Festival: Open: Poland, various venues, London, until January 27 2010
"I belong to a nation which, over the past centuries, has experienced many hardships and reverses," Lech Walesa, the man who became Poland's first non-Communist president in 1990, once said.
"The world reacted with silence or mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force. We held our heads high despite the price we paid, because freedom is priceless."
The former Gdansk shipyard electrician, leader of the Solidarity movement and 1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner would be proud of Open: Poland, a major exhibition of Polish architecture since the fall of Communism.
Warsaw National Stadium by JKF Architects. RIBA
Run by the Royal Institute of British Architects to mark the 175th anniversary of the organisation’s founding and the 64th anniversary of the end of World War II, the project holds particular significance because Polish achievements during the War were banned under Communist rule.
This revealing Polish season runs in parallel with Polska Year, examining the re-emergence of Polish architecture, national identity and the psychological resilience of a country which survived three waves of destruction – the German invasion in 1939, the Jewish ghetto uprising of 1943 and the Warsaw uprising of 1944.
Safe House, by Medusa Group Architect's Bolko Loft, was built within the structures of an old coal-mining area. RIBA
Through a re-evaluation of key Polish buildings and projects, the series creates a dialogue between historical and contemporary developments.
In an exhibition at the headquarters of international designers Arup, works include the first UK display of the 2010 Polish Shanghai Pavilion by Natalia Paszkowska and Marcin Mostafa, a sculptural representation of the gap between the Baltic Sea and the mainland.
Natalia Paszkowska's Polish Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai expo. RIBA
Also on display are the extraordinary minimalist conceptual houses of Robert Konieczny and Renoma, the refurbished department store re-opened in 2009, originally built in 1930 by the Berlin-based Wertheim family.
Designed by modernist architect Hermann Dernburg, the aim was to create one of the largest retail stores in Europe, marketing goods from around the world.
An eight-metre long pink and white knitted model of the longest housing block in Europe, Falowiec in Gdansk, is among the exhibits. RIBA
An eight-metre long pink and white knitted model of the longest housing block in Europe, Falowiec in Gdansk, is synonymous with the post-war "bloki" and Utopian vision of the ruling bodies.
Life-size interactive installations of major architects from the period will critique their art and methods, and lecture topics include the post-war culture paradigm and the 2009 Riba Annual Discourse by Joseph Rykwert, who will discuss the challenges confronting post-war cities.
The enormous Renoma retail store was refurbished and re-opened in 2009, having originally been built by the Berlin-based Wertheim family in 1930. © Macków Pracownia Projektowa
Selected programme highlights:
Open: Poland – New Museums
A historical and intellectual online exploration of the three major new museums being built in Poland: the Copernicus Science Museum, Warsaw by Jan Kubec; the Museum of the History of the Polish Jews, Warsaw by Lahdelma and Mahlamaki; the Silesian Museum, Katowice by Riegler Riewe.
Renoma: Reflections of Wroclaw exhibition, Phase 2, Arup, Fitzroy Street, until January 29 2010.
A major exhibition on the department store. Visit the show online for more details.
Poland: The Post-War Cultural Paradigm, RIBA, Jarvis Hall, October 27, 6.30pm
Daniel Libeskind (known for introducing the Jewish Museum in Berlin) in conversation with Polish film director Andrzej Wajda.
Architecture and the Polish Context, Arup, Fitzroy Street, November 18, 6.30pm
Tony Fretton, architect of the recently opened British Embassy in Warsaw, in conversation with Aneta Szylak, Director, Wyspa Institute of Art, Krzysztof Ingarden, architect and designer of the Polish Pavilion, Shanghai Expo 2010 and Lukasz Zagala, Medusa Group, Polish architect. Chaired by Vicky Richardson, Editor, Blueprint Magazine.
Architecture and the Informal: Challenging the Paradigm, Arup, Fitzroy Street, January 27, 6.30pm
Urban planning through radical architectural interventions. Aleksandra Wasilkowska, author talks with Joanna Rajkowska, artist of Oxygenator Project in Warsaw and Grzegorz Piatek, architecture critic and co-curator of Open: Poland. Chaired by Alejandro Gutierrez, Associate Director, Arup.
Visit Open:Poland online for full programme listings.
Polska Year is a joint cultural initiative by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presenting more than 200 projects representing Poland in the UK.
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