// Big Trip Poland
This year’s big trip was a seven day trip through Warsaw, Katowice and Krakow to explore Poland. Our Big Trip to Poland started with our visit to Jazdow, Warsaw's Finnish settlement, where vibrant communities shine. In the very heart of Warsaw, one can come across a unique neighborhood-a settlement initially consisting of 90 prefabricated houses, established in 1945 to provide quick housing solutions for those involved in reconstruction efforts. Their design was based on concepts like the "growing house," emphasizing adaptability and future expansion as inhabitants' needs evolved. Unfortunately, today only 27 houses remain there. In 6 there are still inhabitants - ancestors of those who worked in the Bureau for the Rebuilding of the Capital (BOS). Others are run by NGOs or other community organizations, like the one we visited.
Otwarta Pracownia Jazdow
We visited the house at Otwarta Pracownia Jazdow, a cultural and educational hub run by volunteers of Academic Association of the Faculty of Architecture WUT that hosts lectures, exhibitions, workshops, and co-working spaces. Mateusz Potempski walked us through the settlement's history and journey, the challenges faced in its preservation, and guided us through different houses and the variety of organizations they host.
WXCA
To explore different approaches to urban design in Poland, our group visited WXCA, an architectural office known for its architectural and urban projects in Warsaw. Bogumita Chewinska and Matgorzata Dembowska presented three large-scale projects, explaining their urban contexts, key challenges, and guiding principles. By discussing a post-industrial housing masterplan, the reconstruction of the demolished Saxon Palace, and Miasto nad Rzeka - a concept for reconnecting the city with the Vistula River - we gained valuable insights into the challenges Warsaw's urban planners are facing today. The collective study of these projects has allowed us to understand how the urban fabric can be reinterpreted to meet future needs while respecting its surroundings, history and local identity.
Zodiak architectural pavilion
The last stop of our time in Warsaw was the Zodiak architectural pavilion, and a lecture by Adam Kierzkowski from the Office of Architecture and Spatial Planning. We learned more about the City's current and future projects and research fields, the transformation in the spatial planning policies and the spatial configuration of the city. Additionally, we got a brief on the challenges the Office has to deal with, such as urban uncontrolled sprawl and the policy measures that are planned to be utilized to tackle them.
University of Economics
To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges of energy transition in Silesia, we had the opportunity to visit the University of Economics in Katowice. Professor Adam Drobniak gave an introductory lecture that provided us valuable insights into the urban landscape of the Silesian region. As the most urbanised region in Poland, Silesia is characterised by its unique polycentric metropolitan structure. The professor also discussed the ongoing transformations and the challenges posed by both national and regional interests in this process. The lecture was followed by an exchange of presentations with three student associations from Katowice as well as the Polis association. This interaction created a dialogue between urban studies and economics and encouraged interdisciplinary exchange. Later, we took part in a discussion with university students on the future of the region. It was particularly interesting to hear their perspectives on the transformation of Silesia and the pressing issues facing its people.
Guido mine
It is impossible to talk about Katowice without mentioning the founding engine of its economy that for decades has allowed the development of the area and has given work to its inhabitants: the coal mines. To understand the socio-cultural dynamics of Katowice we could not avoid studying this industry and going to the places where it once developed and is now dying out. We went to the Guido mine, built in 1855 in Zabrze, in the metropolitan area of Katowice. Once we put on our safety helmets, together with an expert guide we descended 320m deep into the mine. During a tour of about 3 hours we learned about the history of the mine and the area, the lives of the miners, the mining techniques and the machinery used. After that we split into groups and collected materials under the themes of Landscape Morphology, Spatial Justice and Adapting to change. The findings were curated and exhibited in a physical exhibition at the Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment, TU Delft. We hope that our exhibition will inspire, and provoke you to experience the realities we have examined ourselves.
Participants: Quazi Anika Afrin, Eleonora Anghileri, Michele Francesco Bonato, Kenneth Christopher Dy, Mahaa Ejaz, Yoon Ji Kim, Aleksandra Kurkiewicz, Yi-An Lu, Martin Cardoso, Maria Milusheva, Pranav Mohan, Juli Osusky, Jakob Pesendorfer, Megha Sahu, Maria Sutherland, Caspar Raap, Ganesh Umasankar, Evgenia Vamvakousi, Wouter Versnel.
// Exhibition
Tracing the Scars of Coal is an exhibition that explores the deep and lasting impact of coal mining across the Silesian region, from political decisions to personal stories, in the era of the European Green Deal. Unfolding in three stages—landscape morphology, spatial justice, and adapting to change—it invites visitors into a layered, intimate, and poetic reflection on a region in transition.
As European Union policies shift toward renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the very foundations of former mining areas are being reshaped. But this is not only a story of land—it is also a story of people. The move from coal to green energy raises urgent questions: Who bears the cost of change? Who is left behind?
Through historic mining settlements visits, observation of protests, photographs, maps, and personal testimonies, the exhibition examines the physical and emotional toll of this transformation, while highlighting the resilience of communities reimagining their futures.
Photographs, maps, and collected materials reveal the visible scars left on the land—polluted waters, abandoned infrastructure, and altered terrain—bearing witness to decades of extraction. At the same time, soundscapes, snapshots, and community voices offer an intimate, poetic reflection on a world in flux, one that remains both vulnerable and full of hope.
Tracing the Scars of Coal presents a layered, multi-scalar story of decline and transformation, resistance and renewal — a community reimagining its future from the ground up.
// How Communities Reinterpret Space
This project uses pattern language as an analytical method to uncover how private and public spaces in the region are used and understood. It examines the transitions between these spaces, comparing their designated purpose with their actual use. The study contrasts top down planning decisions with the ways communities adapt, modify, and reinterpret space through everyday practices.
// At the source of energy
Experience the mine.
// Poetics of a Shifting Future
The life of the miner, once upon a time living in the village before the emergence of coal as an energy source. The change in environment, how working in the mine sounded like, 12 hours of their day, kilometers away. As the energy transition changes life again, the miners are expected to return to what is constituted as regular life without the mine. The sounds are of daily life in the towns around the mines. The new normal.
// Vacation Pictures
// Exhibition Images
The trip was sponsored by:
