A New Polish Architecture after the political and economic changes in 1989. Towards a Critical Regionalism

The new culture of Poland is very much reflected in the design of many of its new buildings that have been completed since the political and economic changes in 1989. The architecture of Poland appears to have lurched from an inappropriate socialist modernism that was so horridly imposed during the communist era to an equally inappropriate post modernist hegemony in the new enterprise culture. In accord with Poland is rejection of the centrally imposed system of building and architecture, and with the greater emphasis on individual initiative in the new culture, it seems a pity that the country should automatically adopt western modes of architectural expression. This paper explores the role critical regionalism could play in the continued development of global-era Polish architecture, and the advancements achieved by those few contemporary Polish architects who have sought to combine modern tastes and techniques with culturally meaningful designs. This paper suggests that with its new found freedom, Poland should be careful that it do not suffer a loss of identity and that in its architecture it should seek a way forward through a Critical Regionalism.