Jurand Jarecki, an architect whose work became a permanent part of the fabric of Katowice, the author of, among other things, the Zenit and Skarbek department stores, passed away on the night of March 13-14 this year. He was 92 years old.
Although he was born in 1931 in Krakow, he grew up mainly in Zakopane, later living in Silesia, studying in Szczecin and at the Krakow University of Technology, and gaining professional experience in Paris with Georges Candilis. After returning from France, where he also became acquainted with the work of Le Corbusier, he began working at the Katowice-based Miastoprojekt in the 1960s. From 1990 he ran the Architectural Realization Atelier (ARAR) together with Stanislaw Kwaśniewicz and Marek Gierlotka. From 1974 to 1977 he was president of the SARP Katowice Branch.
As part of Miastoprojekt, together with Mieczysław Król, he designed the "Zenit" Department Store in the center of Katowice (1958-1962), and ten years later, right next door and already under his own name - the "Skarbek" Cooperative Department Store (1972-1975).
It presented a completely new, for the time, way of thinking about large-format trade," Anna Syska wrote about the popular " Skarbek" in her book "Spodek in Zenith". - The juxtaposition of glazing from the lower floors, metal panels and concrete gave a very interesting visual effect, which, combined with the mass and trapezoidal projection, makes Skarbek a unique place that cannot be compared with other commercial buildings in the region, she added.
Cooperative Trading House "Skarbek" (1972-1975)
photo: Adrian Tync | Wikimedia Commons © CC BY-SA 4.0
Jarecki was also the author of, among other things, the twenty-four-story Harperowiec skyscraper in Katowice (together with Marian Skałkowski, 1965-1969), also known as Żyleta, the Paderewski estate in the Zawodzie areaZawodzie area (together with Stanislaw Kwaśniewicz and Ryszard Ćwikliński, 1970-1980) and the main building of the Silesian Library (together with Marek Gierlotka and Stanislaw Kwaśniewicz; competition: 1989).
In this project one can see a stylistic transformation - the geometry of modernism was replaced by postmodern aesthetics, paraphrases of elements from historical styles, colors and materials not used in Poland before," Anna Cymer wrote about the Silesian Library in Katowice.
The main building of the Silesian Library in Katowice
Photo: Joanna Rzepka-Radlowska | Wikimedia Commons © CC BY 3.0
Katowice. Waking up on the Paderewskiego estate. With morning coffee, outside the window on the horizon is a communist-era 24-story skyscraper Hapeerowiec "Żyleta" called. On the way to the center you can stop by the Silesian Library. Shop at Katowice's "Zenith" or "Skarbek". All these buildings and many others Katowice, and not only them, owe to him - Jurand Jarecki, as their designer. We, thanks to his donation, are able to store, study and disseminate his legacy. This will not change. Unfortunately, tonight he passed away. We will no longer meet him by the fireplace in his private home, but he will remain in our grateful memory forever," with these words the Institute for Architecture Documentation of the Silesian Library, which documents the architectural heritage of Upper Silesia in the second half of the 20th century, said farewell to the architect.
