O mocy sprawczej słów. Przypadek placu i sal bez nazwy

The author addresses the problem of naming the space associated with the Staszic Palace in Warsaw. She argues that along with its name, the square in front of the palace lost its both administrative and social distinctiveness and advocates for its restoration. Her analysis of the naming system, complemented by an investigation of archival sources and a reflection upon the history and cultural significance of selected parts of the palace, reveals a gap in the current naming conventions, which cover only urban areas. The article outlines an original proposal of naming typology for enclosed public places, developed in the course of the work on the selection of names for two auditoria of the Staszic Palace, which remained unnamed until 2020. Furthering the arguments that led to naming the auditoria under the author’s recommendations, she explores the connection between the placename and the meanings inscribed in the imaginary space. The theoretical background of the article has been provided by works of Edward Soja, Michel Foucault and Henri Lefebvre as well as the categories of collective memory of space (Hayden White and Frank Ankersmit) and affective heterotopy, defined by the author in her monograph on the Staszic Palace.