Good on paper

What do you regard as your greatest professional success so far?
You become aware of such things mostly after some time has passed. All I can say for now is that starting work for the BIG studio and being selected for "Wallpaper" magazine's Graduate Directory were great honours for me last year.

What is your greatest failure?
Every one of them is a lesson learned, but I don't try to think which was the biggest. It's just not an optimistic attitude to have.

Which is your favourite building and why?
This changes every week. My current favourite is the Ibere Camargo Foundation building in Porto Alegre by Álvaro Siza.

Which living person do you most admire and why?
Oscar Niemeyer is one of my favourites ? not only because I lived in Brazil for a long time and I still feel a connection with the place, but because his work was so amazingly different to what other people were doing at that time. But obviously currently I am strongly influenced by Bjarke Ingels, who I think is one of the most important people I have worked for.

With which historical figure do you most identify?
This is a tough question, since when I find somebody interesting I try to learn everything about them. And then I lose interest and become fascinated with someone else.

What is your fondest memory?
When I was a child in Brazil.

What is your idea of a perfect day?
Every day is perfect. At least it's good to think like that.

Which is your favourite restaurant and why?
I don't have a favourite one. In restaurants I generally tend to focus more on what's on the walls rather than on what's on my plate. I like to spend my free time in places that generate a good atmosphere, like the Warszawa Powiśle café back home in Poland.

Who is your closest friend and why?
A couple of people who never hesitate to tell me the harsh truth about something important for me, even if it?s something unpleasant.

Which characteristic do you hate most in others?
Arrogance and not having  anything interesting to say.

How would you like to be remembered?
It's definitely too soon to decide this. Maybe as a person who you would like to work with again.

Maciej Zawadzki was born in Warsaw in 1983. Alongside earning a degree at the Warsaw University of Technology, he has also participated in a scholarship exchange programme at the Sint-Lukas art and design university in Brussels. For his thesis he submitted an outstanding aerodynamic design for the Museum of Latin American Immigrants in Miami. Maciej, who cites his father (also an architect) as one of his greatest inspirations, started his career at the SDA Architekci and Hermanowicz Rewski  Architekci studios in Warsaw, before moving to Copenhagen to pursue his interest in contemporary Danish design.