Open Gardens Program

1
Open Gardens Program
An alternative scheme for preservation of
heritage and sustainable development of Polish
garden-cities
2
Agenda

• Historical context - Poland and Podkowa
• Architecture in Podkowa Lesna - different styles
  and influences
• Open Gardens Program, ideas, objectives, history
  and future

3
Historical Context

• 1918-1939 Poland between the Wars

• 1925 Garden-city of Podkowa Lesna

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Architecture

• Urban plan by Antoni Jawornicki

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Architecture

• 1918 independence after over 120 years of
  partition

• Revival of Polish manor house style (typical home
  build by Polish nobility)

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Architecture

• Searching roots of polishness in folk culture
• Arts Crafts influences

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Architecture

• Modern style
• International style

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Architecture

• Communist philosophy
• Traditional architecture neglected, building
  crafts skills forgotten
• New architectural models invented
• 1989 today
• Esthetic sensibility suffers after 50 years of
  communism
• Wild development without traditional basis,
  avoiding building rules
• 20 century heritage less important
• Conservation authorities far away
• Lack of NGOs

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Open Gardens Program
Local language of preservationversus
hierarchical system ofconservation authorities
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Objectives

• Raising awarness of cultural and natural heritage
  (stressing domestic rather than monumental
  architercture of the 1920 30s)
• Networking of local instututions, NGOs, experts,
  inhabitants
• Build platform for local initiatives
• Networking of green towns

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Open Gardens Events

• Open Gardens Festival
• Educational Programs

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Open Gardens Festival

• Open forgotten places - alternative use of
  historic spaces during the Festival (in scope of
  European Heritage Days)
• Integrate local communities around issues
  conected to heritage

13
Education

• Workshop on the regeneration of the city park
• Inventarisation of endangered timber villa
• Tell me your story, documentation of endangered
  oral stories

14
Education

• Home, Garden, City - Lifestyle for the 21 century
• Garden-city, dialog with surroundings

• Soul of Architecture - documenting endangered
  architectural detail from 1920-30s

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Conceptual prototype was build in Podkowa Lesna

• Open Gardens in garden-city
• Preservation by fun and direct contact with
  heritage
• Interdisciplinarity
• Language of art and hands-on workshops
• Cooperation with all possible stakeholders -
  networking people and institutions building
  platform for local initiatives

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Expanding concepts

• 2005 the Program starts in Podkowa Lesna
  (preservation of material heritage)
• 2006 three towns participate (focus also on
  documentation of symbolic culture)
• In 2007 five towns participate (smart growth
  concepts introduced)
• In 2007 the Open Gardens Programraised
  international interest

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Future of Open Gardens Program

• Open Gardens as a model for expanding the network
  of green towns and garden-cities located in the
  green belt around Warsaw
• Creating new institution
• Focus on education and documentation of heritage,
  support green thinking
• International cooperation

18
Thank You
Magdalena Prosinska Emailmprosinska_at_wp.pl Tel
00/49/30/499 104 03

• www.otwarteogrody.pl