Regional Building as a Choice: Building Culture in Zakopane from a Comparative Perspective

In the post-war period, the future of architectural modernism was debated worldwide: Some demanded a radicalisation of avant-garde modernism, while others called for it to be opened up to regional building traditions. Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence, socialist policies were working towards cultural standardisation. As part of this process, Socialist Realism was imposed in Poland as a historicising national style (1949-1956) based on the Soviet model. This seemed to put an abrupt end to the engagement with modernism in Poland.

How was it that the local building culture in the mountain resort of Zakopane was nevertheless further developed in a progressive way? How can it be explained that this architecture was awarded state prizes and was rooted in local tradition, despite prevailing national style?

A structural comparison of buildings by the architect Anna Górska (1914-2002) for Zakopane and the Tatra National Park with the buildings of the Swiss architect Bruno Giacometti (1907-2012) in his home valley of Bergell from 1949 to 1956 will show the importance of regional building for the socio-economic modernisation of each of these regions. The aim of this work is to situate the regional building culture of Zakopane during the Socialist Realist era in relation to the modern architectural and theoretical discourse of the post-war period.