One can love him, one can hate him. Many have a very difficult relationship with him, but when he is threatened with razing, there is opposition. Opposition and nostalgia. Defenders of Solpol, a Wroclaw icon of postmodernism, last Friday organized a unique protest - Solpol Party - an artistic and peaceful demonstration in the closest climate to the hero of the last days - in the spirit of the 90s at its best, most colorful.
There were pink balloons, crepe jackets, outfits in the pastel shades of the building - pink, purple and turquoise, and bags with his image. On the posters, slogans referring to the works "Hourglass" by Stanislaw Drozdz - "Solpol was is will be?" or to the song by the band Myslovitz "From the sky flew my great friend, when he landed I saved Solpol."
demonstrating group in front of Solpol entrance
© Solpol Collective Staying
you can love it, you can hate it
We talk about the initiative with the organizers of the action who create the Facebook profile Solpol Collective Zostaje:
Ola Kloc: Last Friday the Solpol Party was held, as you yourself write - an artistic and peaceful introduction to a series of actions and protests in defense of Solpol. How was it and what are your future plans?
The Solpol Stay collective: This past Friday was a fantastic experience for us - in a very short period of time we were able to gather a group of people who are vividly committed to the Solpol cause. The enthusiasm and optimism of the participants far exceeded our expectations, and as a result, the entire event was held in a manner appropriate to the joyful form of this building - in good faith and with a wink. Although we are all concerned about its future, this was not a manifestation of negative emotions. Dancing used as a means of opposition is not new, but we believe that few actions of this type have taken place before in defense of architectural structures.
During the political transformation, the Solpol 1 Department Store was an unusual attraction - a space visited not only by Wroclaw residents, but also admired by those coming from distant places. Thanks to its bold architectural form, it heralded new and better times - it told a fairy tale about the dreams of the city's residents at the time, and was a strong symbol of dynamic development and the changes taking place. Today, for many it appears stagnant and abandoned. Nevertheless, it brings color and vitality to Świdnicka Street. We are convinced that there is a forgotten potential in it, and our performance was in a way an attempt to resuscitate this place. The energy of the people gathered in front of the Solpole shows that all it takes is a little bit of willingness for something positive to happen.
© Solpol Collective Remains
For many, the building has almost cult status, as evidenced not only by the great turnout at Friday's event, but also by the sincere interest in future initiatives. On Sunday we had breakfast in front of the Solpol, on Tuesday (10.08.2021) an amateur fashion show from the 1990s will be held here, and the goal remains the same - we want to show how important the building is to us, and also highlight the extraordinary opportunity for commercial use. Proper revitalization is as possible as possible. For this, however, we need the willingness of both the building's owner and the city authorities. The actions so far will culminate in another protest, which will take place this Friday (13.08.2021) - also conducted as a peaceful performance.
Ola: What is Solpol to you?
SolpolCollective Stays: One of Solpol's greatest strengths is its versatility. As a result, it has become an undeniable icon of Polish postmodernism and the transformations taking place in Poland in the 1990s. It illustrates the grand plans of the transformation period and externalizes fantasies impossible to realize in communist Poland. Its expressive form inspires viewers to look with hope and optimism toward what is new, different, unknown. At the beginning of its existence, it was an object of desire, a marker of all aspirations to be fulfilled in the realizing order. The changes of '89, despite the hopes held for them, turned out not to be as colorful as Solpol had promised. The disappearance of the social dimension of commercial functions and the unbridled development of the capitalist economy meant that services of this type moved to huge galleries - hermetic, closed off to their surroundings. Solpol, despite its unambiguously commercial purpose, opened onto the strolling Świdnicka Street and invited passersby inside.
Even though we know it very well, we keep coming across new surprising interpretations of its role for the citizens of Wroclaw. Some are reminded of youth, others of Polsat programs, still others associate him with ice cream, insects or weather phenomena. Therein lies the true value of Solpol - you can love it, you can also hate it. However, it leaves no one indifferent, thanks to which it is not only a historical monument, an element of unique value to the fabric of Wroclaw, but above all a flashpoint of discussion on the spatial shaping of the city. Thanks to it, time and again, residents even completely unrelated to architecture stop to reflect on its quality and, as a result, subject it to some criticism. It is difficult to find another object so distinctive, yet fanciful, evoking such a wide response.
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© Solpol Collective Staying
Ola: The voices, as you have said yourselves, are extreme - from lovers who are actively fighting to defend the building, to the critical opinions of those who are happy to see the demolition approved. Do you and how do you convince Solpol's opponents of your reasons?
TheSolpol Stays collective: In strictly architectural discourse, the "pretty/ugly" category is rarely used. Determining the value of individual buildings, as a rule, should not be reduced to a subjective evaluation, and such comes to mind in the case of aesthetic criteria. While from the mouths of architects one does not often hear words unequivocally describing Solpol as ugly or at least unbeautiful, people generally uninterested in this field tend to be extremely quick to write it off. Over the years, online forums have seen a tussle between Solpol lovers and antifans. Currently, one of the biggest pro-Solpol media outlets is becoming the instagram account @solpolposting, which, through memes, talks about the dangers of such a zero-sum approach to the whole matter. While we realize that this is not a form that appeals to everyone, it has particular appeal among the young. A topic that until now was quite niche has become repostable. We are getting more and more voices of experts, architects, art historians, cultural people, standing behind Solpol, but this time they are accompanied by opinions of amateurs interested in the topic.
We're not fighting a battle - we're trying to spread awareness about shared responsibility for the space around us. We want to welcome everyone into the hitherto not-so-inclusive world of architectural criticism, and through an accessible medium we are trying to encourage people to go beyond comfortable and superficial opinions on aesthetics that contribute little to the discussion.
© solpolposting
petition and open letter
Although the form of the manifesto was joyful, its subject - completely serious. Completed in 1993, the building at 21-23 Świdnicka Street has been alternately tried to demolish or save for many years. Since June 20 of this year, a petition has been circulating online to put the Solpol Department Store building under protection and to suspend the proceedings on the issuance of a demolition permit by the city authorities, yet a few days ago, on July 30 of this year, the owner of the building, Polsat Nieruchomości, received permission to demolish it.
In response to this decision, the creative circles have sent an open letter to the Mayor of Wroclaw, Jacek Sutryk, in which they appeal to take action to save valuable Wroclaw monuments in their unaltered form. In it, they mention not only the first department store erected in Poland after the 1989 democratic changes, designed by Wojciech Jarząbek, Paweł Jaszczuk, Jan Matkowski andJacek Sroczynski, but also about the Olympic Basin designed by Richard Konwiarz, on whose site a micro-apartment building is being erected, and the ZETO building, designed by Anna and Jerzy Tarnawski, which is falling into disrepair.
Their preservation in an unchanged form will not only be an expression of respect for the material cultural heritage of the City of Wroclaw, but also an example of wise and responsible spatial policy, understanding of cultural processes shaping the face of modern European metropolises, and care for common space. Economic profit cannot and should not be the sole and decisive factor shaping spatial policy, the letter's authors argue.
The letter was signed by many representatives of the world of culture, architecture and media, including our editorial board. Will it still be possible to save Solpol through these more and less formal actions?
