From the A&B archives - the best Polish projects of the last decade
[A&B 09'2017 original material]
The Koszyki Hall was realized between 1906 and 1909, and was designed by Juliusz Dzierżanowski - the first chief architect of Warsaw. It consisted of a main part and two perpendicular side wings. With a rich Art Nouveau façade and sculptural ornamentation by Zygmunt Otto, it was the third commercial hall building (after the Mirowskie Halls and the halls at Witkowskiego Square) in Warsaw. Burned down in the Warsaw Uprising and rebuilt after the war in the late 1940s, it became part of the Warsaw Społem Spożywców Cooperative. In the early 1960s it operated under the name "Koszyki" Cooperative Department Store. The hall was a very popular place among Varsovians in communist Poland. In 1965, Koszyki was added to the register of historical monuments. In 2012 it was acquired by Griffin Real Estate, buying it back from the previous owner, who had failed to revitalize it. "The current Koszyki was designed by the Jems studio. The authors Jerzy Szczepanik Dzikowski, Maciej Miłobędzki and Mateusz Świętorzecki are interviewed by Małgorzata Tomczak.
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © JEMS Architekci
Malgorzata Tomczak: Koszyki Hall has been one of the most commented on projects in recent times. What have you managed to preserve from the original elements drawn in the early 20th century by Juliusz Dzierżanowski?
JEMS: At the outset, it should be recalled that the original Koszyki Hall building was not realized entirely according to the design of its architect Juliusz Dzierżanowski. Apart from the Art Nouveau facades of the gateway buildings, most of the facades were greatly simplified. A number of details seemed to be the work of chance (such as the "Moorish" arched entrance, which lacked a proper setting). It is difficult to consider the Hall as we know it from old photographs as an outstanding work of architecture.
After severe war damage, the Hall was restored by economic methods, stripping it of its ceramic cladding and most of its details. A chaos of build-ups, prosthetics, shoddy additions and canopies entered.
cross section
© JEMS Architects
Margaret: How did you treat this layered historic substance?
JEMS: We came to the conviction that there is no room for a faithful reconstruction of the historical image today (there are no reliable materials even), nor for a "Le Duc-esque" idealized, beautified version of the monument. The "ideal" hall never was.
Nor is it the Berlin case of David Chiperfield's Neues Museum. The hall should not be a monument to destruction, but rather evoke the former atmosphere of the site as a socially significant space.
We also rejected the temptation to emphasize the "neutral" nature of what is new. The wholeness of the hall is more important than radically manifesting the division into preserved and rebuilt parts, risky in view of the considerable degree of mixing of elements that have accumulated over time.
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © JEMS Architekci
Our approach is NATURAL, CRITICAL CONTINUATION. We do not have to choose between the "neutrality" of contemporary interventions (which is a doctrinaire abstract rather than a real possibility) and various forms of reconstruction or pastiche. We approach each task individually, taking into account the found image of the historical object, the lessons of ancient and modern architecture, our capabilities and skills, an open, respectful but not uncritical attitude to the monument, available techniques, our intuitions and the client's goals. Not the regulation, doctrine, norms put into charters or manifestos, but the abilities, culture of builders, designers and investors, their open attitude to new challenges have always been what determined the success or failure of reconstructions, additions, renovations.
Malgorzata: What urban planning challenges did you face in designing the new Koszyki Hall?
JEMS: After more than a century, the adjacent parcels of land that had never been built on were completed. Situated on them and connected to the hall, three office buildings with deep, massive and chiaroscuro facades fill the frontage of Koszykowa Street together with the hall, and harmonize with the plaster, richly detailed surrounding townhouses.
frontage
© JEMS Architekci
Malgorzata: How did you address the structure of the historic Hall building?
JEMS: We have made many changes that enhance the qualities of the Hall, especially its functional layout and interiors, which, thanks, for example, to the "perforation" of the exterior walls of the first floor, connect the interiors with the surroundings, the courtyard turned into an attractive public space, and the lack of a fence and many possibilities for entry make the building open and accessible. A separate issue was the need to adapt the building to current technical requirements.
conceptual sketches
© JEMS Architects
Margaret: What materials were used in the design and why?
JEMS: Our design seeks to expose what is authentic and preserved in the building. Historic elements (demolition bricks, trusses, ceramics) were given a background of natural materials (formwork concrete, hot-rolled steel, brush painting, wooden soffit, mesh) without embellishing or manifesting workmanship accuracy, allowing everything on the exterior and interior to build the mood of the trade fair hall.
Photo: Juliusz Sokolowski © JEMS Architekci
Malgorzata: You designed the interiors together with the medusa group office. What was the scope of this cooperation?
JEMS: Already during the construction process, medusa group joined the design of the interiors and the site, which took care of the interiors of the offices, but also assisted us in the design of the site and the interiors of the hall. Thanks to this collaboration, raw materials, additional new elements and artistic interventions complementing the whole have returned to the project.
construction detail
© JEMS Architekci
Margaret: How was the cooperation with the investor?
JEMS: It was difficult at times, but we are very satisfied. Throughout the design and construction period, the client made many significant, if not breakneck, changes from our point of view. It was a constant confrontation between his and our reasons. However, we assess that the entire process of cooperation has led to the fulfillment of the assumed architectural and functional formula to a more than satisfactory degree. This permanent change and its effect mean that we do not consider the Hall a finished work. As Rem Koolhaas says: a building has at least two lives - one imagined by the designer and the other the one it lives after opening, and they are never the same. We hope that will be the case here as well.
Margaret: Thank you for the interview!
