27 10 2023
– 21 01 2024

The Falowiec Phenomenon – the genesis and reception of the icon of Gdańsk’s architecture

The Falowiec Phenomenon – the genesis and reception of the icon of Gdańsk’s architecture

 

Curator: Klaudiusz Grabowski
Vernissage: 27 October 2023. 6.00 PM – 9.00 PM
Duration: 17 October 2022 to 15 January 2024
Venue: GGM2, ul. Powroźnicza 13/15
Visual identification: Ania Witkowska
Arrangement: Alicja Wódecka 
Cooperation: Katarzyna Wróblewska, Andrzej Zagrobelny


Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday, 12.00 PM-6.00 PM

Tickets: PLN 10 – regular ticket, PLN 7 – reduced ticket, PLN 5 – group ticket (free admission on Thursdays and during the vernissage)

 

 

When they began to be built, they aroused great interest – they were considered the pride of Gdańsk’s buildings. Next to the Crane and Oliwa Cathedral, the Falowce were a mandatory point of tours in every guidebook. Over time, Falowce began to have a bad reputation. Just like other “block housing complexes”, and indeed the entire Polish society, they were affected by the economic crisis, which intensified in the 1980s and 1990s. However, a lot has changed since then, the buildings are being renovated and the apartments therein have become a desirable address. Falowce are located in a well-connected district, and their unique advantage is the proximity of a sandy beach and the sea.

 

The intriguing form of the bent Falowce makes it impossible to ignore them. The building has been portrayed, or has become an inspiration for artists and creators of various disciplines. The Falowce also inspire young people who use the building as an intriguing background on social media. As writer and artist Salcia Hałas wrote about Falowiec:

 

“…I believe it is beautiful, just not in a very subtle way. And staggeringly vast. Like a gothic cathedral, but across”.

 

The exhibition will allow to understand the fascination with unusual residential buildings by indicating their genesis and reception among contemporary artists and creators. It is worth remembering that they might not have been built at all – their place could have been taken by a row of skyscrapers. The chief designer managed to maintain the assumptions of the original concept, but had to make concessions (the first two versions of the buildings were rejected). The first one assumed the construction of a building with very diversified shape and varying heights – from two to twelve floors. The second version was designed – it included covered, suspended galleries, but this idea was also forfeited as it was too expensive. Thus, the Falowce that we admire today are the third of the proposed variants.

 

The exhibition presents objects from the collections of:

Archiwum Państwowego w Gdańsku

Archiwum Wydziału Urbanistyki i Architektury Urzędu Miasta Gdańska

Kosycarz Foto Press

Teatru Miniatura w Gdańsku

Urzędu Miasta Gdańska 

Zachęty Narodowej Galerii Sztuki 

Jacka Friedricha

Klaudiusz Grabowskiego

Jakuba Kowalskiego (Dawne Przymorze)

Danuty Olędzkiej

 

and creative works from:

Milena Banaszewska

Magda Danaj

Adam Kosik

Konrad Królikowski

Chris Niedenthal

Agata Nowosielska

Bartłomiej Ponikiewski

Julita Wójcik

Marek Zygmunt