An icon of its time, a controversial and outstanding building . An element of the canon of contemporary Polish architecture and a work of postmodernism appreciated by several hundred experts. Solpol. Its demolition is expected to begin in the coming days .
The owner of the Solpol department store in Wroclaw, the Polsat Nieruchomości company, has planned to demolish the building. The work was supposed to begin as early as January 17, but the investor has failed to finalize formal issues - it is unclear which way heavy equipment would access the site. This, by the way, is also a question regarding the developer's plans for the building he would like to erect at the site. Access to the underground parking planned there would be via... a pedestrian street. At the same time, experts and activists are trying their best to block the demolition of the iconic building.
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We covered the story of the fight to place Solpol under preservation protection and the behind-the-scenes of the issuance of permission to demolish the building in August: Solpol demolition approval is in place.
all hands on deck
What makes the fight for Solpol different from similar such losing battles of more than a decade ago is the involvement of architects and institutions. The defense of Warsaw's Supersam or Katowice's train station involved primarily community activists, historians and urban activists. It is impossible to find public declarations by active architects in the context of the fight to preserve the Warsaw pavilion. In the case of the brutalist icon of Silesia - the architectural community joined the fight, but too late. The real show of activism from residents, through architects, community organizations and institutions gave only the action of defending the Cracovia Hotel in Cracow. It was the joint commitment of specialists from the Institute of Architecture foundation, the artistic setting of Cecylia Malik, the involvement of thousands of Cracovians and Cracovian women, and finally (after many appeals) the conservation services that allowed the icon of modernism to be preserved.
international support
Solpol Parrty - actions in defense of the building
photo: Solpol Collective Remains
In defense of the Solpol are mainly specialists, residents and activists, the local branch of the SARP has joined the cause (check: Solpol Party. An unusual action in defense of architecture). Its open letter was signed by 300 people, including representatives of many institutions - including the National Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, the Amsterdam Architecture Center, the Mies van der Rohe Foundation and the Museum of Architecture in Wroclaw. It is difficult to question the substantive competence of so many experts, but the preservation authorities seem to ignore them.
solpol in the canon of architecture
Cross sections. Gallery of Polish architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries.
photo: Tomasz Markowski / MNK
Meanwhile, at Poland's first permanent exhibition of architecture - "Cross Sections. Gallery of Polish Architecture of the 20th and 21st Centuries" at the National Museum in Krakow, the Wroclaw department store was presented as one of the key objects. Its model, drawings and photographs, provided largely by the object's author, Wojciech Jarząbek, were included in the cost section of the exhibition. It is there that visitors can learn how the professional responsibility of architects is carried out, how buildings affect their surroundings and what costs they generate for society, the environment or users. Solpol, as a symbol of the new typology associated with the political transformation and an important and artistically valuable record of architectural trends of the time, took center stage in this part of the exhibition.
it's not too late
The context is also important - in the Room next door you can see a banner and a recording of the great "Greed Parade" - a demonstration that brought together thousands of people in defense of the Cracovia Hotel. Today the building is under conservation protection and awaits a new function - the Museum of Architecture and Design. A similar fate could also befall the Wroclaw building, but an immediate decision is needed. Placing Solpol in such an important exhibition, among objects from the canon of Polish contemporary architecture, is a confirmation of the artistic and historical value of the postmodern department store.
Read also: What to do with Solpol? Demolish it or put it on the register of monuments?
conservationist must act
Solpol Parrty - actions in defense of the building
photo: Solpol Collective Remains
The involvement of hundreds of experts and the placement of Solpol among the most important buildings of the era, should give impetus to the reopening of the proceedings to enter the building in the register of monuments by the Lower Silesian Provincial Conservator of Monuments. It is the new objective circumstances (the so-called new factual circumstance) that make the previous claims about the building's lack of value unfounded, and it becomes the duty of the DWKZ to reconsider the case. The mere initiation of such a proceeding would help block the demolition of the building, planned for the coming weeks, until a decision is issued.
