Stefan Szyller, the author of the design, is recognised as one of the most outstanding architects of his time. The feature forms a part of the unique complex of buildings of a higher education institution, dating back to the early 20th century.

History

In 1898 Stefan Szyller, chosen along with Bronisław Rogóyski as a designer of the Nicolas II Polytechnic Institute buildings (since 1915 the Warsaw University of Technology), presented a design of the Main Building, which was later accepted by the construction committee. The construction was financed through a public fundraising campaign. The Polytechnic complex was planned in the area of the 2nd Hygiene Exhibition, organised in 1896. A cornerstone was laid under the Main Building on 8 September 1899 and the official opening of the building took place on 14 December 1902. One of the three external wings planned by the architect was not built at that time. The building suffered extensive damage during the Warsaw Uprising fights in 1944 that took place in the area. The interiors were burned down, the roof was completely destroyed by fire and some parts of the building collapsed. The year 1946 marked the preparations for the reconstruction of the building, which ultimately began in 1947. In December 1948 the Polish Workers’ Party and the Polish Socialist Party Unification Congress took place in the partly reconstructed building. To commemorate this event, the square in front of the Main Building was named the Workers’ Unity Square (currently Pl. Politechniki - the Polytechnic Square). As part of the reconstruction supervised by Czesław Duchnowski, the pre-war appearance of the building was restored and the missing wing at Nowowiejska Street was added, thus closing the symmetrical composition of the building. It was decided to restore the initial decorative programme of the façade in its general outline. In 1995 the glazed roofing of the building hall was restored, while in the years 1996-1999 an upward extension in a modern form, contrasted with the historical style, was carried out in the internal wing of the building (designed by Hanna Gutkiewicz-Czajkowska).

Description

At the south-east, the free-standing building closes the area of the main campus of the Warsaw University of Technology, enclosed by: Nowowiejska, Noakowskiego, Koszykowa streets and Niepodległości alley (previously: Przyokopowa, Polna, Koszykowa and Topolowa). The building strongly accentuates the urban planning concept of the district as one of the elements of the Stanislaus Axis, the central point of which is the Ujazdowski Castle. The spacious, triangular square (designed by K. Kucza-Kuczyński with his team in 2000) located in front of the building, boosts the impression of monumentality. It is an example of late classicising eclecticism with its origins in Sankt Petersburg, with dominating forms resemblant of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque. The building has a symmetrical plan of an irregular pentagon, with rounded front corners. Inside the pentagon three courtyards were located (including the central, cloistered courtyard covered with a glass roof). They are divided by three internal wings of the building. The building has four storeys and one and a half bay. On the façades, characterised by axiality and symmetricity, the academicist superposed order (from Tuscan to Corinthian) as well as the giant order were used. Rusticated lower parts of the wall constitute a pedestal for another lavishly decorated two storeys, crowned with entablature with a pronounced corbelled cornice. Regularly spaced projections of the long side façades, covered with triangular pediments break the monotonousness of the façades and give an impression of dynamism. The front of the building has two storeys. An elevated porte-cochère in front of the main entrance as well as the stairs leading thereto terminate in two columns with lanterns and resemble theatrical solutions. Three monumental door openings, rounded at the top and with corresponding windows above them, lead to the interior. The middle door terminates in pairs of double engaged columns. The composition is limited on both sides by small projections resembling of obelisks crowned with torches and the entire design is crowned with a parapet with sculptures representing an apotheosis of science (a post-war reconstruction). The central part of the façade also features personifications of three faculties of the academy, carved in erratic rock. Particular attention should be paid to the cloistered courtyard in the interior. A rich articulation of the walls as well as groin vaults emphasize the representational character of this space. The composition of the courtyard is dominated by a flamboyant, multi-flight staircase inspired by the Mannerist solution found in the Baranów Sandomierski castle.

The church is open to visitors. The site may be visited every day, during the Warsaw University of Technology opening hours.

Author of the note Wojciech Głowacki 23-01-2016

Bibliography

• Record sheet, Gmach Główny Politechnik Warszawskiej, prepared by W. Jankowski, 1963, Archive of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw.
• Wagner A.A., Architektura Politechniki Warszawskiej, Warsaw 2001.
• Omilanowska M., Stefan Szyller: 1857-1933: warszawski architekt doby historyzmu, Warsaw 1995.