Wacław Weker i jego niezrealizowane projekty dla Gdyni i Jastrzębiej Góry

Abstrakt

Wacław Weker is one of the more interesting architects of interwar Poland, belonging to the avant‑garde trend called functionalism. Weker’s tangible output is enclosed within fifteen years spanning the period between his graduation and the outbreak of World War II and contains about 25 designs including both residential houses and lower‑ranking public buildings, as well as urban development layouts. Moreover, he published many texts, which allows to clearly see his views on architecture and designing priorities. Working mainly as a Warsaw architect, for several years following his graduation Weker was employed BY different construction companies, to soon become a free‑lance architect.

As an architect and theoretician, he was mainly interested in questions relatied to housing architecture, low‑cost flats, the application of new economical technologies, optimalization of spatial solutions, raising rational and cost‑efficient structures, complying with the principles of hygiene and practicality. He ranked among the architects searching for modern solutions, following new tendencies in European architecture, while also sensitive to customers’ needs.

Specializing in housing, Weker designed some dozen tenement houses and cooperative blocks in Warsaw itself as well as several villas on its outskirts. He participated in exhibitions promoting social housing. As much as unsuccessful in competitions for public buildings, he raised several public amenities, such as mountain shelters. His contribution to Pomerania can be found in three, regrettably unimplemented designs: a house with terraces at Gdynia’s Kamienna Góra, a cooperative hotel in Jastrzębia Góra, and a spa house there.

Weker was unquestionably a well educated talented architect, however his legacy does not contain any outstanding works. The houses he designed as commissioned by the cooperatives are functionalistic, though not architectonically attractive. However, every single design for Pomerania had a strong potential for an outstanding architectural work.