Turf wars and Beyond: Plac Defilad in the hands of local stewards

Few places might seem as calling and as alluring for urban planners, architects, and designers as the very central space of Warsaw—Europe’s largest, yet hitherto unfinished, public square: Plac Defilad. By any standards, it is a design challenge par excellence. Initially called Stalin’s Square upon its opening in 1954, Plac Defilad has remained an overwhelmingly monumental space in front of the Palace of Culture and Science, the communist skyscraper raised in 1955. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the vast open space served as a place of political manifestations, religious gatherings, fairs, concerts, and commerce. Even though the enormous space has been consequently subjected to various plans and designs for redevelopment, none of them have been executed. Until recently, the most tangible result had been a zoning ordinance providing for partial development, with new buildings expected to shape a smaller, reduced public plaza in the middle of it. Only lately a design competition for the new square was decided, and the construction of the Museum of Modern Art was begun. But Plac Defilad is still seen as a proof of the indecisiveness of local authorities. Worse yet, it is a slap in the face of traditional planning, designing, and decision-making routines.

 

Turf wars and Beyond: Plac Defilad in the hands of local stewards, W: Design Actions for Shifting Conditions / Berlingieri Fabrizia [i in.] (red.), 2022, TU Delft OPEN Publishing, ISBN 978-94-6366-517-9, s. 108-111.