Bohdan Pniewski

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Bogdan Pniewski

Bohdan Wiktor Kazimierz Pniewski (born August 26, 1897 in Warsaw ; † September 5, 1965 ibid) was a Polish architect and representative of modernism . Before and after the Second World War he designed important buildings for Warsaw and worked as a professor at two Warsaw universities.

Life

Pniewski was the eldest of four children of bank clerk Wiktor Pniewski (1849–1918) and his second wife Helena, née. Kieszkowska (1876-1965). He attended the specialized elementary school of Karol Szulc and from 1906 to 1914 the Stanisław Staszic-Lizeum in Warsaw led by the Association of Technicians . During this time he joined the 16th Warsaw Boy Scout Group (Polish: 16 Warszawska Drużyna Harcerzy im. Zawiszy Czarnego ), which he headed from 1915 onwards.

In 1914 Pniewski studied at the building faculty of the Wawelberg and Rotwand School for Mechanics and Technology (Polish: Szkoła Mechaniczno-Techniczna Hipolita Wawelberga i Stanisława Rotwanda) on Mokotowska Street . Here he completed internships with Jan Fryderyk Heurich , Rudolf Świerczyński, Karol Jankowski and Kazimierz Skórewicz.

Since he was not accepted at the newly founded architecture faculty of the Warsaw Technical University in 1915 , he initially worked as a graphic designer for two years. He was awarded twice for his work. In 1917 he began his studies at the Politechnika. He was a member of the Welecja student union .

Interwar period

At the end of the war in 1918 he was involved in the disarming of German troops as part of the activities of the former scout unit. In 1920 Pniewski took part in the Polish-Soviet War under General Gustaw Orlicz-Dreszer . He was wounded and honored. On February 1, 1922 he married Jadwiga Dąbrowska, with whom he had a daughter (Barbara). He completed his architecture studies in 1923. Studies in sculpture followed under Tadeusz Breyer and Edward Wittig. In 1932 he was appointed professor at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (Faculty of Architecture and Monumental Art ).

Pniewski initially designed in a functionalist style and thus followed contemporary, avant-garde trends. One of his most important works of that time was the “Słońce” housing estate at Ulica Madalińskiego 83-95 . He also converted the Brühl Palace into the seat of the Foreign Ministry. In 1928 he was awarded for his design for the Polish Embassy in Sofia and in 1937 he was awarded the gold medal “Wawrzyn Akademicki” by the Polska Akademia Literatury for his services to Polish art. Pniewski was a co-founder of the architects' association SARP and from 1934 to 1939 head of the Art Propaganda Institute (Polish: Instytut Propagandy Sztuki). Together with Józef Szanajca , Stanisław Brukalski and Bohdan Lachert , he designed the award-winning Polish pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937.

World War II and post-war period

Already at the beginning of the war, the architect had to vacate his villa (today used as a geological museum ) on the embankment of the Vistula . He took part in the underground training. He has been a member of the jury of secret tenders for the reconstruction of Warsaw several times. After the war, he worked at the city reconstruction office ( Biuro Odbudowy Stolicy ). In 1946 he received a chair at the Politechnika and designed many representative buildings for the Polish capital. Initially, he was able to enforce his designs (e.g. the Ministry of Communications and parts of the Sejm's building ), from the 1950s onwards he increasingly had to accept changes to his designs (e.g. the headquarters of the Polish Radio on Ulica Niepodległości and the building of the National Bank ) . In 1949 he was dismissed from the service of the Academy of Fine Arts due to increasing controversy with the socialist town planners; it was not rehabilitated until 1957. A major project in the late 1950s was the construction of the Dom Chłopa hotel next to the National Bank. The last work he carried out concerned the design of a new (rear) facade of the Teatr Wielki .

He was buried in the Powązki Cemetery on the Avenue of the Deservable.

Buildings (selection)

  • Hotel “Patria” in Krynica-Zdrój (1927–1933)
  • Reconstruction of the Brühl Palace (1932)
  • Courthouse on Ulica Leszno (1935–1939)
  • Building of the municipal credit company on Ulica Polna (1939–1946)
  • National Bank building (1947–1955)
  • Reconstruction of the Europejski hotel (1949)
  • Ballet school on Ulica Moliera (1952)
  • "Szosa Krakowska" housing estate in Warsaw's Ochota district (1960s)
  • State Archives in Ochota

References and comments

  1. ↑ according to Lech Najbauer, Stulecie warszawskiej Szesnastki , in the magazine Stolica. Warszawski Magazyn Ilustrowany , ISSN  0039-1689 , issue 10/2011 (2235), Warsaw 2011, p. 52 f. (in Polish).

Web links

Commons : Bohdan Pniewski  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files


personal data
SURNAME Pniewski, Bohdan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pniewski, Bohdan Wiktor Kazimierz (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish architect
DATE OF BIRTH August 26, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Warsaw
DATE OF DEATH September 5, 1965
Place of death Warsaw