Autoportret 21. Przestrzenie prywatne

-- philosophy of interior decoration. an introduction / mario praz
According to the author, people can basically be divided into two groups: those who take care of their homes and those who do not care. The latter find decorating their own space an onerous duty, while the former consider it an expression of their own personality. The passionate text poses a straightforward question: can those who do not care for their homes be respectable?

-- warehouse / jacek dehnel
An article about contrasts in styles. While many contemporary flats are decorated in the minimalist style, there are also interiors cluttered with 'old frippery': all sorts of bedside tab-les, makeshift shelves and cabinets, aged heavy curtains, figurines, mended cups, pictures, heaps of magazines etc. Jacek Dehnel, who indulges in this hobby, writes about the origin of the need to fill homes with tatty antiques.

-- biedermeier. the origin of privacy in central European homes / emiliano ranocchi
The name 'biedermeier', used to denote a style in furniture, was originally a joke invented by two writers, but it soon ceased to bear negative connotations and entered our lexicon for good. Enjoy reading a short history of the term with many references to the philosophy of the uses of furniture.

-- developing space. adolf loos's raumplan / maria szadkowska
Adolf Loos, Austrian architect, came up with his own innovative concept of Raumplan. In defiance of designing interiors 'on commission', regardless of the actual needs of their future dwellers, he claimed that a flat was to be a stage for the great drama of life.' And consequently, he opted to design stage decorations appropriate for the drama.

-- life script. lajos kozma's modernist villas / éva horányi
History of a Hungarian architect, whose designs of buildings (mostly for private users: family houses, villas, shops) were characterised by subtlety, innovativeness, dynamic forms and economy of designs. His style gave rise to a school called 'Kozma's baroque'.

-- searching for shape. polish interiors of the interwar period / anna kostrzynska-milosz
After the end of World War I, when Poland regained her independence, there came a need to find a new style in interior decoration, which would both be distinctively national and respond to the social and stylistic transformations in the world. An article about creators, their concepts and the results of artistic experiments.

-- invasion of modernity. polish interiors of the 50s. and 60s. / anna wiszniewska
The 1956 thaw made it possible to introduce new, modern concepts to the socialist realist industrial design and interior architecture. A history of the origin of this interesting style in interior decoration and of its subsequent degradation whose remains can still be seen in some Polish homes.

-- "I don't want it at home' - dorota lesniak-rychlak talks to robert konieczny
About his fiancée, continuous redecoration works on the ninth floor, an ideal home, hidden furniture, different shades of white and architecture which respects people.

-- of the continuity of emotions. peter zumthor's home / barbara stec
Peter Zumthor's home is an architect's home. There is rarely an opportunity to have an insider's look at such a person's place. All the more reason to read our article.

-- shared awareness. background of private and public space in central Europe / yvette vasourkova, igor kovacevic
When we see the exodus of the contemporary middle class from city centres and the growth of areas of detached houses outside cities, we need to analyse the underlying reasons. Is it merely the case of copying western trends or does it result from the unique experience of our post-communist part of Europe?

-- welcome to ikea. under the banner of democratic design / piotr mikolajczak
What is the magic of Ikea which attracts so many customers to its outlets? How come that the offer of the Scandinavian manufacturer appeals both to students who live in rented accommodation and to middle aged people? Piotr Mikolaj-czyk writes about the benefits and possible dangers of the made-by-Ikea design.

-- space, privacy, cosiness, kitsch / sylwia trzaska
The idea of clubbing, so popular until recently, is gradually giving way to that of nesting, which means a withdrawal into private space for meetings with friends. How to decorate our space to avoid a kitschy effect?

-- beyond the great wall, through the kitchen door... tenderly about privacy in china / monika szmyt
The history of a photo project by Chinese artist Hu Yang who photographed five hundred Shanghai families in their homes. How does private space look in a culture where it is intertwined with public space?

-- a house in a valley. a short history / lucja piekarska-duraj
Most probably the majority of us visited this house in childhood. First in summer, then in November and in winter, also when a comet was shooting over the valley. Moomins' House. Do you remember, ladies and gentlemen?

-- exercise. polish home - what is it like? / bartosz lewandowski
First and foremost, it is closed, surrounded by a fence, covered by curtains, hidden behind small windows. The confinement results in (and from both aesthetic and social concerns. Should we uncritically open our homes in search for 'modernity'?

-- '[un]usual' - like lego / filip kozarski
A description of the design of an [untypical detached house, which resulted from the dissatisfaction with the ones offered on the Polish market.

-- national façade - bricolage / ewa rewers
'The national façade' evokes the feeling of national identity. What is it like now that the façade is losing its formal and symbolic functions? The article completes a series of texts published in 'Autoportret' since the 15th issue.