Façade decoration at 98 Ogarna Street

Object: The façade covers a residential block constructed as part of Gdańsk’s post-war reconstruction. In 2015, 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.

The front façade of the building at 98 Ogarna Street features a painted decoration based on the repeated spatial symbol of infinity. The pattern extends from the ground floor (in brown tones) to above the windows of the third storey (in light beige tones). The side façade facing Ławnicza Street has been decorated only with a band in the interstorey space between the first and second floors, featuring a pattern identical to that on the front façade.

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: Justyna Posiecz-Polkowska graduated from the Faculty of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. She completed her degree in the studio of Prof. Maciej Świeszewski, specialising in wall painting and stained glass under Prof. Jacek Zdybel. She has participated in European open-air workshops and festivals of monumental painting, as well as numerous group exhibitions.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: ‘Attyka’ real estate management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush