Parking posts

Public space

@. ubiquitous

architect. if i only knew (fist shaking)

finished. a work in progress

Parking in Warsaw is 'wolno amerykanka', literally a free American, basically a free for all. The more clever the space you find (in other words the more it gets in everyone elses way) the bigger balls you have. It's a blight on the city. It really multiplies the schizophrenic feel of the urban fabric. The only form of regulation that the city seems to have is to put up decorative posts to block essential zones (like cross-walks) from turning into parking spaces. However there is a silver lining...the city is becoming more interested in creating well defined urban zones (like Krakowskie Przedmiescie and Nowy Swiat). So with time that same thoughtful strategy will tricle down to neighborhood streets as well.

Memorial Plaques

@. everywhere, keep your eyes peeled
artist. I'm not sure, I think they were a citizen-based initiative
finished. I think it's an ongoing project, it started in the 50's

There are 300+ plaques located on walls and small monuments throughout the city. They are ubiquitous, you can easily pass them by without seeing them but when you start paying attention you see they are everywhere. And once you understand what they commemorate the horror of occupation becomes a little more understandable. They commemorate places related to the Warsaw Uprising and the lives lost in Warsaw due to German occupation terror, especially street executions. These mini war memorials are actively remembered and often have fresh flowers and candles placed on them.

Koneser Factory /Fabryka Koneser

pic from freeform site

@. Zabkowska 27/31
architect. ??
finished. 1897

This part of Praga is known as Szmulowizna and was populated in teh 19th century by many factories (see Fabryka Trzciny). Vodka production in 2006 when the factory went bankrupt. During its 112 years it created such popular Polish spirits as Wyborowa, Luksusowa and Żubrówka. Today it is in limbo. While currently the complex is home to Teatr Wytwórnia, Galeria Klimy Bocheńskiej, galeria fotograficzna Luksfera oraz Magazyn Praga and hosts various festivals and events (the excellent freeform festival for example) it has been bought by BBI Development. The historic 19th century, red-brick, neo-gothic (the gate-house resembles a Loire castle) industrial yard is slated for a renovation that would salvage the most archtiecturally valuable buildings and add various new ones, creating a mixture of public/park space, housing, cultural venues and commercial possiblities. Various sources have differing opinions as to the accessibility of the new cultural complex. Some inist it will become yet another gated community for the rich in Warsaw while others believe it will become an integrated cultural center in the working-class Praga neighborhood. In either case, most of the buildings are historic landmarks and have to be saved.  Less valuable buildings were demolished in the spring of 2009, however the project seems to be at a standstill (crisis mode) and the various institutions that have been functioning there, remain. If you visit Koneser today you will see an eirie courtyard with almost no information to explain what is going on - intriguing but abandoned.

The renderings of the renovation seem interesting - it looks well thought out and designed. In fact some of the architects involved are responsible for the Paper Factory renewal in Konstancin Jeziorna. If Koneser remains an open public space I think it just might be successful. The plague of Warsaw right now is the gated housing community and I hope that these new projects (Norblin too) can set a new trend. 
 
An interesting book, newly published, about industrial architecture in Warsaw.

Fabryka Trzciny - Reed Factory

@. Otwocka 14
architect. Bogdan Kulczyński, Joanna Kulczyńska and Agnieszka Chmielewska (renovation)
finished. (renovated 2003)

To begin, what a great name, after the owner, Trzcinski (a musician and composer, organizer of Poland's most well known music festival in Opole). The full name of this endeavor is Centrum Artystyczne Fabryka Trzciny (CAFT). As a reporter for Gazeta Wyborcza said when the place first opened in 2003, it functions as a house of culture, a 'dom kultury', a miniature Palace of Culture. It supports many forms of artistic expression: theater, music, photography, literature. It hosts shows, festivals and discussions.

The building is one of the oldest factory buildings on the East side of the river and was once a marmalade factory and later, under communism, a rubber plant. It's located in Praga, East of the Wisla, in the neighborhood Szmulki. I think it's important to go into the history of this part of the city because it is so telling of Warsaw's cultural heritage. The name comes from the owner of the land Szmul (Samuel) Jakubowicz Sonnenberg (1756-1801) who was a Jewish merchant, banker, financier of King Stanislaw Poniatowski and the progenitor of the Bergson family (including the philosopher Henry Berson). During the uprising of 1794 against Russian occupation he hid many Warsoviennes, saving their lives. In the late 19th century this rather rural area was surrounded by railroad lines (to Petersburg and Terespol) and it was built up with factories, including the Koneser Vodka Factory. It became a part of Warsaw in 1908. After WWII many poor Poles took over apartments left abandoned by the decimated Jewish population and the neighborhood came to have a very bad reputation and fell into disrepair. Today it is experiencing a renaissance with artsy cafes, bars and galleries beginning to open. 

Brzeska Street

@. Brzeska
architect. none
finished. a work in progress

One of the main streets of Old Praga. The oldest surviving building is the Technical School of the Terespol Railway (1872-73). The street first appears on Warsaw plans in 1870 and by the turn of the century it was flanked by eclectic tenements with grand facades and often humble interiors. These tenements were mostly populated by workers of Jewish descent. The street has remained unchanged since then slowly falling into disrepair. Currently with the renaissance of Praga several galleries have appeared. The courtyards are definitely worth looking into, as are the staircases. The street is the western border of Bazar Rozyckiego a marketplace that has it's roots in 1864 but whose place in current city mythology was cemented during communism when it gained a reputation for being able to find things on the black market and where private entrepreneurship flourished.