Dominik:Are these types of issues the most difficult in the design profession? Does it hurt more to fail in competitions than to fight for a design?
Hugon:I don't treat losing in competitions as a defeat. It's normal that they were better. What's worse is the lack of orders and the need to lay off employees. When a lot of such problems accumulate, the ability to drift freely on the surface is very difficult. Our job is to solve problems. It amuses me that always after the weekend I seem to be prepared for the next week. Meanwhile, on Monday I get so many problems to solve that by Wednesday I'm only dealing with them. As designers, we must also be aware that we are spending our investor's money. We will not be the users of the space, but our client. So we need to take care of the other party's needs and work toward a common goal. Functionality is key here.
Dominika:So according to you, needs are more important in design than visual effect?
Hugon: From my observations, it seems that decent architectural offices present logical, well-planned zones on the projections. If this is missing and instead of order there is a maze, it means that the basic task of the architect has not been fulfilled. In my opinion, this is the knowledge that a student should take from his studies. Another element is aesthetics. I do not like to glorify it, but it is an integral and important part of the design-build process. The realization in the Jordan Garden made me realize how difficult it is to make a good design, what a huge amount of human work and struggle is needed.
Dominica:What you can't see when you look at the result.
Hugon: I wish we architects knew how to talk about it. The whole process is much more interesting than the final stage - it's a real mine of anecdotes and stories, and we only talk about projections, sections and elevations. The design-build process is like an adventure movie.
Dominica:Tell us, then, how do YOU try to interest your students? For what reasons did you decide to become a presenter at your alma mater?
Hugon: In my opinion, this is the best university in Poland. It gives an intimate group of students a lot of opportunities. It's great to have the opportunity to participate in academic deliberations about architecture, to rotate in the world of ideas and concepts. It also motivates you to be constantly on the cutting edge. And I just enjoy doing it. I enjoy teaching purely practical classes, based on talking to students, talking about solutions and contemporary architecture. It's fantastic that one photo of a freshly designed building can turn into a story about thoughts and projects that have already been there. We held such classes with Mr. Andrzej Kurzawski. The photo was an impulse to show that it is worth looking for information in various sources, because what was created in the past can also be of value today. A good example is the period of postmodernism, which I sincerely love. On the one hand, designers don't admit to carving postmodern columns and architecturally it seems ugly to us, but on the other hand it carries a lot of value.
design of a single-family house in Kiekrz, 2016
© UGO Architecture
Dominika:So not only do you teach students, but you also teach yourself.
Hugon: Yes, although sometimes it requires concentration - a dozen people at any given time are waiting for answers to the problems that stopped them in the design process. I think that as an instructor we should not impose our solutions, rather we should listen, show possibilities and ways, leave space for development. I also think that it is necessary, however, to make students aware if something is unsuccessful or ugly and just talk about it. However, this works both ways, the student must want to develop, to check, to look, to step out of the shoes of a high school student. Although maybe it's easy for me to say, because starting my studies myself, I didn't see who Daniel Libeskind is, who just graduated from the Jewish Museum in Berlin. But on the other hand, I'm an example that you can swallow the hook and grow in those few years.
Dominica:Has there been a major turning point in your interesting career path?
Hugon: I don't see it that way. I think all the present work and activities are important to build the future. Someone once asked me which of my projects I consider the best. I don't have an answer. I think you have to believe and delude yourself that this best project is ahead, on the horizon. But of course, there were nice moments, for example, the awarding of the Archiprix prize to my thesis, which at that moment I don't think I fully understood. The importance of this event came to me when I started getting really interesting job offers from leading architectural offices. Also, working with Alejandro Aravena at the Venice Architecture Biennale was something amazing. We were probably the first Polish office to co-create the main exhibition. Looking back on the event from a distance, I think I was not prepared for it at all, but I approached it as best as I could at that moment. And going back to your question, I can't say that one event has somehow changed my career path. Perhaps I am still waiting for it.
Dominica:À proposing important events - where did you get the idea and courage to launch your own design office while you were already in college?
Hugon: Well, there are two ways: either you work for someone and bring this knowledge to your company after ten or fifteen years, or you open your own office right away. Of course, in the latter case, you learn everything from your own mistakes and build your experience on them. I always wanted to have the comfort of making my own decisions about the shape of a project, without someone else's opinion being imposed on me. Solving a design problem is characterized by the author's thought and craftsmanship, so if you sell it under someone else's name, you are not a winner in this arrangement. This has its pros and cons....
competition design of the National Philharmonic Hall in Vilnius, 2019
© UGO Architecture
Dominika: ...but independence and the ability to make your own decisions win out nonetheless.
Hugon: I think it does. I worked in different offices and in some, after three days of work, I had the feeling that I was wasting my life. I wondered what I was doing there and whether I really wanted my path to be like this. These are the worst feelings one can have. That's why even if I do strange or ridiculous things on my own account, I prefer it to asking myself these questions. We're also currently talking about similar topics at SARP - aren' t small offices with low costs spoiling the market? We talk about salaries, because the world is moving forward, services are getting more expensive, and designers' salaries haven't budged. Contractors are better organized than architects, for example, plasterer's rates are predetermined and described. For us, the topic is difficult, we pretend it is not there, or we do not have time to stop and sort out the problem.
Dominika:Despite these adversities, you are said to be a very nice person.
Hugon: I always wanted to have that written in my bio. For a long time my co-workers said it was silly, but recently I managed to sneak it in. I'm irritated by these official biographies with a list of successes. It's easy to read and evaluate the buildings that a particular architect designs. But this kind of information allows you to understand at least a little what kind of person you are. Although my girlfriend laughs that she would cross out this sentence.
Dominika:So do we leave or cross it out?
Hugon: We leave it in.
talked about: Dominika Drozdowska
* Hugon Kowalski's graduation project entitled. "Let's talk about garbage of the slums in Mumbai" received the 2013 Archiprix International / Hunter Douglas Awards, and was also the starting point for the creation of an exhibition at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale.
