DOI Heft:
Nr. 3
DOI Artikel:Artykuły
DOI Artikel:Mordyński, Krzysztof: Kompozycja, hierarchia, ideologia Socrealistyczna przebudowa Warszawy według koncepcji jedności urbanistycznej miasta
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70770#0564
Kompozycja, hierarchia, ideologia. Socrealistyczna przebudowa Warszawy
557
Composition, Hierarchy, Ideology.
Warsaw s Socialist Realism Redevelopment in Compliance
with the Concept of the City s Urban Unity
The article deals with the concept of Warsaw’s urban
redevelopment in 1949-55 when by means of
administrative decisions the authorities introduced the
doctrine of Socialist Realism into Polish architecture
and urbanism, often regardless of the architectural
circles’ criticism. The till-then principles of Warsaw’s
redevelopment following Modernist concepts were to
be revised and altered. From the regime’s perspective,
architecture and urban planning were to serve as tools
of prestige consolidation, cultural policy, and
doctrinally perceived social engineering. However,
the authorities’ intentions did not necessarily have to
be literally transposed to the activity of architects
and urban planners, and did not force them to accept
exclusively the propagandist dimension in their
work. Within the framework of the doctrine’s
requirements, they were seeking solutions to urban
planning problems, trying to answer urgent at the
time questions: whether to unite or divide; whether
to adopt the perspective of a pedestrian or a driver;
whether to open up or to close; whether to lead and
control, or only to provide opportunities for
individual decisions? The answers to the above
reflected the overall assumptions on the priorities
and values of urban space, and the ways of its use.
The analysis of the Socialist Realism conception
of Warsaw’s redevelopment in its functional,
aesthetical, and ideological aspects is conducted. The
preferred at the time elements of urban composition
make up a hierarchic, logical system, based on a key
set of ideological presumptions.
The analyzed material includes urban plans and
architectural drawings, programmatic, spatial, and
artistic guidelines developed at the time, people’s
views from the period published in trade journals as
well as popular press, completed with other sources.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska
557
Composition, Hierarchy, Ideology.
Warsaw s Socialist Realism Redevelopment in Compliance
with the Concept of the City s Urban Unity
The article deals with the concept of Warsaw’s urban
redevelopment in 1949-55 when by means of
administrative decisions the authorities introduced the
doctrine of Socialist Realism into Polish architecture
and urbanism, often regardless of the architectural
circles’ criticism. The till-then principles of Warsaw’s
redevelopment following Modernist concepts were to
be revised and altered. From the regime’s perspective,
architecture and urban planning were to serve as tools
of prestige consolidation, cultural policy, and
doctrinally perceived social engineering. However,
the authorities’ intentions did not necessarily have to
be literally transposed to the activity of architects
and urban planners, and did not force them to accept
exclusively the propagandist dimension in their
work. Within the framework of the doctrine’s
requirements, they were seeking solutions to urban
planning problems, trying to answer urgent at the
time questions: whether to unite or divide; whether
to adopt the perspective of a pedestrian or a driver;
whether to open up or to close; whether to lead and
control, or only to provide opportunities for
individual decisions? The answers to the above
reflected the overall assumptions on the priorities
and values of urban space, and the ways of its use.
The analysis of the Socialist Realism conception
of Warsaw’s redevelopment in its functional,
aesthetical, and ideological aspects is conducted. The
preferred at the time elements of urban composition
make up a hierarchic, logical system, based on a key
set of ideological presumptions.
The analyzed material includes urban plans and
architectural drawings, programmatic, spatial, and
artistic guidelines developed at the time, people’s
views from the period published in trade journals as
well as popular press, completed with other sources.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska