The architecture of the future must be characterized by responsibility, pragmatism and moderation. This is the main idea of the second meeting of the Future Builders series. In a conversation between Dr. Piotr Żabicki and Przemo Łukasik - founder of Medusa Group office, environmental, social, economic and... philosophical topics were discussed.
Przemo Lukasik - second guest
The second meeting of the Future Builders series was held on September 23. Its guest was Przemo Łukasik. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice and the Paris Ecole d'Architecture Paris-Villemin. He gained experience working in key architectural offices in Berlin and Paris, where he also taught at Ecole Speciale d'Architecture.
He co-foundedthe Medusa Group studio with Lukasz Zagala in 1997, and since then has again been strongly associated with Silesia. Now, Medusa is one of the most interesting offices in Europe. Independently and with his team, he has developed such projects as: The German Embassy in Warsaw, the Council of Europe Square, the interiors of the Nobu Warsaw hotel and The Bridge Wroclaw, or the .KTW complex in Katowice. It's hard to count all the awards and accolades his projects have received.
© Aluprof
Architect of the future
To start with, Piotr Żabicki asked how the architectural profession will change in the future. According to Przemo Lukasik, context matters. Once architects created for pharaohs and kings, now for developers and private investors - so the direct approach is unchanged. It is the technology, trends and opportunities that invariably evolve. Some concepts are heavily overdone and unusable in today's realities - others are making a comeback decades later. Architecture always has to adapt to changes and anticipate them, as it were.
I remember consulting and talking with Paul Virillio, a dozen years ago. He explained to us that the future will be built of two realities - real and virtual. At the time it sounded abstract, today it has become our common reality, " recalls the Medusa Group founder. However, architecture and construction are among the few fields that automation and digitization have not significantly changed. The achievements of technology are still a tool for specialists to streamline certain activities and processes and exclude errors. Not everything can be replaced by artificial intelligence. I believe in humans," concluded Przemo Lukasik.
"We are in the trend of world architecture"
The Future Builders speaker believes that domestic architecture is in no way inferior to global trends. Recalling his student years in Poland and France, he does not think that the quality and level of education is different. The element he singled out as a key tool is revitalization. Przemo Lukasik stressed the importance of not short-sightedly designing and building spaces "for the people." Even if our generation will not feel the impact of these changes, the next generation - children, who are just starting to be part of the urban fabric, already definitely will. Therefore, the economic and utilitarian aspect cannot be the only determinant of the "profitability" of the realization - it is necessary to pay attention to how the project will function over several decades.
The most eco-friendly and green building is the one that has not been built. Thesecond-best is the one already built," said Lukasik. Although not every building can be saved and revitalized, bringing people into post-industrial and in the future even commercial spaces is the future of urban development. Revitalization is one of the tools of responsible design. On many levels.
Who will have an impact on the cities of the future?
I think human beings," answered Przemo Lukasik simply. However, this is not about city managers, planners, architects, urban planners and all instuctions and social movements, deciding on urban issues. The main decision-makers are ordinary residents who run their daily lives in a given place. Local governments no longer look only at the economic aspects of development, but pay attention to the well-being of residents and how they feel about the city. Each city, however, is different - in terms of origin, former use and history.
In Silesia, cities were formed on the backs of large factories and were often created very responsibly. An example of which we are very proud is our beloved Nikiszowiec. It wasplanned not by the city, but by an industrialist," notes Lukasik. So the architect is responsible not only for the assumptions of the client, investor or budget. Above all, he should think about the society and the context, and, if necessary, explain and argue it.
Let's talk!
I believe that all the problems of this world come from the fact that we don't talk to each other. For me, Future Builders is a platform where we can share our experiences and thoughts. I don't put forward the thesis that we know everything best. But there is no better way, to explain to the public what building and construction is. Architects don't build - our job is to work with imagination. For that we need smart and responsible investors who are not afraid to trust us. At the end we have a contractor who has to struggle with our ideas. At the end, we can all be proud of the results," is how Przemo Lukasik answered the question why he joined Future Builders.
He added that the key thing in life, not only professionally, is to build mutual respect and understanding. Only such an approach and openness to new experiences allows for success.
The video transcript of this conversation can be viewed on the Future Builders homepage and Aluprof 's official YouTube channel . The interview with Przemo Lukasik is also available as a podcast on the official Future Buidlers channel on Spotify
More Future Builders meetings
The next Future Builders speakers will be Zbigniew Maćków of Maćków Pracownia Projektowa - a Wroclaw-based SARP member and designer of buildings with the best parameters of energy self-sufficiency, Bogdan Zaha - chief architect of the legendary Zaha Hadid Ltd. studio, and Álvaro Leite Siza Vieira - winner of numerous awards, author of publications in the most important architectural magazines in the world.
All Future Builders events are fully free and available online. Additional information and registration is available on the initiative's website
