Eng. facade is derived from the Italian facciata ("face of a building"). The genesis of the polish word meaning face — “twarz” is derived from the verb meaning creating — “tworzyć” — activity, making facts
The activity of the face and facade refers to the basic dichotomy of interior and exterior and manifests itself as revealing what is hidden in the depth, what is invisible, were it not for the act of externalization.
The facade as the "face" of the building is from the very beginning deprived of the possibility of a true revealing of the interior, which the Western culture ascribes to its face. The facade is a simulacrum of the interior, its worse copy - but worse not in the sense of its lack, insufficient reflection of the interior, but, on the contrary — worse because of excess.
The facade is not essential and from a practical point of view it is unnecessary. It can be misleading from the beginning, because the interior and the entire body of the building will always fail to be equally magnificent.
Does facade belong to the building or the city?
We live in a time of liquid modernity - a period of constant changes and development, in which knowledge and skills are no longer exclusive, and flexibility and the multiplicity of paths available to people play an increasingly important role. It is therefore necessary to consider architecture in a broader context; finding connections and creating a city friendly to its inhabitants.
Given the climate crisis and the overproduction of buildings today, it is easy to conclude that designing nothing can often be a much better option than another building erected in the name of capitalism.
The result of these considerations is to propose a forest in the middle of the city. The greening of the northern side of Rakowiecka Street aims to draw attention to the hierarchy of human needs and the climate crisis we are facing today. It is a return to nature from which we were separated while living in cities.
It is an attempt to wean ourselves from the excess.
In the middle of the forest, at the intersection of Rakowiecka and Wiśniowa St., there is the "heart" of the entire complex.
An important aspect of the project is the multidimensionality of the reception of the façade. It should be perceived not only vertically, but miltudirectionally. It creates connections between the users of the building and the users of the square around it. The grooves in the concrete floor or patterns in the wooden ceiling become a part of the facade.
It is, in a way, a polemic with the statement that the facade is the face of the building. It may as well be a mask, an illusion, a game, and it is in no way equivalent to a lie.