it's like to work in the Archigrest office? Get your questions ready, you will have the opportunity to ask on November 22, and in the meantime we invite you to a Q&A session with Marcin Maraszek and Maciej Kaufman!
Ola Kloc: Where did the name of the studio come from?
Marcin Maraszek and Maciej Kaufman: Coming up with a name for the studio is a very difficult task. At first we thought of a standard four-letter acronym in the style of 2A2P, WCXA, JESM, BDSM, but it quickly became clear that Polish studios have already exhausted the pool of all possible combinations. That's why we call ourselves simply archigrest.
Ola: An atelier is for us....
Marcin and Maciej: First jumping in at the deep end, and now working on our own terms.
A house in Kashubia
© Archigrest
Ola: What was your first project together about?
Marcin and Maciej: In 2015, we won second place in the Europan competition in Bavaria. We titled our project for a workers' housing estate Forest First, because the construction of the houses was to be preceded by the planting of a forest. We finally planted the forest - a pocket forest - this year, but not in Bavaria, but in Warsaw.
Ola: The dream project is...
Marcin and Maciej: We are lucky to follow things that fascinate us, that we get into. We would like to keep it that way.
Ola: Our favorite design tool is...
Marcin and Maciej: We can't afford Revit, so we make mockups out of corrugated cardboard and other scraps. But probably the answer closest to the truth is: language. We discuss many problems dynamically at the beginning. It doesn't cost anything.
house in the Masuria region
© Archigrest
Ola: Does the team have any fixed habits / rituals?
Marcin and Maciej: Each member of the team has their own habits and preferences. As a team, I don't think we have any, except that every year we prepare some Christmas packages for the Open House Initiative Foundation.
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The Open Architectural Studio Festival is a side event of the Open Eyes Economy Summit International Value Economy Congress (November 19-20).
Partners of the event are:
Patronage:
SARP Krakow Branch
