A couple of years ago, the Polish architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak were confronted with the challenge to remodel Zgody Square, in Krakow – a historical place, loaded with painful memories, reminding of the extermination of Jews during World War II.
After carefully studying the documents of that era, the architects generated a story that stretches over the entire surface of the square, while the simple process of ‘defamiliarization’ brings out objects stripped of their everyday practical functions: chairs, a well with a pump, rubbish bins, tram stop shelters, bicycle racks and even traffic signs. The materials used symbolize the pass of time and they are very simple, almost humble: patinated bronze, corroded cast iron, paving blocks of gray stone and ordinary concrete. This simple square has become a powerful symbolic place, a remembering place and, in the same time, a successful public area for Krakow.

The scholastic complex is very visually present on Highway 101 (across Rafael Moneo’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels), due to a sculptural tower surrounded by a metallic spiral which, seen from above, has – needless to say – the shape of a 9. However, it is not very high, having a rather deferential and conservative organization: the bodies of the building are perimetrically disposed on a site above the level of the street, which provides enhanced privacy and a privileged position in the area. The tower also functions as an “antenna” pointing towards the city. It is a highly visible landmark and a high observation point, in the same time, due to a conference room that is supposed to occupy the parallelepiped on the top. The site is occupied by 7 buildings, among which 4
so-called “academies”, each specializing in one of the arts courses offered next to the general education – music, dance, theater arts and visual arts.
The public theater for 1,000 visitors is the surprise element of the project. It has a separate entrance and a double function: for the school, it is an additional source of income, while for the city it is a cultural area. The above mentioned tower is set over this public lobby area. The deconstructivist body provided with entrance and foyer is orientated to the public space, in order to allow access to those outside the campus, being a signal, in the same time. The display seems to be inspired by the game of chess. Just like the pieces from the chess player’s army, each piece of the site has its own function, doubled by a strategic position, in order to “attack” a point of perception, a possible weakness or to take an opportunity.

One of the first banks who took the chance to present itself to the public through a playful and dynamic image, Transilvania Bank accepted the architectural proposal by DSBA, a practice known for their innovative formal approach. The result is a daring, easily recognizable building, resembling an aeroplane ready for take-off.
Although the functional solution follows the established guidelines for office buildings, the elegant design, with its inclined walls and flowing curves intentionally confuses passers-by, disturbing their mental images of straight angles and conventional structures, thus granting complexity to their perception of space and contributing to the creation of a dynamic work environment.

They like Koolhaas and pizza. They like field trips and everything low-cost and they've shown passers-by in Bucharest how good they are at ping-pong. They also know how to make a good project, to maintain a good relationship with their clients, to interpret a given context and to find solutions for difficult problems - architecture-related, especially - and they don't shy away from any kind of challenge. They are currently working on a set of large-scale buildings in delicate areas of Bucharest. They are called PZP and are one of the youngest architectural practices in town.

"We've never intended to become a specialized practice, to build only industrial architecture, or only offices, or only residential projects. You know what they say, man makes his own luck. Perhaps that was the case with us. In our subconscious, we wanted to experiment, to do something different every time. We've accepted all the challenges that came our way".

A little bit of white is always necessary in the design of an interior space meant to be inhabited, especially in those rooms where one relaxes. The Igloo Design team was offered a unique chance when a design aficionado beneficiary allowed them to do as they please on a vast space, a playground for architects, with only one rule to be respected - everything had to be white.
The space, simple, yet extravagant, offers a succession of rooms meant for sitting, sleeping, bathing and eating - not necessarily in this order - with minimum delimitation, consisting of semi-transparent curtains, as an allusion to the fact that, in our age, intimacy is a very volatile concept, whose premise can only be renouncing other liberties.
Walking through the rooms, one experiences a feeling of confusion, caused by the absence of conventional landmarks, but their loss is compensated through symmetry - although some may argue that the human eye instinctively searches for symmetry, but is not used to this kind of compositional balance. A few metallic elements - chairs and lamps - are placed here and there in order to provide a visual compensation.