Three intensive days of the Festival of Open Architectural Studios, an event accompanying the Open Eyes Economy Summit congress in Krakow, are behind us. In this year's edition, participants visited five Krakow studios: MoonStudio, APA Czech_Duliński_Wróbel, Biuro Architektoniczne Wizja, Biuro Projektów Lewicki Łatak and Horizone Studio, where, over a glass of wine, they were able to learn about the architectural profession from behind the scenes. Thank you to the studios for their hospitality, and to you for being with us!
Day 1 MoonStudio
The festival on Monday, November 18, was inaugurated by the MoonStudio studio. The office itself is interesting - in a minimalist building (with a sauna and terrace!) there is a multi-level open space with workstations on each floor, and the whole is illuminated by a large and round like the full moon lamp placed in the ceiling.
Among other things, the architects talked about the system and organization of work in their office, and how the design process works in a place where most of the activities are carried out digitally. Designers from MoonStudio have been creating three-dimensional structures using modern BIM technology from the beginning of their concept work. This allows them to eliminate possible errors at the very first stages of work, and a defined system of information flow and clear responsibilities positively affects the efficiency of the team. Such a system of operation also gives the opportunity to quickly update the changes made and allows them to maintain an open attitude towards the concept.
Piotr Nawara talks about the activities of the MoonStudio studio
Photo: Lubomir Nikolov © A&B
Designers from the MoonStudio studio also talked about their projects, the shadows and glare of cooperation with public, private and corporate investors, the architect's responsibility for decisions made and how they deal with criticism.
"Fight for your ideas to be implemented," he said. - Piotr Nawara said at the end of the meeting.
Day 2 APA Czech_Duliński_Wróbel
and Wizja Biuro Architektoniczne
On the second day of the festival, November 21, we hosted two offices located in the same building - APA Czech_Duliński_Wróbel and Wizja Biuro Architektoniczne. The history of the two studios, which are separated only by a corridor, dates back to the 1980s, when young architects under the guidance of Stanislaw Deńko worked in the Academic Architecture Studio - APA, an institution established within the Student Labor Cooperative "Żaczek". In a friendly atmosphere, the architects recalled the beginnings of their professional work, the times of transformation after 1989, the implementation of AutoCAD, which Stanislaw Denieko brought from the United States in the 1990s. They talked about experiencing the birth of deconstructivism in architecture, the superiority of hand-drawn drawing over computer drawing, as well as the studio's most important projects, such as the Kraków-Baliceand Rzeszów-Jasionkaairports and the competition design of the Radio Krakow headquarters, developed by Tomasz Mańkowski and Piotr Wróbel. The radio building, due to its shape, turned out to be a real realization challenge.
Piotr Wróbel talks about APA Czech_Duliński_Wróbel studio.
Photo: Lubomir Nikolov © A&B
Architects from both studios also recalled the competition design by Stanislaw Deńko, Piotr Wróbel and Jacek Pencakowski - the Great Arch of Fraternity in the new La Défense district in Paris, whose axonometric drawing is now the logotype of the APA Czech_Dulinski_Wróbel office.
Stanislaw Deńko presents the designs of the Wizja Biuro Architektoniczne studio.
Photo: Lubomir Nikolov © A&B
In the office of the Wizja studio, its founder, Stanislav Deńko, talked about the projects, the process of creating them and the pitfalls and adversities that architects often face. Participants in the event could also admire precise mock-ups, including the architects' proposed building of the Stanislaw Wyspianski Museum.
Day 3 Lewicki Łatak Design Bureau and Horizone Studio
On Friday, November 22, we met at Dolnych Młynów Street, where architects from the studio of Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Łatak and Horizone Studio were waiting for us. On the staircase we were greeted by a light installation prepared by the authors of the November issue of A&B, and in the studios - wine lamps and gift bags for the participants.
Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Łatak
Photo: Lubomir Nikolov © A&B
Architects from the Lewicki Łatak Design Office recalled the history of the studio, the beginnings of the business in the 1990s, and work on the design of a hotel at the Mogilskie traffic circle, during which they learned to design on their first personal computers. They talked about the recurring like a boomerang theme of the unrealized footbridge in Cracow, the award-winning KS Cracovia 1906 hall with the Center for Sports for the Disabled in Cracow, and the Czartoryski Museum, which is nearing completion. The designers drew attention to the difficulties of reconstructing historic buildings, the surprises they encounter during construction and the difficulties of adapting existing buildings to modern times. Also raised were questions about the future of the architectural profession, the prospects for young designers and commitment to work, where often the emotions and knowledge put into a project are met with a superficial evaluation and lack of understanding on the part of the client.
"You have to have the skin of a rhino, and the sensitivity of... a small rhino," joked the architects.
In turn, at Horizone Studio, located a few floors above, urban planning workshops awaited the guests. On the map of Jaworzno, where the architects designed the green residential district "SILO," the event's participants were tasked with proposing their own solutions, for which the only limitation was their imagination and... the size of LEGO bricks.
Horizone Studio workshop
Photo: Lubomir Nikolov © A&B
The Festival of Open Architectural Studios is an event where students, young designers and architecture enthusiasts have a unique opportunity to meet creators from the best studios, discover their design secrets and find answers to their burning questions. We are already looking forward to next year's edition, see you there!
We would like to thank the hosting studios, all FOPA participants and A&B Partners:
