Façade decoration at 90 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, crowned with a simple attic, is executed in the sgraffito technique. The bands between the windows of the fourth storey are filled with garlands composed of maple leaves. The central garlands, framing the middle window, are connected to fluted pilasters topped with corbels. In the interwindow spaces between the third and fourth storeys, there are panels featuring decorative ovals formed by a string of pearls.

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: Jacek Zdybel graduated from the State School of Visual Arts (now the Academy of Fine Arts) in Gdańsk. He earned his MA from Professor Hugo Lasecki’s studio. He currently runs the Studio of Mural Painting and Stained Glass at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Zdybel is the co-founder of the educational and artistic project Gdańsk School of Mural. He has taken part in many solo and group exhibitions.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: ‘Attyka’ real estate management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush