Since July this year, visitors to the Royal Łazienki Musuem Park in Warsaw have been able to take a look at a new building—the Freedom Pavilion. This wooden, temporary building on a circular plan was designed and constructed by students of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology within the A3 specialization—Architecture of Technology and Structure, Context and Meaning. You can still see the pavilion, which is a manifestation of world peace and solidarity with Ukraine, until the end of September.
The completed Freedom Pavilion was created as part of the cyclical event „we put_”, whose main initiator and originator is Anna Wierzbicka, Ph.D., professor at PW. This year, the theme of the „we put_” initiative was the freedom of Ukraine and world peace, which was to be manifested and spread through the designed architectural form. The task was also an integral part of the International Scientific Conference „Architecture of Challenges—Reconstruction of Ukraine”.
The white canvas canopy is a reference to a sail and a sense of freedom
Photo: Krzysztof Koszewski © WAPW
For several weeks of the 2022/2023 academic year, students, divided into ten teams, worked intensively on research, sketches and prototype creation. Each group, under the guidance of specialists, developed their own architectural concept for the pavilion, looking for unique solutions and answers to the set problem.
Freedom Pavilion at the Royal Łazienki Musuem, axonometry
© WAPW
Then we joined forces and gathered our ideas into a coherent whole. Now that our idea is getting closer to materializing into a real object, we feel that our group's energy is truly unstoppable. Experienced specialists—architects, urban planners and designers—helped in the subsequent design stages," Kamila Chodola, a WAPW student, said during the assembly work in July.
work on the assembly of the pavilion
Photo: Bartosz Kucharski © WAPW
new pavilion in the Royal Łazienki Museum
It is worth noting that this was the first time that the theoretical work created as part of the „we put_” event was carried out in reality—the authors themselves erected the pavilion on the grounds of the Royal Łazienki Museum. And where to find it specifically? Strolling along Agricola, near the bridge with the statue of Jan III Sobieski, you can reach the Hermitage—a small white building that once served as a solitary house. It was near it, surrounded by maples, poplars and elm trees, that the Freedom Pavilion stood.
Freedom Pavilion in the Royal Łazienki Musuem, situation.
© WAPW
unity and hope
The pavilion is made on a circular plan with a diameter of 9.12 meters, which, as the authors emphasize, because of its finite nature, represents unity. Unity in the context of the war in Ukraine and a demonstration of solidarity. Due to the ease of processing, as well as the ecological aspect, the structure is made of pine wood (C24 chamber-dried).
Users of the pavilion can take advantage of the fabric swings
Photo: Krzysztof Koszewski © WAPW
The structure is formed by twelve identical bays. On the outer perimeter, a row of multi-branched poles provides support for the canopy, which resembles a funnel shape. With rings arranged around the perimeter, the whole thing acts like an inverted dome. Between the structure, the authors placed strips of white material, which can be used as seats or swings. Inside the openwork pavilion were planted sunflowers and millet (a reference to the color of the Ukrainian flag).
Sunflowers refer to the yellow color of the Ukrainian flag
Photo: Krzysztof Koszewski © WAPW
The architecture of the pavilion is a kind of transition to a space where everyone is equal. The sun glides across the inward-facing canopy, directing all attention to the symbolic garden—hope. The play of light and materials is meant to help put the user in a reflective mood. Thanks to the circular shape, sitting on the platform or on the swing, we look not only at the flowers—but also at each other, which is meant to remind us all that together we can resist any oppression, the authors explain.
The open-air installation will remain in the Bathroom gardens until the end of September this year.
The Freedom Pavilion can be visited until the end of September this year.
Photo: Krzysztof Koszewski © WAPW
