Photographs of paved markets in Polish cities and towns are the subject of many publications. Revitalization conceived as the renovation of central public space, the creation of "urban salons" and "representative spaces" has led to the destruction of dozens of sites already, the felling of hundreds of trees and the exploitation of hundreds of cubic meters of stone deposits. The just-opened Freedom Square in Kutno seems to be the pinnacle of this trend. It represents everything that has been worst in the design of public spaces in Poland in the last fifteen years.
The city's main square
Visualization of Freedom Square
photo: UM Kutno
After nearly two years of construction, the mayor, Zbigniew Burzynski, held the official opening of the parking lot on Wolności Square in Kutno. Costing 34 million zlotys, the investment is part of the reconstruction, called by the city authorities "revitalization" of Freedom Square, Zduński Square and adjacent streets. Looking at the finished project, however, "devastation" seems a more appropriate term. In one of the largest squares in the city, a surface (!) parking lot for 132 cars was created. The main slab of the square was located on the roof of the large building. Covered with stone and concrete, the huge pan at the height of the windows of the first floors of the surrounding townhouses was supplemented by two pavilions - a gastronomic exhibition one. The design of the establishment is the work of Robert Charkiewicz, an architect from Warsaw.
Roses cast in concrete
Photo: Kutno Streets and Bicycle Paths
The warming of the large slab has completely changed the scale of this urban interior. The proportions of the tenements standing by the square have been distorted. The slope of the land causes the parking lot to form a blind wall several dozen meters long on the south side. The side walls have been varied with aesthetically debatable concrete buttresses, which allude to the city's brand and symbol - the rose. A similar motif is also repeated in the drawing of glazed skylights placed in the square's floor and concrete benches. The removed greenery has been replaced by rachitic trees, only some of which will probably manage to take root. In the sea of granite and concrete, the architects' favorite gadgets - lanterns in the shape of geometric gallows and pylons shining everywhere but on the floor - were still submerged.
Photo: Kutno Streets and Bicycle Paths
Above all, we wanted to combine the functionality of the square. On the one hand, a parking lot, and on the other hand, a space for organizing important city events. In addition, the highest-scoring criteria for evaluating the works were legibility, originality of the idea, architectural solutions and composition of the space. The functional-spatial disposition and economic feasibility of the solutions were also taken into account.
Elżbieta Wojciechowska, Head of the Department of Spatial Economy at the Kutno City Hall.
A vibrant desert
photo: Kutno Streets and Bicycle Paths
As City Hall officials explain, the rebuilt Liberty Square is to become a meeting place, a bustling marketplace. Previously, there was simply a parking lot surrounded by greenery. The level of functionality, therefore, was to increase significantly. Will this happen, however? It is hard to imagine a vibrant life on the slab of a square devoid of shade and friendly infrastructure (urban furniture). The only "activators" of the new space will be two pavilions. The exhibition one will serve the Kutno House of Culture, which will be able to hold permanent exhibitions in the city center. The gastronomic pavilion, on the other hand, is the only place that will have a chance to attract passersby to the square. The city authorities have announced a tender in which a tenant will be selected. It is to be a café where one can sit and relax in the heart of the city. Overlooking a great void.
Freedom Square before reconstruction
photo: Wikimedia Commons
This investment is macabre, but it is based on the demands of residents a dozen years ago. The people of Kutno actually wanted a place to park and for the neglected square to be rebuilt. The work actually covered the cars and replaced the surface of the square and surrounding streets. The indisputable fact is that all the trees were cut down, no green area was landscaped, no resident-friendly area was made, a garage was designed at the level of one of the streets and this space was decorated with concrete and granite. The redevelopment was necessary, but it went all in the wrong direction from conceptual work to design and execution.
Local initiative Kutno Streets and Bicycle Paths
Competition does not guarantee quality
Visualization vs. reality
photo: UM Kutno / Kutno Streets and Bicycle Paths
The completed project in Kutno is the result of a competition held in 2011 for the development of an urban-architectural concept for the development of Freedom Square and Zduński Square. The procedure was not sponsored by SARP, but the competition jury of nine people included representatives of the municipal authorities and the Chamber of Architects of the Republic of Poland. The entries were judged by Roman Wieszczek and Piotr Zuterek - then president and vice president of the IARP in Lodz. Wojcech Szygendowski - Provincial Conservator of Monuments, Marek Pabich - Director of the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Technical University of Lodz, two councilors of the Kutno City Council, the President of the Society of Friends of Kutno Land and two deputies of the city mayor. The decision was taken unanimously, with another favorite pointed out by, among others, Marek Pabich. In addition to the designer and the city authorities, it is the members of the jury who advocated the winning project who share responsibility for the result, which is widely criticized today.
Visualization versus reality
photo: UM Kutno / Kutno Streets and Bicycle Paths
Architectural competitions are often presented as a guarantor of high quality designs. Being one of the best ways to choose, however, they often produce an effect far from the expected one. This happens for a number of reasons - sometimes it's the poorly set conditions of the competition, the wrong mode of conducting the proceedings, or the oversight of the jury and the organizers. However, it also happens that competitions organized by SARP, on the basis of seemingly proven procedures, produce questionable results. Too often in juries, in which architects secure for themselves a numerical advantage (and thus the de facto right to choose the project), the actual needs of the ordering party, its budget or intentions disappear from view. The misunderstood ambition of the environment and fetishized cubicles wins out - building new is still valued more highly than modest projects, tailored to the investor's capabilities. It's an attitude completely at odds with that professed by the winners of this year's Pritzker Prize. Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal emphasize the importance of existing structures, the social and environmental responsibility of the profession, and the subservient role of architects to future users.
Visualization vs. reality
Photo: UM Kutno / Kutno Streets and Bicycle Paths
