“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it," said Andy Rooney. Members of the SKN 9th Floor already inhabit the summit, but this does not stop them from overcoming further difficulties and crossing the comfort zone. Alicja Szczerbińska, the president of the architectural student research group, talks about how not to be afraid of any heights.
SKN 9th FLOOR is over 25 years old. How did it start?
The "founding fathers" are considered: Mariusz Wojtczak ("Manieque"), Marcin Andrzejewski ("Glush"), Jarosław Domagała ("Yaro") and Tomasz Skorupa ("Scorpio"). It all started with a trip to Ukraine in May 1995 after an open lecture on the folk architecture of the Eastern Carpathian region - Hutsulshchyna. Our supervisor claims that he has documents indicating that activities were already conducted under the banner of the research group in 1992-1993.
And why "9th Floor"?
The Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning building has eight floors, although behind the high attic wall crowning there is still a technical floor in two parts, where the group got a room for its headquarters. The ninth floor is the real, though hidden, last floor of our Institute, but our name can be read not only literally, but also metaphorically - since the institute officially has eight floors, we will reach above them. We want to exceed our capabilities and limitations, overcome weaknesses, go beyond the comfort zone.
What actions taken by you have been the most fruitful so far?
The most spectacular venture we are associated with are the "Scientific Expeditions of TUL Architecture Students to the Eastern Carpathians - Hutsulshchyna". During them, while learning the inventory measurement of historic wooden architecture, we get to know the folk culture of the Carpathian highlanders Hutsuls and the population living in Pokuttya.
Our cyclical event is also the "National Scientific Seminar of Architecture Students Łódź U Like - See. Touch. Experience. Live. Tell", the guiding idea of which are architectural trips understood both literally and metaphorically. This very broad and capacious formula allows participants to share their perception of architecture.
I learned about the research group thanks to the design workshops for high school students entitled "ABC of Architecture", which were organized as part of the Festival of Science, Technology and Art until the pandemic. They consist of four thematic blocks: Space, Form, Function, Construction. They last all day, show participants what the designer's work is about, and also sensitize to space problems, beauty, logic related to the ergonomics of building objects functioning and teach to understand the work of building structures.
How can you join the SKN 9th Floor?
You can sign up at any time via Facebook (contact preferably via Messenger) or e-mail. We have not only architecture students in our ranks, but also spatial planning. People from environmental engineering are also considering getting involved in the group's work. We invite everyone. Most meetings are when we are implementing a project. Smaller teams of several people are usually responsible for organizing individual initiatives, and the remaining members join in to help with their implementation as much as possible. The number of members varies, usually does not exceed 30 people, but the most active are usually a dozen or so.
What did your activities look like during the pandemic?
The pandemic did not cause a decrease in our activity, it caused a search for its new forms. Over the past year and a half, we have organized the 12th edition of the "National Seminar of Architecture Students Łódź U Like 2021" with live transmission on the Internet and published two post-conference monographs (Łódź U Like 2019 and 2021).
We have created and are implementing a new DeeplomArch project (so far only remotely), which consists of public presentations of interesting diploma works. Willing authors can talk about them, comment on the backstage of their creation, answer questions from younger colleagues. The "live" transmission is listened to by several dozen people, and another tens watch them later on the Internet. Therefore, we have set up a YouTube channel where the three previous editions of DeeplomArch and a complete set of conference speeches from Łódź U Like 2021 have been found.
At the beginning of December, we started the ArchitekTrip project. These are study visits to the backstage of important and well-known buildings. We want to get to know them "from the kitchen". We started with the Bay of Sport - it was a fascinating visit led by the object's technologists and enthusiasts of their work. The interest in the event exceeded our wildest expectations, and the next outings are already being prepared.
What is a student research group for you?
For many years I have been a scout and I love mountains, so belonging to a club that organizes mountain expeditions both to learn inventory and to see architecture was a hit. Combining obligations resulting from activities in the group with studying is going quite well for me, especially since in 9th Floor we divide various tasks among ourselves and support each other in their implementation. 9th Floor offers many opportunities to exchange experiences in the field of architectural work undertaken, and above all allows you to get to know architecture better. We learn how to manage projects (also financial ones), raise funds from external sources, acquire the ability to convince potential sponsors to support the group's initiatives, develop a sense of responsibility for the common good. We learn tolerance and teamwork. Thanks to the group, we can get to know architecture through direct contact with it (e.g. during inventory measurements or thematic trips). In SKN 9th Floor we develop creativity, we improve artistic skills, we learn the composition of publications, we meet new people.
Can activity in a student research group facilitate entry into the labor market?
Portfolios, which included inventory documentation of wooden churches from Hutsulshchyna and churches from the Łódź voivodeship, facilitated the members of the group to find work or professional internships also abroad - we can talk about famous architectural studios such as Zaha Hadid Achitects in London or Ateliers Jean Nouvel in Paris.
Before the pandemic, a job advertisement in an architectural office appeared in the lobby of the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, stating that candidates who participated in the Hutsul expeditions are welcome. It happened that a participant of one of the expeditions during conservation workshops in Italy began to train colleagues from all over Europe in the principles of conducting inventory measurements of historic architecture, because it turned out that they never had anything to do with it in their schools.
Activity in the 9th Floor research group contributes to career development. Very often the most active and ambitious people work there, and this is where they find a good place for self-realization.
Interviewed by Paulina Krygier
Photos: archive of the group run under the supervision of Dr. Witkowski