"First the head, second the conversation". Grupa 5 Architekci in the spring edition of FOPA 2024

Ola Kloc

08 of May '24

the headquarters of Grupa 5 Architekci studio in Warsaw

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Michal Leszczyński, Agnieszka Krzeszowska and Mateusz Gawron will guide us through the nooks and crannies of the Group 5 Architekci office headquarters on Friday, May 17, during this year's spring edition of the Festival of Open Architectural Studios — an event accompanying the Congress on Culture of the Regenerative City. This will be a unique opportunity to get to know the office from the perspective of an associate, partner and architect!

Broadcast of the meetings will be available on our channels

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We will start the Festival of Open Architectural Studios in Katowice, at the headquarters of OVO Grąbczewscy Architecki studio (May 13 at 13.00), then we will move to Warsaw, to the offices of WWAA (May 16 at 13.00) and Grupa 5 Architekci (May 17 at 13.00). Live broadcasts will be available on A&B's Facebook and YouTube!

Group 5 Architekci
May 17, at 1 pm

Started as a team of five architects — Roman Dziedziejko, Michal Leszczyński, Krzysztof Mycielski, Rafal Zelent and Rafal Grzelewski — today Group 5 Architekci numbers nearly forty people. For 25 years, they have held a leading position among Polish architectural studios.

Central Railway Station, Wroclaw, 2013

Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski I Illustrations courtesy of the studio

Our portfolio includes both residential and office buildings, as well as public utility edifices, from modernized multifunctional historic complexes, through schools, hospitals, to complex transportation facilities and urban public spaces — the architects list. — We are proud of the numerous awards and distinctions that confirm the high aesthetic and functional quality of our projects — they add.

WRiTV of the University of Silesia, Katowice, 2017

Photo: Jakub Certowicz I Illustrations provided courtesy of the studio

And indeed they have reason to be proud! Suffice it to mention the Department of Radio and Television of the University of Silesia in Katowice (together with BAAS Arquitectura and Małeccy Biuro Projektowe), the reconstruction of the Abram Gurewicz Sanatorium inOtwock or the Monopolis in Łódź — each of these projects can boast more than one industry accolade, including SARP Awards of the Year or a nomination for the Mies van der Rohe Award! Their projects are also appreciated abroad — last month their proposal for the development of the Tallinn Fishing Harbor won 2nd Prize in an architectural competition.

Piękna, Warsaw, 2018; Monopolis, Łódź, 2020

How do you keep a constant level of architectural creativity for so many years? How does the team organize its work on so many projects of such diverse scales? Get your questions ready — the opportunity to ask them will be on May 17, and in the meantime, we asked Michał Leszczyński some of the most puzzling ones ourselves!

Ola Kloc: Where did the name of the studio come from?

Michał Leszczyński: We founded the studio in 1998 in five architects who met in a previous job. A vision was formed, an idea for our work, but we didn't do very well coming up with a company name. The name was to be Polish, not Western, it was to reflect the group nature of our creative activities.

Among other things, we came up with the name Ekipa, which sounded architectural. We followed suit and after a couple of meetings, Grupa 5 emerged. We found it unpretentious, democratic, devoid of our names and initials, and, of course, non-stellar.

The interior of the Grupa 5 Architekci studio in Warsaw

Ola: The studio is for us....

Michał: Blood, sweat and tears :) And moreover a piece of our lives, a place where we fulfill ourselves professionally.

Ola: What was your first project together?

Michal: Our first order was the design of a church in Warsaw's Wawer district. In the published book "Life and Space. Grupa 5 Architekci" my partner Krzysztof Mycielski recalls:

The investor was a dream. The parish priest Wieslaw Kalisiak, a doctor of archaeology, a wise man with a heart of gold and an exceptionally cutting tongue. "Just pray, boys, k...a", he repeated. Above all, he understood the project we were doing for him, but he also shared inspiring comments.

Interior of the Grupa 5 Architekci studio in Warsaw

Ola: A dream project is....

Michał: Everyone in our studio probably has a dream project. Personally, I like to have numerous conditions. My dream would be to do a project in a very strong urban context with many requirements, in a complex relief in a difficult, dense development.... In addition, there should be a lot of conflicting requirements of the investor and neighboring communities. Such a project could be discursive and resultant.

Ola: Our favorite design tool is....

Michał: Firstly, the head. Secondly, a conversation — a meeting of two or three architects from our office around a table. Projects are born in discussion, the moment when several creative people with different views on the same topic meet and an idea, a design concept is formed.

The interior of the Grupa 5 Architekci studio in Warsaw; activities with children

Ola: Does the team have any regular habits / rituals?

Michał: We have a large garden in our studio. As soon as it gets warmer, which this year has been the case since early April, we try to spend time in the garden. Whether it's for lunches or meetings with clients. Our garden and terrace enter the studio on two levels, which provokes us to go outside. Twice a year we organize our studio's team-building meetings. One in the summer and the other at Christmas. We start with a mini-lecture, a presentation of our joint works or a tour of our joint realizations. Further on, the meetings become less formal and often end with a night on the town ... We try to make the atmosphere in the studio casual and relaxed, but when the situation requires it, we are more formal.

The interior of the Grupa 5 Architekci studio in Warsaw

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The Festival of Open Architectural Studios is a companion event to the International Congress on the Culture of the Regenerative City. Partners of the event are: