Saturday, July 1, 2023, was the opening day of the Freedom Pavilion in Warsaw’s Royal Łazienki Park - an original outdoor installation which is an expression of solidarity with Ukraine fighting for freedom. It is made of wood, which is a material not only very easy to process, but also environmentally friendly. The round form symbolizes unity, solidarity, security and peace. The sunflowers filling the interior of the wooden openwork structure refer to the yellow colour of the Ukrainian flag, while the roof made of white canvas evokes associations with a sail - expressing freedom. The partner for the project is Warbud SA and the Warbud Foundation - Warto Pomagać.
The pavilion was designed by students of the Faculty of Architecture of Warsaw University of Technology. The project was created as part of A3 course - Architecture of Technology and Structure, Context and Meaning. For several weeks, students divided into ten teams worked intensively on researching, sketching and prototyping ideas. They developed their own architectural concepts, looking for unique solutions. Finally, they performed their semester work under the supervision of an experienced team of architects, urban planners and constructors. The quality and precision of the work was ensured by: Sylwester Koc - Warbud SA Site Manager and two experienced carpenters - Antoni Faron and Stanisław Pytel who work on a daily basis on the construction of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw.
Sylwester Koc from Warbud, managing the works, said that ‘We are glad that we were able to pass on the necessary knowledge to future architects and build the Freedom Pavilion together. It is important that young people get involved in shaping the space.’
This unique undertaking is part of a larger project entitled "Putting up things", which was initiated by prof. Anna Maria Wierzbicka, architect.
The Freedom Pavilion can be visited until September 2023.