AGATA SZMITKOWSKA

Zdzisław Mączeński was an important figure in Polish architecture in the first half of the 20^th century. He was also an academic teacher at the Warsaw Faculty of Architecture, its twice elected dean and a prorector of the University, closely involved with this institution. The research was mostly based upon the superb collection of his projects being in his family’s possession until this day, which is a unique situation considering the massive destruction caused by the Second World War. The architect’s family archive was fundamental to creating a picture of the architect’s work and to revealing his architectural syntax. The analysis of the architect’s creations against the architectural backdrop of the time made it possible to show Mączeński’s professional achievements in the context of the then tendencies in architecture and important historical events. Furthermore, Mączeński’s achievements in the scientific and didactic fields were considered. The research on the profile of Zdzisław Mączeński made a meaningful contribution to the body of knowledge on the situation of Polish architecture in the first part of the 20^th century. It has been proved that Zdzisław Mączeński is one of the most remarkable Polish representatives of Monumental Classicizing Modernism - an important non avant-gardist trend of the 20^th century modernism. Besides, at the beginning of his professional career he was one of the architects actively engaged in creating the vernacular “style” in Polish architecture.

Key words: Zdzisław Mączeński, Warsaw, the 20^th century architecture, “homely” trend in the Polish architecture, classicizing modernism