A like architecture. WWAA in the spring edition of FOPA 2024

Ola Kloc

07 of May '24

WWAA

Photo: Sabina Chmiel-Sutor | Illustrations courtesy of the studio

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During this spring edition of the Festival of Open Architecture Studios — an event accompanying the Culture of the Regenerative City congress — we will visit as many as two Warsaw offices. The secrets of the WWAA team's work will be revealed to us by Natalia Paszkowska.

Broadcast of the meetings will be available on our channels

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We will start the spring edition of the Festival of Open Architecture Studios in Silesia, at the headquarters of the OVO Grąbczewscy Architecki studio (May 13 at 13.00), then we will move to Warsaw, where we will have a look at the offices of WWAA(May 16 at 13.00) and Grupa 5 Architekci (May 17 at 13.00). Live broadcasts will be available on A&B's Facebook and YouTube!

WWAA
May 16, 1 pm

It all started in 2007, when Natalia Paszkowska and Marcin Mostafa won two important competitions — for the designs of the Polish Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai and the Służewski Cultural Center in Warsaw. Over the years, the thriving duo under the WWAA banner has transformed into a team of 45 people! Their headquarters is located in the modernized post-industrial building Komin73, and their portfolio abounds in various architectural concepts and realizations, as well as, as the architects emphasize, activities at the intersection of various design disciplines — exhibition designs, pavilions, scenography, interiors and installations.

The Polish Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai

Photo: Marcin Mostafa | Illustrations courtesy of the studio

According to their design, the RYTM building was built in Warsaw's Kabaty district, nominated this year for the Architecture Award of the President of the City of Warsaw, or honored with the SARP 2023 Award in the Architecture in Heritage Space category of Fort Mokotow.

RYTM in Kabaty

Photo: Konrad Niziołek | Illustrations courtesy of the studio.

The architects are the authors of the temporary exhibition at the Polish History Museum, the arrangement they prepared will soon also be on display at the Chocolate Factory Museum, which is under construction. WWAA is also involved in various workshops and research projects, especially in its home city — the guidelines developed by the team, "A Well-Designed School. Architectural and functional standards for elementary schools and school-pre-school complexes of the capital city of Warsaw" are applicable to new and modernized Warsaw institutions.

Temporary exhibition at the Museum of Polish History in Warsaw

Photo: Daniel Chrobak | Illustrations provided courtesy of the studio

You will have the opportunity to ask your questions about the studio's activities on May 16, and in the meantime we invite you to a quick interview with Natalia Paszkowska!

Ola Kloc: Where did the name of the studio come from?

Natalia Paszkowska: WWA is an abbreviation of the name of our city — Warsaw, behind the second A is architecture.

Ola: The studio is for us....

Natalia: For the last fifteen years, it has been the building of a former boiler house, on a post-industrial site in the heart of Warsaw's Kamionek district. This place determined many of our professional and life paths, thanks to its open structure we were able to share the space with many creative people over the years, not only architects, and our team had a place to grow or diminish, sometimes bud :)

WWAA team

Photo: Sabina Chmiel-Sutor | Illustrations provided courtesy of the studio

Ola: What was your first joint project about?

Natalia: Winning the competition at Expo 2010 in Shanghai is the point in time we define as the beginning of WWAA. Before that, we worked on a small project (Natalia and Marcin in two), but this project is where the team-building story begins.

Ola: A dream project is....

Natalia: There are as many of them as there are designers in the team!

Służewski House of Culture in Warsaw

Photo: Rafał Kłos | Illustrations provided courtesy of the studio

Ola: Our favorite design tool is....

Natalia: Similar to the previous answer, we each have our own process and favorite optimal tools for it.

Ola: Does the team have any regular habits / rituals?

Natalia: We have a large kitchen connected to the dining room and terrace (the studio is on the first floor), about once a week someone from the team cooks for those willing to cook. We have a lot of culinary talent, today the birthday apple pie straight from the oven is served by Ryszard :)

For some time now we have also had walls in the atelier dedicated to a gallery of self-created works, two vernissages have already taken place :)

WWAA studio team

Photo: Sabina Chmiel-Sutor | Illustrations courtesy of the studio

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TheFestival of Open Architecture Studios is a companion event to the International Congress on Culture of the Regenerative City. Partners of the event are: