WOJCIECH OMILJANOWSKICULTURAL STUDIES PORTFOLIO

MAPPING

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1. FRACTALS2. MY FATHER3. TATRA MOUNTAINS4. RICHARD FEYNMAN5. GEODESIC DOME6. EAGLE NEBULA7. THE GREAT WAVE OFF KANAGAWA8. FUTURE HOUSE BY JAN KAPLICKY9. NATIONAL LIBRARY IN PRAGUE10. THE ANATOMY LESSON OF DR. TULP11. RICHARD BUCKMINSTER FULLER12. SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE13. SCHLUMBERGER RESEARCH CENTRE14. MY ANIA

THE FIRST TASK MADE ME THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN ARCHITECTURE FOR ME, WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF MY INSPIRATION AND IN WHICH WAY I WANT TO DEVELOP MY INTERESTS.

ORIGINAL DRAWING SADLY LOST

HISTORY

MY DRAWING SHOWED A STATUE OF DUKE OF WELLING-TON WITH A TRAFFIC CONE ON HIS HEAD. FOR ME IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF HISTORICAL OBJECT THAT FUNCTIONS WELL DETACHED FROM ITS HISTORICAL MEANING.

ORANGE CONE IS A SYMBOL OF OPTIMISM AND PLAY-FULNESS JUXTAPOSED WITH A GLOOMY URBAN CON-TEXT.

THIS REMINDS ME OF GRAFFITI GNOMES PAINTED BY “ORANGE ALTERNATIVE MOVEMENT” DURING COMMU-NIST TIMES IN WROCLAW (MY HOMETOWN) TO CHEER PEOPLE UP.

TECTONICS

IN MY BLACK OBJECT I EXPLORED TECTONICS OF CRYS-TALS. I POURED A SUPERCOOLED SOLUTION OF SODI-UM-ACETATE INTO A PLASTIC CONTAINER AND ADDED A DROP OF INK FROM BLACK PEN. I WATCHED THE FOR-MATION OF CRYSTALS TRIGGERED BY INK.

THE PROCESS INVOLVED MIXING SODIUM BICARBON-ATE WITH VINEGAR, HEATING UP THE SOLUTION, COOL-ING DOWN AND REFRIGERATING. THE FINAL CREATION OF CRYSTALS HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY. CRAFT OF THE CHEMIST IS HIDDEN AND DOES NOT MANIFEST ITSELF DIRECTLY, THE OBJECT SEEMS TO BE CREATED ONLY BY FORCES OF NATURE

LITERATURE

ARCHITECTURE UNCANNY

MY FIRST LANGUAGE NOT BEING ENGLISH, I HAD TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE WORD “UNCANNY”. FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT ALONE IN MY STRUGGLE: SIGMUND FREUD WAS ALSO TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IT IN HIS TEXT IN WHICH HE DISCUSSED THE ETYMOLOGY AND DESCRIBED FEELINGS THAT CAN BE ASSOCIATED WITH “UNCANNY”

AFTER READING EXAMPLES OF UNCANNY STORIES I TOOK THESE TWO PHOTOS AND WROTE CAPTIONS THAT EXPLAIN THE UNCANNY OF THE SCENES I HAD CAPTURED.

FIRST SHOWS SIGNS ON A FENCE OF A VETERINARY CLINIC, PLACE WHERE ANIMAL-LOVING PEOPLE WORK.

SECOND SHOWS A GARDEN WHOSE OWNER PLANTED A SATELLITE DISH IN CONCRETE PAVING.

WAR

WAR POSTER

WITH THE EVENTS OF THE ARAB SPRING IN MEDIA I WAS THINKING HOW MEANING OF WAR IMAGES FROM THE PAST MAY BE TWISTED IN DIFFERENT POLITICAL CONTEXT.

THIS IMAGE IS BASED ON A FAMOUS WW1 POSTER. INSTEAD OF CALLING MEN TO JOIN THE ARMY A MAN IN TURBAN QUESTIONS THE LEGITIMACY OF WESTERN MILITARY INTERVENTIONS.

MANIFESTOPOLITICAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF MY THESIS PROJECT

MY THESIS IS A DESIGN OF A NEW SPACES FOR ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING STUDENTS TO WORK TOGETHER.

1. LEARNING TOGETHER HELPS WORKING TOGETHER.

2. ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS MUST SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

3. REUSING EXISTING BUILDINGS TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF STUDIES INSTEAD OF BUILDING NEW ICONIC SCHOOLS.

4. LETTING EXPERIENCED TECHNICIANS PASS THEIR AND KNOWLEDGE TO NEXT GENERATIONS OF ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS

5. PREVENT DISAPPEARANCE OF CRAFT AND SKILLS.