Public service

Even in the dark days of the credit crunch there are some projects that are not suffering from any lack of financing. Can public buildings be the design studio’s answer to the crisis? Well, maybe not – but these buildings can still do a great deal of good for CEE cities

Mladen Petrov

Sofia can hardly be regarded as the most beautiful European city. In fact, according to some critics, Sofia is not even a beautiful city at all. It is very “specific”, they say, cautiously implying that the Bulgarian capital still has a long way to go. In the first place, visitors are advised to divert their gazes away from the concrete Soviet-style blocks in the vicinity of the airport, as they might give a bad first impression. Nevertheless, if you are heading downtown, you should ask your taxi driver to show you the ‘4th km area’ of the city, along the Tzarigradsko Shausse boulevard.

Today the area, just a few kilometres from the busy city centre, looks neglected, but this will soon start to change as modern architecture is to be introduced to the district. In May, the champagne was flowing at the Paris studio of the architect Dominique Perrault to celebrate some good news. His design for the large scale government complex in Sofia, located in the 4th km area, turned out to be the winning one, beating off fierce competition from other world-renowned architects, such as Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid.

Scheduled for completion in 2018, the government complex is to contain a large number of administrative buildings. The common feature of all these buildings is to be the edgy and deconstructive design Dominique Perrault is known for. Construction work on the project, estimated by the government to cost several billion euro, is expected to begin in 2010. The project, apart from creating a new home for the government, will hopefully also result in raising Sofia’s international profile.

The bold and the beautiful

The scheme may sound rather ambitious, but it is feasible. The so-called “Bilbao Effect” is expected to also work for a number of other CEE cities, which have decided to use public buildings as a method for attracting international attention, the same way the authorities of Bilbao did at the end of 20th century. The contemporary history of the sleepy Spanish city may be divided into two eras: pre- and post-Guggenheim Museum. The design of the art museum was drawn up by Frank Gerry. The name of the architect is a magnet in itself, but visitors and critics actually fell in love with the deconstructive design of the building too. Suddenly, everyone wanted to visit Bilbao. The city was put on the map and made its way into the world’s press. As a result, the local authorities couldn’t have been any happier with the effect that the building has had.

The road to success, however, may be winding, and the journey very bumpy. Jan Kaplický, the famous Czech-born architect who died earlier this year, had one of his recent major projects postponed: the jellyfish-like design of the new National Library building in Prague. The fact that the architect won an open competition wasn’t enough for the project to get the green light. Under the pressure of the citizens of Prague – who insist that the design wouldn’t fit in with its surroundings – and politicians, the project has been put on hold, at least until 2010. According to the Czech media, the case is not strictly a matter of financing. The controversial project is even expected to become an issue ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic next year.

“I don’t really understand that. I mean, if there is an open international public tender and a winner has been chosen, the next step should be the realization of the winning project,” opines Krzysztof Ingarden, Kraków-based architect and co-owner of the Ingarden & Ewý Architekci design studio. The studio has in its portfolio a range of public projects, including the Polish Expo 2005 pavilion in Aichi, Japan, as well as Expo 2010 in Shanghai and the Manggha Museum in Kraków. In 2007, the studio also won the competition for the Congress Center project in Kraków.

Mr Ingarden certainly knows something about the challenging nature of cooperation between the employer – usually the local authorities – and the employee, the architectural studio. “It took us six years to bring to life the award-winning Wyspiański 2000 pavilion in Kraków,” he recalls. “The project was for a long time considered too controversial and contemporary for this historic part of the city, but eventually we gained the trust of the local authorities and the conservator of historic buildings.” The Wyspiański pavilion was opened in 2007, interestingly enough, right next to the Kraków city council building.

Professor Rainer Mahlamäki of the Finnish-based Lahdelma & Mahlamäki architectural studio, however, points out that the criticism that public projects attract is not purely a CEE phenomenon. “It’s everywhere, but public approval is critical for such a project to get off the ground But once you have won the competition, the decision-makers are not supposed to bother the architect,” he says.

