Façade decoration at 87 Szeroka St.

Technique: painting

Object:

One of the two historicist façades covering a block of flats built as part of the post-war reconstruction of Gdańsk. In 2014, the façade underwent a major refurbishment under the ‘Gdańskie Fasady OdNowa’ project. Its aim was to improve the quality of public spaces in Główne Miasto by adding architectural decoration to existing buildings that were omitted during Gdańsk’s reconstruction.

The main façade decoration is located in the corner, on the walls of the windowless, five-storey buildings situated with their gables to Szeroka and Tandeta streets (south-western part). It is formed by a mural that refers to the theme of pre-war wall and newspaper advertisements. The main part of it is an inscription (from Tandeta Street): Nowa / SZEROKA / Gdańsk / PEŁEN TAJEMNIC (“The new Szeroka Street, Gdańsk full of secrets”), maintained in the style of typefaces from the pre-war period, enriched with drawings and photographs of old Gdańsk and product labels. The historical photographs of Gdańsk used in the decoration show a moving tram and customers sitting in a street café. These elements are also present in the part of the mural visible from Szeroka Street (fragment of the façade set back into Tandeta Street in relation to the frontage of Szeroka Street). The building’s distinctive layout allows a view of the artwork from within the Szeroka Street. The premise is maintained in sepia colours.

A fragment of the façade located on Szeroka Street (the eastern part of the façade, aligned with the building line) was given a decoration that refers to the corner mural in the space above the second and third storeys. It consists of painted advertising lettering and panels made of artificial stone, visually connecting the windows horizontally. This provides an architectural reference to the contemporary development on 1 Tandeta Street.

The northern part of the building’s façade facing Tandeta Street received a panel made of artificial stone in the space between the first and second storeys (above the windows of the commercial premises). This element was meant to be painted as a signboard. The aim of this part of the project, as with the façades of the tenement houses at 77, 82, and 86 Szeroka Street, was to minimise uncontrolled advertising in the public space.

Place:

The building is located in an area designated as a heritage site. It forms part of the historic urban layout of Gdańsk. Szeroka Street was destroyed in 1945 during World War II. Most of the tenement houses were rebuilt without respecting the historical layout. Historic remnants can only be seen in the distinction of the separate façades with gables and in the ridge layout perpendicular to the street. The height and width of the buildings were standardised, and consequently, the historic parcelling was not maintained. Retail and service units were located in the ground floor. Szeroka Street acts as a boundary between the historicising reconstruction and modern development: a place where the two ways of post-war reconstruction intertwine.

Information about the authors:

Adam Romuald “Theosone” Kłodecki graduated from the Faculty of Design and Interior Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He is the co-founder of the ATAK group and holder of numerous awards, who took part in several exhibitions. Theosone represents the calligraffiti style.

Anna Taut graduated from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, obtaining her degree in 2009. She works with easel painting and large-format painting (murals). Taut won many competitions, including the Grand Prix of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in the “Triennale with still life” (2012) and “Materia medicinalis, materia artificalis” (2011). She has exhibited her work at numerous group and solo exhibitions.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: M3 Property Management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush