T2 Manifesto 01

I grew up on a ground floor of a 3 storey block of flats on the peripheral housing estate built in mid 1970’s. The estate Słoneczny Stok in Białystok was an answer of the government to a growing need for housing and like many other estates in Poland at that time it was built rapidly. The estate consist only of a large size precast concrete slab OWT-75 system blocks and these were the view from the window of my bedroom cross the little garden and a sandy playground. I used to count the little air bubbles in the surface of my 2.3 metres tall wall of my grid 4.8 x 5.4 metres room, which, I now know, was only painted and never rendered concrete. We had a local school, a shop or two, few other facilities and a long way to the city centre but only few metres away was the local river and its marshes. I spent holidays in a red brick country site house built by my great grant father, sharing the room with a bunch of cousins.

I began my architecture studies in Bialystok Technical University. After my first year in the summer of 2002 the department of Architecture and Urban Design moved to and old School of Engineering building which had unusually high ceilings and a large ‘machines’ hall which became our first exhibition space. There was no security at the entrance, only a good common cloakroom lady which wasn’t too busy most of the year since the building was hardly ever warm. I learned a lot in that university about building construction and mechanics. We also drew, painted, sculptured but mainly collaged our 3 designs per semester.

Kingston Universities Department of Art, Design and Architecture building’s beautiful setting was in tune with the phenomenological approach of the School of Architecture. The school was vibrant, live, with great workshops, yet it was far away from the little hostel room I rented in Finsbury Park with 2 others. I travelled to university only when required and back in the hostel I converted every flat surface into my studio space. Thin walls of this Edwardian building were unfortunately the ultimate restrictions to my working hours.

I later learned a bit or two about insulation, toilers, tiles and all other details as I worked for Baynes and Mitchell Architects in an open plan office in Oxford Circus. The refurbishment was the name of the game. The big rent for small spaces was the winner in rental, spotless kitchen and shinny bathroom got the applause in private commissions. Most days I heard about clients with fat wallets watching their every penny, later I pass my local homeless “Big Issue” man on the way to overcrowded tube, I bought vegetables and said thank you back to the machine before getting ‘home’.

I aspire to learn more about policies and thinking behind Spatial Planning and Urban Design for Modern Living to make more sense.