The building of the Association of Polish Technicians, known as the Warsaw House of Technology – a building erected in the years 1903-1905 for the needs of the Association of Polish Technicians, located at 3/5 T. Czackiego Street. Currently, the headquarters of the Supreme Technical Organization.
The building of the Association of Polish Technicians, photo: Wikipedia
On March 8, 1901, the Council of the Association of Technicians decided to build a building for the needs of the Association. Two committees were established for this purpose. One was to develop the architectural concept of the building (it included council representatives Piotr Drzewiecki and Aleksander Henryk de Rosset and architects Władysław Marconi and Bronisław Rogóyski), the other, consisting of 30 members, dealt with the financial side of the project. Near the royal route, at Włodzimierzowska Street 3/5 (renamed Tadeusza Czackiego Street in 1919), on June 5, 1901, a building plot with an area of 2,100 m² was purchased for 120,000 rubles.
The Association held a competition for the construction of its headquarters. As a result of the two-stage competition, the design by engineer-architect Jan Fijałkowski was accepted for implementation. The main contractor, the Architectural and Construction Office "Rogóyski, Bracia Horn i Rupniewicz", began construction on July 31, 1903. In September, the foundation stone for the investment was ceremonially laid, which was completed on November 25, 1905.
In parallel with the construction of the building, the interior and exterior design of the building was being developed. Sculptor Zygmunt Otto designed three symbolic sculptures on the building's façade. At the top, he placed the figures of Daedalus and Icarus. Above the main entrance, at the height of the second floor, he placed two sculptures: Archimedes and a woman with radium rays, symbolizing the past and the future. In the cartouche above the entrance to the building, a Latin inscription was placed: ARTIBUS TECHNICIS MCMIV.
The most important element of the interior decoration was the ceiling on the main staircase, depicting the march of humanity in the fire of revolution towards a better future entitled Rebirth by Stanisław Bohusz-Siestrzeńcewicz. During World War II, the third and fourth floors burned down. After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, the Germans set fire to the remaining part of the building. The rich interior furnishings and stucco decoration were destroyed, and the ceilings and partition walls collapsed.
After the end of the war, Polish engineers undertook the reconstruction of the House of Technicians, which was taken over by the Supreme Technical Organization (NOT) on November 18, 1948, as its headquarters, and has managed the facility to this day.
In the years 1968–2003, the building was modernized and equipped with modern acoustic and air-conditioning systems inside.
source - Wikipedia
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