The National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning is a polish public cultural institution which popularises architectural and urban culture, deepens social awareness, and strives to protect national architectural heritage, through its promotional efforts, as well as exhibitions, publications, and educational initiatives. It conducts research in architecture and urban planning, disseminating the knowledge from these fields. We publish source materials, historical studies, guides, monographs, photo books, children’s books, and exhibition catalogues dedicated to architecture, urban planning and design, directed to children and adults, professionals, and anyone interested in architecture.
Where to buy our books?
Distributors:
Bęc Zmiana dystrybucja@beczmiana.pl Ateneum biuro@ateneum.net.pl
Online stores, including:
Bęc Zmiana www.sklep.beczmiana.pl
Bonito www.bonito.pl
Tania Książka www.taniaksiazka.pl
Foreign rights: k.kucharczuk@niaiu.pl
Jakby luksusowo
A guide to the architecture of 1990s Warsaw
“It’s kind of luxurious here!” – one could exclaim at the sight of many a Warsaw building built in the first years of political transformation. The 1990s was a decade of spectacle and representativeness, and on the other, transience and scarcity are embedded in its DNA. How not to get lost among these contradictions? A guide to the architecture of Warsaw in the 1990s introduces 94 projects commissioned or designed in that period.
author Aleksandra Stępień-Dąbrowska series Guides graphic design of the series and volume kilku.com (Idalia Smyczyńska and Robert Zając) binding integrated number of pages 296 1st edition, 1st additional printing, Warsaw 2022
ISBN 978-83-960286-8-6 price 55 PLN
National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning
Foksal 4, 00-366 Warsaw, Poland
other titles in series: Spodek w Zenicie. A guide to the architecture of 1945–1989 in the Silesian province
author Anna Syska
ISBN 978-83-956466-1-4 price 59 PLN
Ruch tektoniczny. A guide to the post-war architecture of the Świętokrzyskie province
author Kacper Kępiński
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
Mario Botta
No one is born an architect
Mario Botta is an astute observer of the world around him. The author of the monograph goes back to the origins of the work of this outstanding Swiss architect. In the book, he reflects on Botta’s oeuvre and delves into the intellectual discourse conducted by him, presents the ideas that accompanied Botta in his work, and takes a closer look at his projects, in which the architect escapes from superficiality and builds the value of the object through its relationship with the environment. We get to know a man who stands in opposition to contemporary, often fashionable, trends, trying to return to timeless values and eternal order.
author Marek Pabich series Monographs graphic design of the series and volume Anna Piwowar hardcover number of pages 216 2nd revised edition (1st edition published by NIAiU), Warsaw 2021 ISBN 978-83-956466-3-8
price 55 PLN
ArchiCode
This is a book about architecture not only for architects. ArchiCode is a journey through 72 places – from well-known public spaces (such as Regent Street in London or the Market Square in Krakow), through housing estates (for example: Za Żelazną Bramą in Warsaw, Gropiusstadt in Berlin), to famous buildings (like Pont du Gard in Provence or the airport in Hong Kong). At a time when no one was talking about urban planning, public space was being created in which smart cities strategies could be implemented. Meanwhile, in the (designed in the 1920s –2020s) chaos of forms pushing each other in line for fame, this is proving much more difficult.
author Czesław Bielecki graphic design Kotbury softcover number of pages 384 1st edition, Warsaw 2021
ISBN 978-83-962825-5-2
price 69 PLN
Archiculture Notes
Practices and inspirations. North Rhine-Westphalia. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Archikultura means culture of space and is the Polish equivalent of the German term Baukultur. The series “Archiculture Notes” presents the architectural and urban culture of European cities and towns. The authors trace the practical translation of the principles contained in the document called the Davos Declaration. It points the way for conducting research on the value of the architecture of selected European regions. The volume describes good Baukultur practices from two German regions and gives examples of cities that are valued for their innovative approach to their own development and for reconciling the challenges of modernity with the requirement of historical continuity.
edited by Katarzyna Domagalska series Archiculture Notes graphic design of the series and volume kilku.com (Idalia Smyczyńska and Robert Zając) softcover number of pages 240 1st edition, Warsaw 2022 ISBN 978-83-965401-4-0
price 50 PLN
ISBN 978-83-965401-6-4 price 65 PLN
A House for Culture
An enquiry into the architecture of the kibbutz and the kolkhoz
A House for Culture by Nicolas Grospierre highlights the formal similarities between kibbutz and kolkhoz buildings, constructed in places that are spread thousands of kilometres apart. The buildings are separated not only by their geographic location but also by the cultural context and political systems in which they were created. On the other hand, they are tightly connected through the universal language of modern architecture and culture. The photobook contains 139 photographs by Nicolas Grospierre, taken in Israel, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The photographs are supplemented with critical essays by researchers of modern architecture: Yuval Yaski, Mart Kalm, and Pedro Gadanho.
author Nicolas Grospierre graphic design Kasia Kubicka hardcover number of pages 202 1st edition, Warsaw 2022
ISBN 978-83-962825-2-1 (PL), 978-83-962825-1-4 (ENG) price 150 PLN (Polish version), 30 EUR (English version)
Anthropocene
Towards regenerative architecture
The Anthropocene is an era of humans, an era of anthropogenic changes that result in global climate catastrophe. The construction industry and life-cycle costs generated by buildings are responsible for over ⅓ of world CO2 emissions – one of the main causes of climate change. Cities and buildings nowadays operate in a way that disturbs nature’s cycles, pollutes and devours vast areas of land. On the other hand, humans are unable to function outside of the built environment. Architecture provides proper and safe living conditions. The book elaborates on the context of the doughnut economy in reference to the realities of Polish cities, which gives it a practical dimension.
edited by Kacper Kępiński, Adrian Krężlik graphic design Honza Zamojski [rh.plus]
softcover
number of pages 416
1st edition, Warsaw 2022 (PL), Warsaw 2023 (ENG)
ISBN 978-83-965401-1-9 (PL), 978-83-965401-2-6 (ENG) price 85 PLN (Polish version), 30 EUR (English version)
CIAM Archipelago
The letters by Helena Syrkus
The correspondence by architects is rarely published compared to that of writers, artists, or public figures. The publication features letters exchanged between Helena Syrkus and notable figures like Walter and Ise Gropius, Cornelis van Eesteren, and Sigfried Giedion. It offers valuable insights into architecture’s history, especially the work of Helena and Szymon Syrkus, key figures in interwar Polish architecture. Additionally, it portrays a person deeply entwined in historical upheavals. The correspondence also reflects the complex political history of Poland and the world, addressing issues like 1930s antisemitism, the Second World War’s tragedy, and the advent of socialism.
edited by Aleksandra Kędziorek, Katarzyna Uchowicz, Maja Wirkus series Sources
graphic design kilku.com (Idalia Smyczyńska and Robert Zając) hardcover
number of pages 420
1st edition, Warsaw 2019 bilingual publication (Polish, English)
ISBN 978-83-951542-2-5 price 49 PLN
The Internets
The Internet’s impact on our reality, perception, and relationships remains complex. Can we truly grasp and control these digital changes? Will the blend of virtual and real spaces become hostile or essential?
Szymon Rogiński’s photobook captures the introduction of the Internet and computers in Polish cities post-1989. Despite the chaos, the photographs find intrigue and beauty in the urban landscape’s billboards and neon signs. They emanate tranquility, prompting us to rethink our relationship with technology and our online presence. The Internet has evolved beyond its creators’ expectations, raising questions about its effects on our emotions.
author Szymon Rogiński graphic design Noviki Post Studio
hardcover
number of pages 64
1st edition, Warsaw 2019
ISBN 978-83-951542-5-6 (PL), 978-83-951542-6-3 (ENG) price 69 PLN (Polish version), 25 EUR (English version)
Identity
100 years of Polish architecture
The book tells the story of buildings and spaces, as well as the artists who influenced the shape of cities after Poland regained its independence. In doing so, it asks questions about social identity and change, as well as about the role of architects and urban planners in our daily lives. How does their work contribute to the construction of the Polish cultural landscape and the identity of the places we inhabit? The publication accompanied five exhibitions prepared by the NIAiU in 2019. On the example of selected cities – Krakow, Warsaw, Lublin, Poznan and Katowice – a panorama of the phenomena present in Polish architecture after 1918 is shown.
edited by Bolesław Stelmach, Karolina Andrzejewska-Batko graphic design Tomasz Bersz softcover number of pages 372 2nd revised edition, Warsaw 2023
ISBN 978-83-968476-3-8 price 60 PLN
Little Architect
A toolbox for viewing the city
The city as a space can be explored in different ways. The toolbox activates younger readers: it assigns them the role of co-creators that will allow this space to be recognized as their own. The world of buildings, like the world of people and animals, is diverse. A multitude of forms can be seen among streets, parks or monuments, you just need to be attentive and learn to recognize these forms. With the help of the Little Architect, we will discover a fascinating world. Together with Belka Słupeczańska – our guide – we will count, measure, draw and experience. The book comes with instruments for self-assembly and viewing the city. The whole set is packaged in an aesthetic box.
authors Kasia Domagalska, Marta Kwiatek graphic design and illustrations Marta Kwiatek hardcover number of pages 72
2nd revised edition, Warsaw 2023
ISBN 978-83-951542-9-4 (entire toolbox), 978-83-956466-2-1 (book) price 65 PLN