POCZĄTKI WYDZIAŁU ARCHITEKTURY POLITECHNIKI WARSZAWSKIEJ W ŚWIETLE NIEZNANYCH DOTĄD DOKUMENTÓW

The Warsaw Circle of Architects, established in 1904 and active at the Associations of Technicians, dealt with professional questions, architectural competitions and the socio-spatial problems of the city. It also discussed the training of future representatives of the profession in Warsaw since many architects from the Kingdom of Poland had studied abroad. Members of the Circle aimed at creating an independent Department of Architecture within the Warsaw Polytechnic. In February 1915 their efforts resulted in setting up an organizational committee. The architects who joined the committee devised a detailed programme of the Department and became members of its academic staff. The Department of Architecture was opened on 15 November 1915. It had not been granted space in the Polytechnic building, and was forced to inaugurate its courses at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in the Powisle district. Information about the choice of this site is contained in a letter of 20 August 1912, addressed to Eugenia Kierbedziowa, the founder of the building. The correspondence is preserved in the collections of the Public Library of the capital city of Warsaw amongst material comprising her legacy. The content of the letter shows that Eugenia Kierbedziowa agreed to the proposal, which also reflected the stand of some of the Circle members who envisaged architectural training combined with the fine arts. The Department of Architecture was located in the Powisle district only for a year, up to the autumn of 1916. From that time on, it remains in a building in 55 Koszykowa Street.