© Jarek JANUSZEWSKI
Exhibition is taking place:
Kaunas Photography Gallery (Rotušės square 1)
II-V 11.00-18.00,
VI-VII 11.00-17.00
The opening of exhibition: 16:00, May 20, 2009 (Wednesday)
“The District“. Stage 1: The construction
In 2001 the work was started on the realization of one of the greatest urban enterprises of the contemporary Poland. The Wilanòw Town, a new district coming into existence on the Wilanòw Fields in Warsaw is to become in the not so distant future – at least such is the assumption – a model of the town space of the 21st century, designed on the basis of the balanced development ideas.
The concept for the organization of the Town public space [...] is based on the understanding of the town environment in a coherent manner, which means that the cityscape is to constitute a natural and cultural whole. [...] Particular stress has been laid on the greenery. It occupies from 40 to 70 per cent of the housing plots area. [...] The principle for the shaping of the buildings area in the Town is openness and, at the same time, a clear division between the public space of streets and the private space of housing quarters. All the objects at the Wilanów Town will be distinct for the high level of architectural quality, corresponding to the best world’s urban and architectural standards1.
In the area of more than 170 ha a few dozen dwelling houses have already been built and new ones are still appearing. The target population of the district is estimated at several dozen thousands people.
Our aim is to make The Wilanów Town famous for its unfailing success and long-standing value. When designing the Town, we tried to do it in the timeless [...] manner2.
Shall the high-flown vision become a reality? The transformation of space is very rapid and on grand scale. The district grows in double-quick time. Observing the process of building development of Nowy Wilanòw one can already doubt the effectiveness of the realization of a magnificent vision of a modern, green and functional housing estate. The rare density of the development and its character suggest a different scenario.
Should we treat the construction of the Wilanòw Town as a kind of an urbanist experiment, this project constitutes the documentation of the experiment. The presented works constitute the first of three parts of the cycle that documents the coming into existence of the district.
About Jarek Januszewski
Born in 1978, currently live and works in Warsaw, Poland. MS in aerial and satellite remote sensing (Warsaw University), bachelor of arts (graphic design; High Artistic School), two years of doctorate studies (Warsaw University) in the subject of typography. Currently author is starting to run his own graphic studio. Part time professional photographer, works as a freelancer.
Jarek Januszewski, 12.2008
1 The quotations come from the cycle of articles „Miasteczko Wilanów – miasto w mieście. Plany a pierwsze efekty realizacji“ (“The Wilanów Town – a town in town. Plans and the first effect of their realization”), Urbanista, 1/2006 (www.urbanista.pl).
