Bartosz Jarosz has become the new chairman of the Council of the Wielkopolska District Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland. He took over the position from Karol Fiedor, who did not run for another term. Fiedor remains on the SARP Main Board, while Jarosz tells us in an interview about the challenges awaiting the Wielkopolska Chamber in the next four years.
Jakub Głaz: You are an intensely busy architect. Heading the Chamber means additional tasks. Why did you decide to run for office?
Bartosz Jarosz: This is a natural continuation of my activities in the Chamber Council as one of the vice-presidents. However, I hesitated for a long time to run for election. I was persuaded by my friends from the Council and by my professional partner, Pawel Swierkowski. And they convinced me. Especially since I like to act for the benefit of the community of architects, I have been doing it in the Chamber for years, if only by co-organizing industry events, such as the Forum of Design and Architecture at the Budma trade fair. I am also keen to see the Chamber become a living organism perceived by architects as a professional and community support. It is often heard that the local government closes itself off to junior members, the latter cease to be interested in it, and a vicious circle is created. Meanwhile, if you want to act and have an idea for change, it is possible to carry it out within the Chamber.
James: What are you planning, then? Continuation or revolution?
Bartosz: Continuation and development of what was accomplished during the term of my predecessor - Karol Fiedor. First of all, I want architects to identify more strongly with the local government. So that they feel that this is their place, where they can find professional and substantive support, but to which they can also give something of themselves. That the Chamber is not just a cash register to which contributions are paid and little else. With the new Council I want to strongly stimulate real participation in training or events organized by us or in cooperation with, for example, SARP. After the pandemic break, it is also time to resume or strengthen integration activities: trips, architectural walks, meetings in smaller cities of the province. We will certainly maintain activities to support members of the Chamber who find themselves in a difficult situation. This includes not only active colleagues, but also seniors, whom we have helped financially in recent years. Another important task is the general empowerment of architects.
Jakub: In what way?
Bartosz: It's about getting colleagues to stop harming each other. This is primarily about the practice of signing projects for people without authorization. This practice needs to be taken seriously. I'm also counting on chamber members from all over the province to more strongly monitor the activities of local governments in terms of competitions and tenders and their quality. We want to further strengthen the presence of the professional self-government not only in Poznań, but throughout Greater Poland. We now have as many as three people in the Council from outside of Poznań, and we plan to travel frequently to smaller cities to meet with colleagues there and analyze their problems or ideas. We are also betting on online meetings so that involvement in the Chamber's affairs does not involve wasting time commuting from distant cities in Wielkopolska.
communication to improve
Jakub: Some architects complain that the Chamber does not best communicate its activities.
Bartosz: And we want to change that as well. Enough of newsletters that go to colleagues in spam. We will have a stronger presence in profile social media, we have recently been on LinkedIn, and we will use Facebook and Instagram more effectively. We're planning to revamp our website so that it's more communicative and intuitive - better informing and reminding people, for example, about the trainings or lawyer on-call sessions we're holding.
Jakub: What about education?
Bartosz: We are moving forward. I very much want to strengthen activities in schools as part of the Shaping the Space program that the Chamber has been creating for years at the national level. A novelty, on the other hand, could be activities aimed at seniors, who are very often active and involved in space issues, and equipped with the right knowledge can pass it on to their grandchildren. Finally - a very important issue: establishing strong contacts with universities that train architects and student government. We perceive that many graduates are reluctant to choose design at the moment. They prefer to deal with mockups or visualization, for example. There is a lack of a good internship program and familiarity with the realities of the profession. As a Chamber, we can change this by engaging experienced designers to show and explain the professional kitchen. We also want to invite student representatives to Chamber Council meetings.
exemplary and collaborative
Jakub: Cooperation with the SARP?
Bartosz: In Wielkopolska it is even done in an exemplary way and I hope it will continue to be so. We collaborate by creating or subsidizing various educational activities or workshops, such as Mood for Wood or the film series Homebuilders. Our joint work is also the Architectural Award of the Wielkopolska Region (NAWW), created two years ago. There will be further editions.
Jakub: NAWW is a significant success of your predecessor Karol Fiedor and the president of Poznań SARP, Wojciech Krawczuk. Can you count on an equally spectacular novelty in this term ?
Bartosz: It's too early to talk about it, we are through talks with SARP, which, incidentally, I am just signing up to.
Jakub: Will you, as a Chamber, comment more strongly on the actions of authorities or investors regarding the quality of architecture and urbanism and the achievements of fellow professionals?
Bartosz: We will try, although, unfortunately, the authorities in Poznań, for example, have so far listened to us very sparingly. One thing I know for sure: the opinion of the environment must be shared. When we take the floor on important issues, we will certainly do so in consultation with SARP, making one announcement.
interviewed Jakub Głaz
Bartosz Jarosz (1977), architect, graduate of the Faculty of Architecture, Poznan University of Technology (2002), co-founder and partner in the studio Neostudio Architekci (2005), in 2010-18 - teaching urban planning at WA Poznan University of Technology. In the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland since 2009, in the Council of the WOIA of the Republic of Poland - since 2014; in the last term as vice-chairman.
As a designer, he co-authored, among others, the Library of the Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (J.B. Quadro Award in 2009), the sports hall of the Poznań University of Physical Education, as well as completed or in progress urban planning and cultural investments in Wielkopolska Wielen).
