Centrala (Małgorzata Kuciewicz and Simone de Iacobis) (Poland and Italy)
Centrala
is usually engaged in an attempt to shape reality critically, without descending into the commercial conformism paradigmatic for most architects. Only some of the tasks and issues they deal with are commissioned by specific ‘clients.’ Most often, they arise by themselves. Centrala does a mix of public and private projects. In the private field, they’re looking for innovative solutions to rather traditional spatial programs, while in the public realm they're always trying to introduce new programs and non-obvious design functions. The discussion on the co-modification of public interiors and the possibility to create non-profit indoor spaces is always of a vital importance to them. They ponder how nontraditional and changeable functional systems can provoke unconventional behavior, as well as how nonpermanent spaces for events can function. Many of our projects attempt to provoke public debate on the protection and revitalization of the legacy of the modernist avant-garde. Actions, urban interventions, and publications are impetuses to re-examine reality, allowing us to view Warsaw as strong city for anecdote and experiment. We also want to re-examine the imagination of the structure of the capital. It is chaotic on the surface, but, in fact, it is composed of numerous systems with an interesting internal logic. Popularizing and systematizing the knowledge of the city in which we live is the first major step toward a possibility of shaping it. During the residency Małgorzata Kuciewicz and Simone De Iacobis from Centrala group will look critically at the interior of a new A-I-R Laboratory space, former PORTHOS (Marszałkowska Street 9/15). Part of their analysis will be based on their workshops with students of architecture. The intention of the workshops will be to open up discussion on revitalization possibilities of this unique, historic interior and at the same time to study potential of the space as an environment for artists-residents’ activities.
www.centrala.net.pl
