UE Forum 46

35
„Lipsk” i kampus widziane z „gwiazd”, ok. 1980,
zbiory Centrum Historii i Tradycji Akademickich UE
w Katowicach / “Lipsk” and the campus seen from
the Gwiazdy block, ca. 1980, archives of the UE
Katowice History and Academic Traditions Center
it stand out from the drabness of the socialist
environment. The ostentatious homogeneity
of the façade lacked any ornamentation. It was
unacceptable to include any traditional representation
of power or other academic distinctions
in architectural design. Maximally simplified,
the form seemed to testify to consistently
carried out industrialization and architectural
uniformization throughout the country, while
simultaneously it was supposed to evoke a feeling
of exceptional peace though the regularity
of the facade and interiors.
How did those assumptions materialize in
reality? Probably, everybody who used the
building to which we are bidding farewell will
have their own opinion in this regard. In general,
however, a sense of discomfort dominated
due to the unbearably high temperature in
the summer, especially in rooms on the eastern
side, exposed to the sun from the early
morning hours. Stifling air always lingered in
the depressing and dark corridor. In the winter,
ubiquitous leaks and high thermal permeability
contributed to a sense of coolness, despite
the heated panels. In the 1990’s, those vexations
partially went away when the building
was insulated, the process which also involved
covering it with a horizontal layer of monochrome
siding, concealing the rhythm of vertical
and colorful strips of plate and window
profiles and making the previously unmistakable
façade completely unremarkable.
Opened at the beginning of the 1979/1980
academic year, the facility temporarily catered
to the university’s demand for space. The institutes
large in terms of their scale and dynamics
settled on individual floors. The first floor
was given to the Institute of Trade and Services,
headed by Professors Józefa and Teodor
Kramer. The second floor hosted “quants”
with their champion Prof. Zbigniew Pawłowski.
The third floor was assigned to the Institute
of Industrial Economics, in which the leading
position was held by the enterprise economics
division, while the division of material management
gradually transformed into logistics.
The next floor belonged to the Institute for the
Planning and Financing of the National Economy,
bringing together financiers from Prof.
Józef Szyrocki’s team and the economic planning
team. The two groups labeled with one
name, however, operated separately and the
assumed co-operation did not exist. As soon
as an opportunity arose, separate departments
and divisions were established, while the institute
disappeared. The last floor was given to
student organizations. Yet, the teaching units
slowly moved in there too, especially when the
Student Social and Cultural Center, assigned
letter “F’, opened in 1987.
There is one special place there to remember.
It is the “Amicus” academic club based
on the ground floor. It started as a meeting
place for everyone, both students and teachers.
And such a place it was! Especially during
the carnival of freedom and Solidarity
in 1980–1981. Nobody was bothered by the
club’s shoddy interior, though quite modern
in those days – crowded at any time, perpetually
wreathed in cigarette smoke, overflowing
ashtrays, long hours spent in armchairs
seized in fierce competition. Sometimes beer
was delivered, only to run out very quickly.
The club was a place to go before classes, during
breaks, and even after classes, often only
to stay there and exchange views. However,
this communal spirit did not last long. It ended
definitively on 13 December 1980, never to
come back. However, after many years, “Amicus”
reopened and Alina Szafranowicz gave it
the status of a respectable professor club with
quasi-Biedermeier decor, later maintained at
the same level by Jadwiga Kiełtyka. Its guests
were often surprised by the contrast between
the stylish interior and the typical late-modernist
architecture. If something is going to be
missed after we say goodbye to “Lipsk”, it’ll
probably be “Amicus”, because the building
itself – serving the community less than four
decades – may be going away too soon, but
with no genuine regret.
I drew on R. Hillman’s article, Piękno profilu
metalowego. Budynki typu “Lipsk” w NRD
i w Polsce, in: Sztuka i przemysł / Kunst ind
Industrie, (ed.) I. Kozina, Muzeum Śląskie,
Katowice 2013, p. 251–253.