breath of the west
Open fronts in the American style? This seems to have been the trend among the first refugees from the big cities. The availability of credit and economic development meant that young couples could afford their own not only four walls, but also a piece of garden. So following the American dream and opening up to public space, front fences were abandoned. Only the deeper part of the plot was closed off with a wooden fence or vegetation, thus preventing the escape of one's foursome.
Photo: Karol Klimanek
Nowadays, this is a popular solution among the development terraced houses appearing like mushrooms after the rain, for which interest in the public continues to grow. To avoid expenses, simple and cheap solutions are used. Thus, rear gardens are separated by panels of straight wires (a stiffer version of our good old fence mesh). The new owners, before they have time to unpack from the car parked in front of the door (because there is no fence at the front, so you can get right up to the doorknob), wrap up this wirework of their finally own garden with a more intimate wicker or reed mat. From above such a hybrid you can see only the protruding canopy of a wooden tool house, each painted with a different shade of stain.
These are all just stereotypical visions, quite popular, but not obligatory. There are modern projects, including developers, a little more polished and thought out as a whole. The customer will spend a little more to begin with, but in return he will get a more pleasant and practical fencing solution serving him for many years. It will thus improve the feel of the architecture for the dozens of people who use the space every day.
Photo credit: Karol Klimanek
At this point, we come to another extensive paragraph in our walkthrough called:
disappointments
I watch the progress of the new constructions with a little anxiety, but also hope. I often let out a sigh of relief when I see an interesting project that introduces an interesting element into the landscape. Thus, lowering my guard, I am again struck by the creativity of people.
A pleasantly designed in my opinion complex of buildings with an arranged green square, one day greeted my inquisitive eye with a bright and clear sign: "entry prohibited." I'm not sure what or from whom this barrier defends entry. Along the street, on both sides are paved parking spaces. In addition, its entire length is overgrown with old single-family buildings with garages. However, the developer wanted to emphasize that I should get the idea of parking on his lot out of my head, and perhaps mark the stature of this mini-neighborhood, to which one must have a pass?
Photo: Karol Klimanek
Nor did I expect what happened a few meters away. The owner of an ordinary, newly built house was caressing his garden. All season full of enthusiasm he planted, sowed, pruned, leveled and watered. I was extremely pleased that this empty space in the frontage was occupied by him, and not by another developer's semi-detached house, whose doubles grew in the neighborhood like rain. And splash, a bucket of cold water. The corner lot was covered in a poignant gray. It is clearly felt, walking along the sidewalk, which is quite narrow in this place, having a high wall on one side and the free space of the street on the other. Maneuvering as if on the edge of a precipice, with a quick step I pass this moment or move to the sidewalk opposite. Conclusion: one does not praise a garden, before putting up a fence.
Photo: Karol Klimanek
fences
Although the possibilities of shapes and colors of fences are thousands, it is worth noting that they have common denominators. Owners want to get their own intimate space as cheaply as possible. The social character of the street is disappearing, and it is beginning to serve only for communication. It is difficult to lean out from behind a two-meter fence to talk to a neighbor just passing by. It is good to take a slightly broader look at the space around us and the consequences of our choices. We need to be aware that living in society, we have an impact on the other person, and our decisions cause changes not only in our private garden, but also in public space. It has a special place in the human psyche, although we don't always realize it.
Walking around today, on a Sunday afternoon, I look around curiously, as always. However, there is a dash of fear lingering in my mind about what the next turn will bring. For years, the familiar window frames of broken pottery have been covered with the ever-fashionable white and grayplaster. Someone is painting the fence, someone is replacing it with a new one, and a little farther away the fence itself is falling apart from old age.
Joanna SPYCHAŁA
Alufire was a partner of the competition
