Façade decoration at 36 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 three-bay façade has been adorned with a two-level sign. In the painted cartouches beneath the windows, located between the first and second storeys, depictions of bread, fruit, and dairy products have been placed. In the next interstorey band, a cartouche features the inscription in Roman capitals: ‘Grocery Shop’.

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: Tomasz Kucharski graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. He presented his graduation work with honours in 2007 in the painting studio of Professor Maciej Świeszewski, with an annex to the diploma in drawing under the direction of Professor Maria Targońska. Since 2016, he has been teaching at the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk as part of the ‘Technology Laboratory’. His works can be found in the collections of the National Museum in Gdańsk and the State Art Gallery in Sopot.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: ‘Attyka’ real estate management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush