The interview with Adam Wiercinski
appeared in A&B 5'2021
Spaces designed by Adam Wiercinski accompany Poznań residents in leisure, meetings, recreation and toasting. In an interview for A&B, the founder of wiercinski-studio talks about design modesty and accuracy, cooperation with local craftsmen and his love of the grid.
Adam WIERCIÑSKI -graduated from the Poznan University of Arts (Faculty of Architecture and Design). For more than five years, he has been running his own design studio, which creates projects on a diverse scale - from furniture and accessories, interiors, temporary and social architecture, to houses for people and... horses. Spaces designed at wiercinski-studio have been repeatedly nominated and awarded in Polish and foreign competitions, and the studio's founder was honored with the Architectural Award of the Wielkopolska Region in the Young Creator category.
Dominika Drozdowska: I'm very glad that we were able to meet, because timing for this conversation was not easy. Is this due to the number of responsibilities that fill your schedule?
Adam Wiercinski: I am currently running a very intimate work mode. I take care of many things on my own, although I occasionally collaborate with others. Now this mode is also influenced by the pandemic - autumn and winter caused some slowdown, but with the beginning of this year I am returning to a faster pace. So there are times when there is not enough time for everything. But I'm hoping that the pandemic will let up and I'll be able to expand, including in terms of personnel. This, by the way, was my plan at the beginning of 2020.
Dominica:There seems to be no shortage of architecture students and graduates looking for work.
Adam: It's true, I get quite a few applications, but because of the pandemic it's harder to organize.
Dominica:So the limited opportunities for your studio to grow are due to the current situation, rather than being an individualist and wanting to do things your way?
Adam: I think it stems from both, more from the former. That was the plan for last year, to expand the studio because there were bigger projects on the horizon. I started designing public buildings and interiors for restaurants. I also got a proposal for a hotel project with extensive leisure facilities. However, overnight everything was put on hold, and I got busy finishing my own apartment. Now the situation is slowly changing, but the deadlines have slipped by a year or a year and a half. It is also true that I am an individualist, I like this style of work, it is the essence of the mythical free profession. I highly value design independence.
The interior of the club "Vanity" in Poznan
photo: PION Studio
Dominika:So let's start from the beginning - tell us, please, about your first steps in the profession.
Adam: My work and approach to the profession is characterized by great versatility and thematic diversity. I'm open to many topics, and I see design potential in most of them. The first order I did for a friend, although at the time it was a fresh acquaintance for me. My first client came from Warsaw to Poznan and decided to open a whiskey bar. I remember that on a warm summer day we sat in the park and talked about his plans. Although I was an inexperienced architect, I was very passionate about the idea. It was a total step out of the comfort zone, a responsibility for the overall project. But it worked out, we realized the Source Bar together, where everything from the bar structures, to the hockers, to the lamps and details, I designed myself, and local craftsmen made. This influenced my future path. When other projects hit, I didn't mind at all that they were in a different theme. Over the last five years of my business I have really gone through a variety of areas: interiors, where I also designed most of the furniture and furnishings, single-family houses, public spaces, containerized temporary architecture, and now there is a very large sports facility on the finishing touches - a stable with a running room, the so-called House for Horses. It's probably easier to pin down your design path, but such variety means more adventures for me.
Dominika:Adventures have reportedly accompanied the design of the public space Szeląg Garden.
Adam: This is true. Talks about this project began with investors with whom I had previously realized Kontenerart, a temporary public space built from containers that operates during the summer season.
Dominika:Temporary, but probably already permanently inscribed in the space of Poznan.
Adam: Yes, it has become part of the skyline of the banks of the Warta River, which makes me very happy, because I think there should be a place for this type of facility in city centers, of which London or Berlin are good examples. Although it is still an economical temporary space. In 2019, after three years of operation in its previous form, Kontenerart was redesigned and we supplemented the containerized building with many wooden structures with greenery. This facility will certainly still change, if only because of the planned construction of a footbridge over the Warta River. Perhaps it will take on a more permanent form, although in my opinion cheap and temporary solutions are not bad. Their advantage is that they can be dismantled at any time, leaving virtually no trace. However, you certainly can't deny the Kontenerart space that it fulfills its function and provides a place for thousands of people to hang out. It's an open, outdoor space that also did exceptionally well during the summer months of the pandemic. It's likely that this season will be similar.
Containerart
Photo: Przemyslaw Turlej
Dominica:Everything points to that.
