2024 Features and seminars

Marcin Maraszek and Maciej Kaufman – Archigrest

Urbanite

If concrete is the stone of modernity, rubble concrete will be the stone of the future. In the context of discussions about the carbon footprint of construction and a circular economy, increasingly, landfills are being viewed as reservoirs of raw material for "urban mining." Concrete reclaimed from demolitions is called urbanite in English, which can be translated as "urbanite," the "urban rock" of the Anthropocene era. Certainly, in Warsaw, a city literally rebuilt from rubble, this term applies. On the Warsaw Uprising Mound, rubble, a resource, and a remnant of the reconstruction era, take shape, are reintegrated into the cycle of building materials, and restored to the memory of Varsovians.

Archigrest - Marcin Maraszek and Maciej Kaufman. We engage in research, unconventional educational projects, and workshops. We draw inspiration from the "ruins of the future": unrealized and forgotten visions of a better tomorrow, halted construction sites, and abandoned spaces reclaimed by the Fourth Nature. Our work is based on solid research and local conditions, so we assemble interdisciplinary teams of experts for specific tasks. Our portfolio includes a wide range of projects, from individually crafted interiors, residential and public utility buildings, to urban park design. We have won several architectural competitions. We primarily operate in Warsaw, where, together with topoScape, we have completed two parks on post-industrial sites.