Façade decoration at 77 Ogarna Street

Object: One of two historicising façades covering a residential block constructed as part of Gdańsk’s post-war reconstruction. In 2016, the façade underwent a complete renovation as part of the ‘Gdańskie Fasady OdNowa’ project, aimed at improving the quality of public spaces in the Main Town by adding architectural decorations to buildings that had been overlooked during Gdańsk’s reconstruction.

The decoration of the three-bay façade introduces elements into the under-window panels – located between the second and third, as well as the third and fourth storeys – that evoke associations with gemstone settings in jewellery. The ‘jewel’ structure is composed of cast aluminium elements combined with glazed ceramic pieces. The top of the façade is adorned with an ornamental frieze created using the same technique.

Location: The buildings are in an area designated as a heritage site. They form part of the historic urban layout of the city of Gdańsk. Ogarna Street was destroyed in 1945 during the war. It was rebuilt on the basis of the so-called Zachwatowicz plan that envisaged the reconstruction of historical forms, which was only feasible in the form of a workers’ housing estate. The erected block of flats was covered by a historicist façade screen. The buildings thus created were the result of combining two houses into a complex with a common staircase, an entrance from the courtyard and an even top line of windows emphasising the block-like nature of the premise. The elevations were not completed with architectural decoration.

Information about the author/s: Alicja Buławka-Fankidejska graduated from the Faculty of Sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. She presented her graduation work in 2010 in Professor Sławoj Ostrowski’s studio. She currently works an assistant in the Artistic Ceramics Studio at the Department of Sculpture and Intermedia. She has taken part in group exhibitions, national and international competitions.

Dmitry Buławka-Fankidejski graduated from the Department of Sculpture and Intermedia of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He presented his graduation work in 2016 in Professor Mariusz Białecki’s studio, for which he received the Academy of Fine Arts Rectors’ Award. He has taken part in group exhibitions in Poland.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: ‘Attyka’ real estate management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush