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Development is a series of case studies on polish urbanised and/or inhabited space, with a goal to get answers about the shape of 1989 post-transformation Poland. It's not a way to ridicule the most bizarre cases of spatial design and architecture in Poland, but rather a question of what seemed extravagantly new and gave impression of newer, richer, bolder times to come. It is not only the question of inhabitance as such, but rather about the main actors gaining the profit out of it. Instead of finger-pointing the looks, I’m rather interested in the reasoning behind it that made them possible to happen.  Work in progress.

Twarda 30/32. One of the first tenant houses in downtown Warsaw built after the financial and political transformation of 1989 to be enlisted for demolition due to the expansion of office skyscrapers.The current owner deems both buildings "simply too small to use the potential of the parcel" Solpol department store is the most known project of Wojciech Jarząbek and one of the prime examples of polish postmodern architecture of the 90s. Building was commissioned by Zygmunt Solorz, owner of the first major private television company in Poland in the early 90′s, and with most of the design being made in 120 hours. During it’s heyday, the cellar of the building was turned into a bar, where reality show Bar had been shot. Currently almost completely defunct. The request to add it to the list of national heritage monuments is still pending, but it was added to the list of goods of contemporary culture, which gives less protection, but still underlines the importance of Solpol. Owner wants to demolish it. The Częstochowa railway station was built at the turn of the 80’s and 90’s, and it was supposed to fit into a dynamically expanding and growing city. The station designed by Ryszard Frankowicz in the style of postmodernism was not warmly received by the critics of that time, but nonetheless station gained popularity among travellers and was chosen the best train station in Poland. Germaz car dealership, one of the lesser known projects of Wojciech Jarząbek from the 90s era. Currently being refurbished so it can meet Ford company standards. Area of former R-9 bus depot on Chełmska street, Warsaw. Sold by the city-owned bus corporation in 2006 during the peak of investment boom for 370 millions of PLN (almost 100 millions USD) to a Spanish development company Sando Investment, which planned to build a complex of 8- to 15-floor high standard tenant blocks. The price was more than twice higher than the estimate. Currently, analysts deem the parcel “unsell-able” without huge loss to the owner. Nothing was ever built, despite five separate permits being issued. WUWA2 is a newly built estate, collaborative project of Lower Silesian Chamber of Architects, corporate investors and the city, advertised as an experimental settlement which was designed as a reference to the original modernist Werkbund Exhibition WUWA 1929 estate. Warszawa, Osiecka/Jarocińska street. A privately invested expansion on a pre-war tenant house in one of a few parts of the city that were left more or less intact after WW2, and slowly face the fate of future investment prospect for development. Little America, Tunelowa street, Wroclaw. A neighbourhood of wooden frame houses, called canadian type in Polish. The Church of Saint Maria the Queen of Peace, Wrocław. First polish realisation of Wojciech Jarząbek's project after he migrated to Kuwait in the late 70s, where he maintained a prospering career as an architect, fitting well into so-called Modern Islamic style in architecture and working on and off till 1990. Biggest DIY spot for skaters in Warsaw, located inside an unfinished shopping mall under the main bridge across the Vistula river. Currently, the spot is considered illegal breach of construction law, and there are talks being held between city officials and skaters to set the situation and prevent the spot from demolition. The world’s largest monument of John Paul II, privately owned Park of Miniatures of Sacred Art in Częstochowa. Church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Star of the New Evangelization and Saint John Paul II. A heart of an empire of father Tadeusz Rydzyk – head of Lux Veritatis – a media house associated with the Radio Maryja, Trwam Television and the Nasz Dziennik newspaper. Father Rydzyk is widely recognised as one of the most important people in Poland, and most of the center and right-wing parties are seeking his favour. The temple was created as a vote of gratitude for the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, and was financed by donations from the community centered around Father Rydzyk. The whole building is covered with a dome weighing about 320 tons with an additional crown. Stained glass windows depict scenes from the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, and one of them, with dimensions 4x4 m, depicts the pilgrimage of the Radio Maryja Family to John Paul II and contains a quote from the Pope’s words - “I thank God every day that there is such a radio in Poland and that it is called Radio Maryja.” Ołowiana/Pereca tenant houses designed by Wojciech Jarząbek in the early 90s. At this moment the key elements of his style were visible – triangular details, experimental facades and boldly saturated colours, all being considered a symptoms of something new when compared to the dullness of socialist-era tenant housing. Built in 1994/95, the three blocks on Dudziarska street were designed as a temporary housing for people evicted out of social projects, and for those otherwise unable to secure living due to the income instability. The idea behind the Dudziarska project was to design the whole neighbourhood in a manner supporting the notion to escape poverty; the virtual inaccessibility of Dudziarska street, located on the literal other side of tracks behind the huge railway depot in the middle of nowhere was thought about as a stimulus to motivate tenants to improve their material situation as quickly as possible, and move out of the estate. In addition, to ensure order, some of the apartments were allocated to the quarters for police employees who were supposed to watch the neighbourhood after hours. An isolated location, requiring illegal crossing of railway tracks or traveling around a rarely-circuiting bus (the line was launched only in 2007, after many years of district council efforts), together with the character of the estate in effect caused total ghettoisation, thus effectively preventing residents from any attempt to get out of the situation causing their relocation, and stigmatising them. The temporary nature of the buildings, designed without central heating, requires additional heating with electric heaters, which creates a spiral of indebtedness to the electricity supplier – the cost of heating per month can equal the cost of rent for a room in the city centre, if not even exceed it. As part of social and cultural activities for the residents of the project, cultural activists organised an event of painting the walls with works of contemporary painting, with the Black Square of Kazimierz Malewicz on the wall facing the street in all three buildings. The inhabitants perceived this action as an additional stigmatisation. In 2017, the city authorities admitted the absolute failure of the Dudziarska project, and announced a gradual abandonment of the estate and its demolition or change of character. Almost all of the area visible in the photo was previously occupied by ZNTK Wrocław, rolling stock repair facilities built in 1886. After the expansion in 1931 on the basis of the existing plant, a DRB-Ausbesserungswerke is created, with an area of approx. over 120,000 m². After the takeover of Wroclaw by Poland, the workshop was re-launched in 1945, with time stabilizing employment at the level of 5,000 people. In 1996, transformed into a joint-stock company. Bankruptcy in 1999. The demolition of most of the halls was made immediately, and in 2007 the main hall was demolished. The last demolitions were made this year. Currently, the area is intended entirely for residential development as a Promenady Wrocławskie housing estate. During the demolition of the former Klecina Sugar Refinery chimney – five years after the plant was closed, and ten years after record of production was noted – 36.10 thousand tons of sugar refined – an official city party was organised, where Bogdan Zdrojewski – then president of Wroclaw and later Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland – as the host described the planned form of cooperation with private company Code, which pledged to build an aquapark and a shopping centre on the premises of the former sugar factory. In effect, the whole terrain was cleared of any marks of former Klecina Sugar Refinery, with only three small office buildings (turned into housing) left. Code company sold the terrain with huge profit few years later. No aquapark was ever built. Built in 2001, Fort Wola is the first shopping centre built during the explosion of popularity of this type of architecture at the turn of the 90s and the beginning of 2000, which was closed not to be demolished soon after. Currently, according to the owner’s information, it is undergoing reconstruction. A newly built apartment house on Saska Kępa gained notoriety when it was discovered that the gap between the facade and a pedestrian overpass would be less than ten meters. Saska Kępa is one of the most known districts of Warsaw, being considered upper-class white collar district where many known figures live or had lived. The district is also one of the most expensive ones in the capital. Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 36, Wrocław, designed by Wojciech Jarząbek. First prize in a 1996 contest for the most beautiful newly built building in Wrocław. The facade was designed as a nod to the Secesse architecture. One of the most controversial pieces of W. Jarząbek; from the time perspective one might consider it the breakthrough in terms of his postmodernist explorations. Wojciech Jarząbek still works as an architect, however his modern projects are less extravagant. Located near one of the main transport interlinks in downtown Warsaw, Czarny Kot hotel gained notoriety as the most famous of unauthorized constructions in Poland. On the basis of the one-story pavilion built in accordance with the construction permit issued at the end of the 1980s, contrary to building law and against attempts to intervene on the part of the city, the hotel expanded in width and height, reaching seven storeys characterized by a deeply eclectic style. Since the immediate surroundings of the building have been subjected to intense development over recent years, administrative efforts have been going on for years to demolish the building. At present, nine years after the expiration of the land lease contract, the demolition of the building is so probable that it has again appeared on the front pages of local newspapers. In a statement for TVN station, the owner of the hotel calls the current state of the building “a temporary architectural concept”, charging the city authorities for being slow to give permission to adjust the façade to local building conditions. Kukułcza 1, Wrocław, designed by Wojciech Jarząbek for a private investor. Asked what he thinks about public opinion regarding his designs, Jarząbek told that it's up to the people to love it or hate it and he has nothing to do with it FSO Warsaw Factory, Heavy Press facility. One of the few buildings left intact after FSO – biggest polish company in automotive industry – bankrupted. Most of the former factory was either razed, or soon would be. Current plan is to build residential developments in the area. Biskupice Wrocławskie Special Economic Area, intersection of LG Electronics street and Seul street. Kobierzyce, bordering Wrocław in southwest Poland, is one of the most wealthiest municipalities in Poland after huge investments were made there in the 90s and 00s, the biggest of them being a huge Amazon processing plant, IKEA storage and a complex of facilities belonging to LG or its subcontractors. Kobierzyce municipality is known to name newly developed streets after the investments being made, hence the street names. Żerański canal, a link between Vistula river and artificial lake in Zegrze was built in the 1950′s in what seemed as the very end of the city of Warsaw, next to a coal heating plant and in close vicinity of huge FSO Żerań car factory. The whole area was in fact a terra incognita, and due to that at least 17 people were murdered on the banks of the canal in its Warsaw part. I wrote about it here. However, due to the urban sprawl, new housing developments were build nearby, and recently whole area underwent a huge process of deforestation due to the construction of a gas main. More than 5000 trees were cut down. Świnoujście Warszów municipal ferry terminal. Even though the project works on first land connection between Świnoujście and the rest of Poland are currently underway, the tunnel wouldn’t be finished until 2022. Even after that, city considers maintaining the original ferry service as a tourist attraction. Currently, two ferry connections are the only means of access to the city. The Bielik ferry terminals on both banks of Świna were built in the 90s, and the Warszów one also contains a small bar for those waiting for the ferry to come. One of the inheritors of pre-war ownership to the parcel next to the Palace of Culture and Science – Tadeusz Koss, who's ownership stems from the so called Bierut Decree that is now being used to manipulate investment properties in the downtown Warsaw – became enraged when city disabled his possibility to build anything on his regained parcel of land in the very middle of a park in a city centre, and decided to turn his land into a collection of makeshift shabby booths with oriental bistros and kebabs. Last year, the collection enlarged with a real life plane turned into a restaurant, which was considered a breach of municipal urban law. Eventually, it was torn down by the city, after a small turmoil during which one of the other booths was set on fire. So called reprivatisation affair connected to the Bierut Decree inheritances is being considered as a criminal enterprise. Częstochowa Osobowa railway station. The collapse of communism, and with it the gradual extinction of industry in the region, stopped the city’s growth. In 1998, as a result of the new administrative reform, Częstochowa region ceased to be a separate voivodship (the main spatial unit of territorial self-government in Poland). In connection with the overscaling of the building and the problems with commercial space rentals, the Polish State Railways are currently considering demolishing the building and building a smaller station. Szwedzka 1-19d a.k.a. The Parrots, Wrocław. Designed by Wojciech Jarząbek. Few weeks after the buildings were documented, a general makeover started, with a goal to tone down the facade colours without the permission of original architect. Twarda 30/32 being torn down to make place for further investments. In the background, new office architecture of the Rondo ONZ area of downtown Warsaw.