We published information about the inclusion of the ZETO building in the register of historic buildings at the end of March 2022. The owner has challenged this decision and taken it to court. Formally, the owner of the Zakład Elektronicznej Techniki Obliczeniowej (ZETO) building is a company in liquidation with the same name. The company is trying to sell the building, but cannot find a buyer. As a result, a few days ago it submitted a demolition request to the city hall
The documents are being analysed by the Department of Architecture and Monuments, but my intention is not to issue such a permit. ZETO must stay,” writes Jacek Sutryk on Facebook
The building is entered in the municipal register of monuments. The building’s protection is strengthened by the decision of the provincial conservation officer, who entered the building in the national register of monuments. The decision on the entry was supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the National Heritage Institute and the Provincial Council for the Protection of Monuments
The company owning the building challenged the decision of the Minister of Culture, who supported the entry in the register of monuments, to the Voivodship Administrative Court in Warsaw. In March 2023, the court ruled in favour of the company, overturning the decision of the minister and the conservator. In the justification issued, the court does not question the legitimacy of placing the building under protection, but states that the expert analysis was not sufficient. In addition, the court states that the conservator and the minister issued decisions in violation of the regulations
Will the building be demolished?
As long as the listing procedure is ongoing, the building is safe. The owner cannot carry out actions that would aim to fundamentally change its appearance,” says Daniel Gibski, the Lower Silesian conservator of monuments
The verdict of the administrative court is not final. The Minister of Culture has filed a complaint against it with the Supreme Administrative Court
In the 1970s, it was one of the most modern buildings in Poland. The rooms for computers were air-conditioned. A system of sliding floors and suspended ceilings was built for this purpose. Inside, many of the walls could easily be dismantled, arranging the space anew. In this way, the architects wanted to adapt the building to rapid change – in the future, computers might need different spaces than they did in the 1970s. Józef Chierowski, whose armchairs became part of the décor, collaborated with the architects on the interior design
Officially, the construction of ZETO was completed in 1969. In 1970 the architects’ couple won the Wrocław Prize for Architecture, and in 1971 the ZETO building won the plebiscite of “Słowo Polskie” for the best public building
source: Lower Silesian Voivodship Conservator of Monuments, Wroclaw Office – wroclaw.pl
Read also: Monument | Wrocław | Modernism | Architecture of the People’s Republic of Poland | whiteMAD on Instagram
