Façade decoration at 67 Świętojańska St.

Technique: casting (aluminium)

Object:

One of the two historicist façades covering a block of flats built as part of the post-war reconstruction of Gdańsk. In 2018, the façade underwent a major refurbishment under the ‘Gdańskie Fasady OdNowa’ project, which aimed 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 biaxial west façade received metalwork decoration in the form of an architectural detail cast in aluminium, located at the top of the façade, and a cartouche intended to accommodate a signboard in the space between the first and second floors. The form of both elements alludes to nautical knots.

The biaxial eastern façade with a passage linking Słomiana Street and Świętojańska Street received an architectural detail emphasising the arc of the passage in the form of an ornament consisting of multiplied floral forms, the elements of which evoke the setting of stones in jewellery. The structure of the jewel is made up of aluminium elements together with ceramic glazed ones.

Place:

The building is located in an area designated as a heritage site, in the vicinity of St Nicholas’s and St John’s churches. As a result of the wartime destruction in 1945, the urban layout was changed. During the reconstruction of Gdańsk, part of the original development of Świętojańska Street was not reconstructed, Księża Street was removed, and the resulting quarter was adapted into a square. According to address directories from the mid-19^th century, the building at 67 Świętojańska Street was the prayer house of the Jewish community.

Information about the authors:

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: ADMiSTA Administrator

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush