Odbudowa Zamku Królewskiego w Warszawie (Prace Komisji Architektoniczno-Konserwatorskiej Obywatelskiego Komitetu Odbudowy Zamku Królewskiego w Warszawie)

Pro b lem s co nnected w ith re co n s tru c tio n of W a rs aw ’s Royal Castle co n stitu tin g a m o n um en t of P o lish c u ltu r e a re d e a lt w ith by th e a u th o r from th e p o in t of view of A rc h ite c tu ra l R e sto ra tio n Section, one of those ac tin g w ith in th e N a tio n a l Committee fo r R e c o n stru c tion. T h e re can n o t be an y d o u b t to d ay th a t th e m o tiv a tio n s lead in g to decision to s ta r t th e C a s tle ’s r e co n stru c tio n a fte r tw e n ty e ig h t y e a rs th a t e lap s ed from th e en d of th e World War II an d tw e n ty y e a rs a fte r reb u ild in g of th e Old Town S e ttin g h av e b e en wid e ly echoed among th e Poles b o th liv in g in th e ir n a tiv e c o u n try an d abroad. I t should, however, be b o rn e in min d th a t th e re b u ild in g of th e Royal Castle c an in no w ay be co nsidered as a simple re co n s tru c tio n of some k in d of a fu ll-s c a le mo d el of a d e stru c te d a rc h ite c tu ra l object. Of th e o rig in a l b u ild in g w e re p re s e rv ed co n sid e rab le p o rtio n s of its fo u n d a tio n s, of w a lls th a t su rv iv ed in situ an d also huge amo u n ts of stone elem en ts, a rc h ite c tu ra l an d s c u lp tu ra l decorations as w e ll as th o se belo n g in g to a rc h ite c tu ra l o u tfit of its in te rio rs an d , fin a lly , of pieces in its fo rm e r life tim e fo rmin g its m o v ab le e q u ip m e n t as, fo r in s tan c e , th e p a in tin g s , fu rn itu r e , sc u lp tu re s , bronzes an d th e like. T h u s th e w hole p ro je c t m ay be de sc rib ed a s th a t p a r tia lly re s to ra tiv e a n d co n se rv a tin g in its c h a ra c te r. Th e comp lex ity of h is to ric a l processes by w h ich th e a rc h ite c tu ra l forms of th is o b je c t w e re sh ap ed re q u ir es th a t a ran g e of th e d e e p -ra n g in g s tu d ie s a n d s u r veys be mad e to achieve th e ir re s titu tio n in fo rms th a t would be in fu ll a c co rd an ce w ith th e b u ild in g ’s o rig in a l c h a ra c te r. At th e same time d u rin g th e course of reb u ild in g m u s t also be k e p t b e fo re th e eyes th e C a s tle ’s fu tu re social fu n c tio n s of w hich th e fa c t a need a rise s to in tro d u c e a ra n g e of new eq u ipm e n t a n d in s ta lla tio n s upon whom w ill g re a tly dep en d th e smooth a n d p ro p e r fu n c tio n in g of th e e n tire b u ild in g . With th is im men se a n d ex c ep tio n a lly ta sk w e re e n tru s te d b o th th e A rc h ite c tu ra l R e sto ra tio n Section of th e N a tio n a l Committee fo r Re co nstru c tio n a n d a s ta te -ow n e d Comp an y k n ow n as A te lie rs fo r C o n se rv a tio n of C u ltu ra l P ro p e rty being th e chief co n tra c to r. The ra n g e of ta sk s fo r w h ich w as mad e re sp o n sib le th e Section alone comp rised th e outlin in g of a rc h ite c tu ra l an d re s to ra tiv e me a su re s, th e p re p a rin g of p ro g ram m a tic an d fu n c tio n a l p rin c ip le s, th e considering an d ap p ro v in g of a rc h ite c tu ra l designs, of e lab o ra tio n s co v e rin g th e p ro b lems of re c o n s tru c tio n an d also m a k in g of decisions concerning th e m a te ria ls re q u ire d an d basic technical problems. A lre ad y considered w e re th e o u tlin e s a n d proposals as to th e b u ild in g ’s a rc h ite c tu ra l solid, its a rc h ite c tu ra l o u tfit an d sev e ra l te ch n ic a l in s ta lla tio n s w ith w hich th e o b ject w ill be pro v id ed . Wh a t co ncerns th e Ca stle ’s su rro u n d in g it has b e en s ta te d th a t th e C a stle Sq u a re will re q u ire some am o u n t of a lte ra tio n s a n d corrections of its p re s en t fo rms, an d e specially in th e im med ia te v ic in ity of th e Castle itse lf, ju s t lik e as of e sc a rpm en ts on th e side of th e E a st-W e st T h o ro u g h fa re an d th e te rra c e s closing to th e V istu la R iv e r b an k s. A fte r considering of pro p o sals su bm itte d th e p ro g ram m e h a s b e en a ccepted a t a P le n a ry Meeting of th e N a tio n a l Committee fo r R e co n stru c tio n of th e Royal Ca stle w h ich w a s h e ld on J u n e 30, 1971. The p re p a ra tio n of a d e ta iled design w a s connected w ith a g re a t deal of d ifficu ltie s as, among th e others, those re la tin g to an a p p ro p ria te sitin g of se rv ic e rooms an d fa c ilitie s in th e re b u ilt Castle w hich, a p a r t from its fu tu re re p re s e n ta tiv e fu n c tio n s, w ill also house a Museum. A n um b e r of serious p ro b lem s w e re e n co u n te red wh ile p re p a rin g th e p lan s of c e n tra l h e a tin g , a ir-c o n d itio n in g an d v e n tila tio n . The w o rk s on th e sketch design solutions h a d to be c a rrie d o u t p a ra le lly as th e d eadlock for th e ir completion w a s se t on Novemb e r 30, 1971. To fin ish th e w o rk acco rd in g to tim e -ta b le th e d esig n ers of v a rio u s sp e c ia lisa tio n s h a d to devote a m ax im um of th e ir effort. However, th e ir p u n c tu a lity made it possible to s ta r t th e w o rk s on th e b uilding site w ith in a p la n n ed time. The to ta lly fin ish ed in its raw sta te sh e ll of Royal Castle, in c lu d in g th e roofs on its towers, w ill be re ad y on Ju ly 22, 1974. Both ra n g e an d scale of co n stru c tio n an d re s to ra tio n w o rk s c a rrie d out on th e h is to ric a l re sid en c e of th e Polish Kings may be d escrib ed as those gigantic. A good d eal of time w ill be re q u ired to complete th e o utfit of its rooms w h e re n um e ro u s h ig h -p re c isio n an d tim e consuming c ab in e t m a k e r’s, p la s te r e r ’s, b ra z ie r’s an d p a in te r ’s w o rk s a re to be executed.