The plot where Rondo Verona residence has been built is close to the street where the richest residents of pre-war Wroclaw used to live, i.e. Kaiser Wilhelm Strasse (present-day Powstańców Śląskich Street). There is a picturesque park near the street. Exclusive character of this building was ensured by an Italian investor, known in Wroclaw, Krakow and Poznan for many successful projects. The 13,5-thousand-sqm-building was opened in 2008. It is characterised by a very high standard and covered with an elegant, pre-war style, front facade.
Situated near the Wroclaw Square Market. Modern shape, incongrous to stylised tenement houses, with a multi-level car park. In spite of its arrogance it seems to be properly situated. Golden travertine, grey slate and aluminium-glass Reynaers grating reveal a true character of the building - disciplined and restrained.
This is one of the most impressive examples of modern Polish architecture. It is a luxury apartment house, situated near the river, called Leopoldinum after the emperor Leopold I or after the Wroclaw Chamber Opera. Even the name of the residence makes this building interesting. However, if we get to know that the standard of flats is comparable to this from 5th Avenue in New York, our imagination starts to work. We need to imagine a lot since the facade of the building does not suggest the richness of the interior. Maciej Hawrylak, an architect of this building, has chosen simple planes, got rid of the useless formal decorativeness and focused on the combination of some very good materials. High quality facade is a combination of yellow sandstone, Siberian larch and stainless steel.
Once I was talking to my friends about impressive projects by Mario Botta, a Swiss architect, and about the architecture by Tadeusz Spychala, a Polish architect. They are both the masters of simplicity and proportion, particularly sensitive to the beauty and expressive possibilities of stone. One of my interlocutors, a well-known professor of architecture, asked me in a very polite way: What do we need this pompous stone for? I think there are cheaper and better materials than stone. Do the common people really need stone in their common life?
It is hard to find in Poland such examples of architecture as the ones presented at www.taschen.com or shown in the international periodicals. In Poland, due to small investment funds (in comparison to other EU cities), the architects are forced to reduce their formal dreams. Generally speaking, architecture of most buildings with stone facade is satisfactory, but we cannot say the same about buildings made in other technologies. Good position of Polish stone-facade buildings is a result of both a good stone and a good designer. These buildings are not the jewels of the world architecture but they are impressive and really beautiful.
Stone has changed the world and made the use of roads more universal (now they are used not only by pedestrians but also by different means of transport on wheels). The role of stone on the road was and in some places still is very important. It is usually associated with hard work, impossibility to change its location, and hardness.
Marmomacc, the International Exhibition of Stone, Design & Technologies scheduled at VeronaFiere next 4-7 October, confirms its status as world leader in the natural stone sector, with presentations of all types of natural stone, the latest innovative processing technologies and avant-garde applications for interiors and exteriors.
The exhibition will host 1510 exhibitors from more than 50 countries, of which half international, over a net area in excess of 76 thousand square metres. More than 65 thousand operators are expected, representing more than 110 international countries. For the first time, moreover, in 2007, Verona will welcome exhibitors from Japan as well as Cyprus, Albania and Sierra Leone.
In Kraków in city centre at the Grodzka Street was made modern pavillion. It is the place, were are exhibited stained-glass windows, designed by Stanisław Wyspiański, great polish poet, painter and architect. One hundred years stained-glass windows were waiting for good exposure - three, four-meters high glass paints, were made in Kraków Stained-glass window Plant. Windows are fastened in white limestone frames. The pavillion, projected by Krzysztof Ingarden is the first modern building in Krakow Old Town. Inside the pavillion natural stone is also strong stressed: facings of Italian sandstone and Egyptian limestone, stairs of Portuguese limestone.
The on-line Stone Album is now available on the website.
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