Adam: The investors I met during the design of Kontenerart invited me to work with them on the creation of Szeląg Garden. They are seasoned community activists and entertainers. It was they who sensed the potential for revitalizing this plot of land - a dilapidated, littered and overgrown remnant of allotment gardens - and the neighborhood council picked up the theme. And so we went through a long process related to this project: from public consultations, presentations to local residents, creation of a functional-utility program, to participation in various implementation and financing formulas. It is worth mentioning that this is a municipal investment. The project was part of the river revitalization strategy, the area was enlivened by a bicycle path, the so-called Wartostrada, and residents began to enjoy spending time there. Near the Szeląg Garden is the iconic modernist building of the Veteran's Home, which houses a nursing home, so the Garden's activities are also aimed at the seniors who live there. The result is a companion pavilion for the community gardens and a project to develop the plot in the most natural and least intrusive way possible. It's been two intense years, during which many people have had to work together. Although the construction itself, counting from the moment the foundation columns were set, took a month. The building was constructed with a frame structure, so the construction phase itself was the icing on the cake of the whole process. There was a lot going on after the project was completed, too - there were awards, publications, tours, workshops. The project won the SARP Award of the Year, a great honor was the presence in the finals in the John Baptist Quadro competition in Poznan, in which large, impressive projects, public buildings, residential or office buildings are awarded. The appearance of the modest Szeląg Garden in such company was an interesting event. And while some didn't like it, it shows a shifting center of gravity toward social architecture with not necessarily a big budget, but a big impact. I can still feel the whiff of this project now, and there are also many adventures that accompany this building to this day.
Szeląg Garden in Poznan
Photo: Przemyslaw Turlej
Dominika:Many of your projects have been recognized with Polish and foreign awards. Is that where your sense of satisfaction comes from?
Adam: This is quite a philosophical question related to the profession of architecture. I derive satisfaction from the entire process. Both from the design stage, the realization stage, and from what comes afterwards.
Dominika:The design and implementation processes certainly bring difficulties. How do you deal with them?
Adam: Difficulties and problems arise at every stage of a project. However, in these few years of business, I have learned that this is not just a job with set hours, but rather a way of life from which I derive a lot of satisfaction.
Dominika:So there's more satisfaction in your practice in terms of creative work and creativity rather than fighting for the result?
Adam: In terms of time, there are probably more difficulties that arise along the way. After all, design, by definition, is solving a problem. But the satisfaction that comes from the design process, the result, the opportunity to constantly learn and meet new people, is considerable. Being present in a creative environment rewards a lot. And although I was doing most of the topics, also due to my short project experience, for the first time, which obviously involved a lot of stress, there is also the excitement of new challenges in addition to that.
Dominica:You set the bar high for yourself. Do the fine-tuned details you talked about earlier tie in with Poznan's precision?
Adam: I come from a creative home, and although my parents did not run their own studios, they were educated as architects and had a strong influence on my design sensibility. Taking the opportunity to publish the interview, I thank them very much for that. But I guess the main reason why I try to design everything down to the smallest details is persistence and the desire to do something original and unique. Maybe it also stems from the fact that many of my projects so far have been low-budget projects, which required quite a bit of creativity to get the result right. When designing refined interiors, most of the elements are made to measure anyway, in order to make proper use of the space. Anyway, working with Poznań craftsmen is a much more interesting process than ordering products online, plus it fits in with the idea of supporting local specialists instead of corporations. Of course, I have a great appreciation for good brands that produce objects by great designers, but they are also in much better shape than these smaller contractors. By designing small forms, furniture and details, I am able to satisfy my artistic ambitions, rejecting all the issues related to official processes and long lead times, which cannot be avoided when designing on a larger scale.
The designer takes care of the details - author's furniture and lamps designed for the interiors of restaurants, bars and a club
Photo: PION Studio
Dominica:It's interesting that you brought up the topic of budget, because it seems that what is custom-made will be more expensive than what is from a catalog.
Adam: It doesn't have to be that way. When ordering from a catalog, one would want to order something of quality, high-end, but we have often found that a table made by a locksmith will be cheaper, yet more original and made specifically for the space. Interestingly, it was through these constructions - on a small scale - that I learned to think differently about building - larger scale. I have now counted more than two hundred pieces of original furniture and accessories that I have designed - so a decent collection has accumulated from this. From the very beginning, the furniture design stage was very interesting work. With the drawings I would go to the locksmith and we would discuss the possibilities of workmanship, construction, connections and so on. Finally, there came a point when it was easier for me to design my own furniture than to look for the right one on the Internet. I rely on simple designs complemented by proprietary details and quality materials.
continued conversation on next page
