Façade decoration at 7 Ogarna Street

Object: The façade covers a residential block constructed as part of Gdańsk’s post-war reconstruction. In 2013, it 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.

In the case of the four-bay façade of the building at 7 Ogarna Street, the artistic intervention aimed to enhance the existing architectural decoration (pilasters and cornices). This was achieved by introducing a variety of muted colours, including beige, pink, and orange, which fill the spaces between the pilasters, spanning from the second to the fourth storey, framed above and below by cornices. This approach created rectangular panels outlined with dark red borders, accentuating the inner edges of the pilasters. The dark red tone is also used to fill the areas directly above the lower cornice. The space between the top storey and the upper cornice is crowned with the Latin name of the street, Platea Canum 7, written in Gothic script.

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: 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.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: ‘Attyka’ real estate management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush