In the heart of the so-called Spa Quarter in Kołobrzeg, at 9 Rafińskiego Street, there is the building of the Natural Treatment Facility No. 1 in Kołobrzeg, which houses the Mewa V sanatorium. Apart from its spa function, the building conceals an exceptional treasure of Polish modernist art – a monumental ceramic mosaic, which decorates the portico of the main entrance.
The sanatorium, designed by architects Tadeusz Ćwierdziński and Zofia Eldring, was put into use in 1968. Although the body of the building is an example of functional modernist architecture, the mosaic by Irena Zahorska and Olgierd Szerlag gives it a unique character that goes beyond purely utilitarian aesthetics.
An arched ceramic composition decorates the portico on the side of Rafińskiego Street. It extends to a height of two storeys, and its dynamic arrangement of colours and shapes alludes to the modernist fascination with abstraction and monumentality. A smaller mosaic, also designed by Zahorska and Szerląg, is located on the wall of the building on the side of Zdrojowa Street.
The Mewa V mosaic is an example of a trend characteristic of Polish architecture and applied art in the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, ceramics became an important decorative element in public spaces. Its function was not only to complement architecture, but also to give buildings an artistic dimension.
The creators of the mosaic, Irena Zahorska and Olgierd Szerląg, were among the artists who combined the precision of the ceramic workshop with a modern approach to art. Their composition in Seagull V is in the tradition of an experimental approach to form, colour and texture. The mosaic, with its scale and dynamism, provides the perfect counterpoint to the austere mass of the building. The colours and shapes of the composition evoke associations with movement and natural elements, which fits perfectly with the spa character of Kolobrzeg.
The portico of the Mewa V sanatorium, together with its artistic composition, has been included in the provincial register of historical monuments, which confirms its exceptional cultural and artistic significance. Mosaics of this type are proof of the important role art played in the public buildings of the communist era. They were not only a decorative element, but also a carrier of aesthetic values that aimed to humanise urban space. Today, it is worth appreciating examples of the harmonious combination of art and architecture that Mewa V presents. It is a place that not only heals the body, but also feeds the senses and the imagination.
Source: zabytki.kolobrzeg.eu, uzdrowisko.kolobrzeg.pl
Read also: PRL architecture | Mosaic | Detail | Art | whiteMAD on Instagram
