"An architect must have a vision". Jakub Krzysztofik on 3DARCHITEKCI studio with a vision

Ola Kloc

18 of June '21

interior of lodz office

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This coming Monday, June 21, marks the start of the fourth, this time spring, edition of the Open Architecture Studio Festival. It is time to introduce the next hosts of the event - we will be guided through the nooks and crannies of the 3DARCHITEKCI studio with vision on June 24 by the duo of architects Jakub and Sylwia Krzysztofik.

wnętrze of 3DARCHITEKCI z wizją studio

3DARCHITEKCI studio interior with vision}

The Festival of Open Architectural Studios is a companion event to the Open Eyes Economy Summit congress. FOPA is a unique meeting during which architects open the doors of their studios for us, tell us about the functioning of the office, daily work and design methods. This year, OEES organizers in cooperation with the City of Lodz initiated another important conference - the first INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS REGENERATION OF INDUSTRIAL CITIES. We couldn't miss us there - we invite you to the spring edition of FOPA(June 21 Mandaworks, June 24 3DARCHITECTS with vision, June 25 Medusa Group) and the discussion "Urban meeting places", which will be hosted by Małgorzata Tomczak, editor-in-chief of A&B, on June 22.

3DARCHITECTS with a vision

In the same year that he defended his diploma, Jakub Krzysztofik, an architect and urban planner, founded his own design studio in Lodz - 3DARCHITEKCI z wizją. The company, which has been operating since 2000, is distinguished by an original marketing strategy and detailed rules and regulations to take care of the work-life balance of the architects working in the office. The designers have to their credit, among others, the development of an urban revitalization concept for the center of Lodz (areas 1 and 4), the design of the Stara Drukarnia Office Building, the Słoneczne Tarasy Apartment Building or the Laboratories of the Faculty of Environmental Protection of the PŁ.

This Thursday, June 24, at 1 p.m., Jakub and Sylwia Krzysztofik will show us around the Lodz office:

A&B: Where did the name of the studio come from?

Jakub Krzysztofik: The company's name has several layers of meaning and genesis, but ultimately it defends itself and sounds good, without detailed justification. The name 3DARCHITEKCI sounds sonorous and is easy to remember.

ARCHITECTS (written in verse)

The core is the information that we are an architectural office, which is supposed to be clear and understandable to the viewer. Simply put, we are architects.

3D (written in capital letters, often in red)

The prefix 3D suggests the digital and modern nature of our work and the multidimensionality of our approach. These three dimensions are not just spatial dimensions, it is from the beginning a three-faceted approach to the essence of architecture: that is, spiritual, analytical and technical-construction matters.

With vision (often written in italics, or in handwriting, as an artistic, visionary and authorial element)

An even, balanced and harmonious approach to the elements (spiritual, analytical and technical-building) allows us to carve out a fourth value, which is a concrete vision of both our work and proposal for our audience. Hence came the addition of the name "with vision." This element is dedicated to the memory of my father Stanislaw Krzysztofik, who was a land reclamation engineer. He made a conscious distinction between him as an engineer and me as an aspiring architect by saying: "An architect must have a vision." We remain true to this slogan.

Jakub Krzysztofik & Partners

We are by design and fully conscious of our way of operating in the market: a small company, an independent, intelligent unit (team) operating in the global market. We consciously reject the creation of a larger structure. Although we have worked with a number of international architectural firms, we always operate on partnership terms, without losing our independence. Our cooperation with corporations is similar. We have cooperated with three of the Big Four companies, forming TRANSITIONALLY large project teams. After completing the projects, we always returned to the core, which is a small company, so as not to lose our independence, personal and financial freedom. Many times corporate clients tried to absorb us or even buy us out. We always refused. The addition to the name "Jakub Krzysztofik & Partners" speaks precisely to the above issues. The company is the original vision of the owner and leader supported, when necessary, by a compact and professional team of associates and a number of partners and cooperating companies. However, the company is fully independent and in control of its operations. It is aware of its goals, which are never out of sight. This structure allows us to carry out our intentions in accordance with our strategy.

In addition, we use the slogan "we build relationships" in our marketing, which communicates that the element of our work is building and executing our projects, although we try to transcend this mundane but concrete aspect of our work by communicating that we take relationship building seriously, both in our approach to our clients and to all partners in the construction process, especially with the end user.

The above aspects are detailed in our company strategy in the chapters on mission and vision. A new strategy (we are currently implementing our seventh) is created every five years and is evaluated and critically analyzed and modified at mid-term. I am the author of all the company's marketing strategies, the first of which was an MBA thesis. All but one of the strategies (the 2008 crisis) have been implemented.

Despite the fact that the above-mentioned name members may evoke associations of pretentiousness and provoke malicious comments, we try to balance them with a professional approach and taking our work seriously. In practice, we are simply referred to as "3D Architects" or "architects with a vision", the other elements are accentuated in specific situations of marketing our brand positioning. So, the goals and content encoded in the name are consistent with our strategy and speak to our audience as intended, and are easily denoted by the particular audiences we are targeting.

makiety projects in the studio

mockups of projects in the studio

A&B: What was your first project about?

Jakub Krzysztofik: The company was founded in 2000. The founding commissions were two projects: an adaptation of the Próchnik SA garment factory in Łódź and a single-family housing estate for a Swedish developer, created in cooperation with the Danish studio JJW2 from Copenhagen. Although none of these projects was realized, they are still today milestones and reference points of the difficult beginnings of our architectural path. These concepts defined our ambition to realize larger (though not huge) projects in cooperation with other design firms, often foreign.

A&B: Does the team have any regular habits / rituals?

Jakub Krzysztofik: Our relationships are governed by detailed studio rules and regulations, which we try to follow, although in practice we rarely go back to its provisions. Each new employee is introduced to the company by a designated mentor, who introduces them to the rhythm and rules of our work. Then we discuss the sometimes incomprehensible issues in the regulations. In particular, we adhere to the rule that we work eight hours in the office (excluding weekends, of course) and during this time we deal exclusively with architecture. We avoid talking about politics and worldview issues (it is even forbidden). If we talk about anything outside of architecture, it is often about neutral matters. We do not try to integrate excessively and respect each other's private lives. This ensures the necessary mental hygiene and proper intellectual regeneration of each team member. It also allows us to avoid conflicts and to work together for a relatively long time (on average it is five years, although often much longer). The regulations describe in detail and clearly the rules of cooperation, the relationship between employees and the boss, the rules of cooperation with engineers, construction, etc. It also regulates the standard of dress, the maintenance of order in the office and servers, security rules and all other elements aimed at transparency of operations and avoiding misunderstandings or conflicts. The atmosphere in the office is one of focus and work, although from time to time, of course, we try to have a moment of relaxation. We avoid a frenetic pace, sitting up late at night and working on our days off. We are a well-organized team, avoid prolonged stress by planning time reserves and are aware of the inevitable mistakes and complications in ongoing projects. We have been working this way for more than twenty years, constantly improving our working methods, modifying the regulations and standard of the studio.