Organized by the Permanent Representation of Poland to the United Nations in New York and curated by the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning in Warsaw, it is devoted to Maciej and Stanisława Nowicki, who made a lasting contribution to the history of American and Polish architecture. The exhibition brings together architectural sketches and scale models of the couple’s major designs, including those for the UN building, as well as their posters.
Nowicki gained a diploma in architecture in Warsaw in 1936. Soon upon graduation he scored several successes at architectural competitions in Poland and abroad. During World War II, he became involved in anti-German underground resistance and served in the Home Army. After the war, he went to the United States as a delegate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Having settled in America, he developed a fine professional career, teaching at universities and working on several major projects, including the UN Headquarters, on which he worked closely with Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer.
Nowicki died in a plane crash caused by an engine fire in the Libyan Desert in 1950, at the age of 40.
Stanisława Nowicka (1912–2018) was a talented graphic artist and designer. She became the first female professor of architecture in American history.
Addresing the opening ceremony, Poland’s Ambassador to the United Nations Krzysztof Szczerski said that the Nowickis placed man in the centre of all their designs. ”Having lived through the horror of World War II, theirs was an architecture at the service to humanity and promoting human dignity”, he stressed.
The ceremony was also attended by Natalie Cady, the great-granddaughter of Maciej and Stanisław Nowicki. In her remarks, she drew attention to the symbolism of the exhibition’s location in a space that was co-designed by her ancestor. She spoke highly of the universal values that were championed by the Nowickis in their work.
The exhibition runs until January 26.
(mk)
