Although they are rather associated with familiarity, naturalness, chaos and bustle, urban markets are a luxury. They are not just for sourcing food "from the farmer", eggs from the "lucky hen", they are an egalitarian meeting space, a place where time can flow a little slower, in the rhythm of the seasons. And while these nourishing zones of our cities are experiencing a renaissance today, they face many challenges, including architectural ones.
The Niedźwiedzia Market in Wroclaw is facing modernization
photo: courtesy of Miroslaw Posluszny
There are six marketplaces in Wroclaw today, and one of them is facing a major modernization. Located in Popowice, at the intersection of Niedźwiedzia and Legnicka streets, the Niedźwiedzia market has been operating since the 1990s. The location, although attractive, doesn't allow for specific architectural gestures - as large diameter heating pipes run underground. However, nothing stands in the way of tidying up the square and introducing solutions that will make the space more attractive, both for regular customers and merchants, as well as those who are not yet convinced to shop at the bazaar.
Students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw (Oskar Chmielinski, Julia Radomska, Hanna Seredyńska, Antonina Smoktunowicz and Iwo Szenk) faced this challenge. Similar to the design of the stadium at the Qatar World Cup (design: Fenwick Iribarren Architects), they proposed the use of colorful containers, also storied, which will allow new functions to be introduced at the site. Indeed, the revival of the market is to be aided by the creation of a meeting place with a playground and a sizable bear made of child-friendly materials, in addition to the shopping and dining areas. There will also be pro-environmental solutions - a green roof and rainwater recycling system will appear. However, these changes will not affect the costs for merchants - they will be able to stay in their pavilions, but also invest in stands in the new, modernized part of the market.
A model of the bear that will stand in the playground
Photo: courtesy of Miroslaw Posluszny
We talk about what a good marketplace is, what challenges urban marketplaces face today, and the idea of them entering the digital space with Joanna Erbel, a sociologist, member of the PLZ Cooperative Board of Directors and director for protopia at CoopTech Hub, Poland's first cooperative technology center.
Ola Kloc: What potential and what pitfalls do you see in the modernization of the Niedźwiedzia Market?
Joanna Erbel: Let's start with the broader context, as shown in the report by the City Initiative - To Market. Strategy for the Regeneration of Marketplaces 2022: Polish marketplaces are aging - both in terms of their clientele and vendors. Their formula needs to be reinvented - leaning into the future while reaching back into the past. What I believe is the essence of vibrant markets is diversity: of products, prices, services, clientele. The modernization of the Niedźwiedzia Market goes in this direction - it wants to raise the quality of the space, but in such a way as to add something new, modernize the structure, while not losing the current traders. This will have to be done with great sensitivity. However, in conversations with chairman Miroslaw Posluszny, one feels that he not only knows his trade because of his experience working at the market, but also talks to people and conducts surveys. He is also not afraid to look for new ideas, like creating a food zone on the edge of the market. It is designed not to threaten commerce by replacing it, but to drive new clientele. I also really liked the idea of creating a green roof with sedum trees, which can be seen at the chairman's office.
A sample of the planned sedum green roof
Photo: Joanna Erbel
Ola Kloc: If one were to go a few steps further in the planned modernization and create a model urban market, what do you think should be included in it?
Joanna Erbel: A good marketplace is one that is a place not only for shopping, but also for exchanging information. One that gives an excuse to talk about trivial matters, to feel part of a community. To learn something new. To try culinary novelties or buy something occasional. Certainly, an important element nowadays is the greening of markets - it's not just about rooftops, but creating pocket parks on their edges (as is happening at another Wroclaw market - on Jemiołowa Street) or another form of greenery that gives coolness. It would be good if it provided multiple pretexts for people to come: small shopping, morning coffee, lunch or other later meal. Create social or cultural events after market hours.
Ola Kloc: The management of the market is looking for ways to attract a younger clientele - what do you think could encourage young people to shop at the market? Can this be done at all?
Joanna Erbel: The Niedźwiedzia Market is already doing that. Food tracts and small restaurants are an incentive to get out of the office for lunch or other meals. There are a lot of office buildings around and the people who work there are the clientele of the market. Once you're there, it's easier to buy something. Markets additionally can build an urban identity. My co-worker Alicja Wójcik, who is from Generation Z, says that buying at a marketplace is a form of rooting for her - it's quite different from buying at a chain store the same in every city, where you are an anonymous person. We as the CoopTech Hub team additionally point out that marketplaces, like chain stores, should enter the digital space. After all, we live in a hybrid world and the incentive to shop and visit a marketplace can be to combine online shopping with in-person pickups. Promoting local seasonal food through recipes or telling the stories of individual vendors and their products can help. Over the summer, we released a report Hybrid Markets as Centers of Local Life, which talks about how these spheres can intersect. We covered bazaars because we see them as an important part of the food safety net and one of the few spaces where people with different views, lifestyles and incomes can come together. We are also developing the PLZ cooperative app so that it can better support such places. After all, just as we need community spaces in the city, we also need them in the digital world.
Ola Kloc: Thank you for the interview.
You can read more about urban markets in the A&B issue of Edible City
