PIOTR MARCINIAK

Apart from playing its standard commercial role, the Poznań International Fair was, for many years, the arena of a specific propaganda 'war' between Eastern and Western Europe, whilst the architecture of the fair premises gained in significance. These provided the necessary exhibition space in addition to presenting Polish achievements in the architectural developments of the times. The undoubtedly high quality of many of the designs implemented at the Fair did not achieve such status as the pavilions built for the General National Exhibition in 1929. Nevertheless, many of the new facilities manifested an extremely high level of architectural and structural solutions. Despite the fact that the basic profile of the Fair's operations did not include the presentation of new construction engineering and technology, the Poznań International Fair premises featured important buildings that comprised examples of the contemporary developments and innovative design trends. The paper presents the most interesting buildings, including the pavilion of the Ministry of Communication and the symbol of the post-war Fair, the 'spire' of pavilion no. 11 designed by Bolesław Szmidt, the strand-type structures of hall no. 17 designed by Antoni Mizera and Władysław Lemański, as well as Józef Jędrzejczak's experimental pavilion no. 15, the formal quests in Henryk Jarosz's architecture of the Fair Centre and the latest projects of Piotr Barełkowski and Przemysław Borkowicz.