Good job

The Finnish architect has fond memories of his cooperation with the Warsaw authorities so far. Despite some reported delays, the much anticipated Museum of the History of Polish Jews designed by Rainer Mahlamäki is now moving forward. This is to be the first modern museum, in terms of design, in the Polish capital. The museum is to be officially opened in 2011, with the general contractor being a consortium led by Polimex-Mostostal. “We were given the green light to create the kind of architecture we ourselves are passionate about,” the architect told ‘Eurobuild CEE’.

While Varsovians wait for their first modern museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (after a dispute between the Warsaw authorities and the architect Christian Kerez regarding the architect’s fee was successfully resolved), things are happening in other Polish cities. Architects are particularly lavishing praise, amongst others, on the ‘Znaki Czasu’ Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń (designed by the Medusa Group), the new Opera House in Kraków (Atelier Loegler), and the Museum of the Przemyśl Region (Kozień Architekci). All three design projects were the work of Polish-based architects.

In Szczecin the construction work on the Szczecin Philharmonic’s new building should start this year. The completion of the project is expected in 2011. In 2007, the international design competition was won by the Barcelona-based Estudio Barozzi Veiga. In this case the city council is giving its full backing to the extraordinary design of the building. Not even the fact that since 2007 the cost of the project has ballooned from PLN 65 mln to PLN 100 mln was enough to lead the local authorities into reconsidering the project. “Not a chance, this is to be the city’s new landmark building,” is the line of the city council.

Krzysztof Ingarden describes the current situation as the first wave of modern public buildings in the CEE region, judgement on which is to be passed soon. “In the years following 1989, there were other priorities and problems to be solved. Starting from the end of the 20th century, however, we’ve been redefining our cultural needs and are finally making amends in terms of the design of public buildings. Cities have been hungry for something new and fresh, and this is when quality architecture is supposed to come into play,” he explains.

Good influence, bad influence

But is it valid to search for design inspiration abroad, as many architects seem to be doing? “We should remember that the architecture of public buildings is smart architecture,” Krzysztof Ingarden points out. In his opinion, the transfer of architectural styles and influences is not always possible or feasible. “The current trend is to import foreign designs from around the world. We see Japanese influences in America and Europe for example, and vice versa. But we should remember that the building has to be connected culturally and visually with the place where it is to be erected. And the central theme should be understood by the locals in the first place,” Mr Ingarden comments. Rainer Mahlamäki is of the opinion that architectural influences are transferrable, but only under certain conditions. “I see Scandinavian design and values as being universal. I don’t know the reasons why Scandinavian values in architecture, which pay special attention to the natural light and the materials used, can’t be applied elsewhere.”

Why bother?

What are the latest new trends then? There seems to be a lack of consensus about this. The general trend actually might be the lack of any trend. Rainer Mahlamäki feels that: “The new challenge is going back to nature and finding new, innovative ways of approaching this issue. Our buildings should be for the people, they are not simply works of art. The language of architecture is certainly changing.”

So, is the final result worth all the effort? Yes and no. Certainly, once the project has been completed, the sense of satisfaction is immense. Rainer Mahlamäki appreciates the freedom that public projects give to architects. “In some countries, commercial projects design is strictly regulated – you can’t really spread your wings,” he explains. Krzysztof Ingarden is satisfied that his studio gets to design  “projects with soul”.

These projects, however, are not particularly profitable – at least not for now and for Polish architects. In Poland commissioned architects often receive only half the salary recommended by the Union of Polish Architects and a number of other professional architectural organizations. Despite the increasing number of tenders for public buildings, these projects can hardly be seen as a panacea for architectural studios across the region troubled by the dramatic fall in contracts. The preparation of a project for a competition may set you back as much as PLN 100,000. Non-refundable. This is why the design studios are very selective when it comes to participation in tenders and rely on commercial buildings project to remain afloat. 
 

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Architects agree that a major shift is now taking place, with the final cost of the project not being the number one criterion when it comes to decision making. Quality is now king, we keep hearing. We can only hope that the large pipeline of ambitious public buildings in our part of Europe will  prove this to be the case.