open-air exhibition with CENTRALA, Zachęta – National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, 18.07–13.10.2024

One response to the overheating of cities is creating microclimates — local zones to catch your breath. Water gardening can be of assistance here. This subject is being tackled by an outdoor exhibition created at Plac Małachowskiego by the CENTRALA design group.

In 2018 the CENTRALA reconstructed a ‘water vase’ in front of the Zachęta building — a basin with water plants. The concrete planters that once appeared in the Warsaw space were used for water holes — they created a network of ponds to irrigate and aerate the city. This flower bed concept was designed together with staff from the University of Warsaw Botanic Gardens, and then replicated elsewhere in Warsaw and in Gdańsk and Kielce, making a large-scale comeback for urban water gardening.

Water is a component of a microclimate. It affects the local temperature and air moisture. It creates environments for plants and animals and increases biodiversity. Its circulation causes most of our atmospheric phenomena. A small planter full of water joins the circulation on a planetary scale. 

Three planters in front of the Zachęta building that have been there for six years and two new ones create a microclimate niche in Plac Małachowskiego. This is a green-blue enclave for the human and non-human inhabitants of the city, and a microclimate observatory — a space for mutual observation and experiencing weather events resulting from the circulation of water in the atmosphere.

concept and design: CENTRALA (Małgorzata Kuciewicz, Simone De Iacobis)
curator: Aleksandra Kędziorek
graphic design: Zofka Kofta
producer: Michał Kubiak 
installation: Artmontage (Alena Trafimava, Aleksander Trafimau)
exhibition communication: Zofia Koźniewska, Milena Liebe, Alicja Malicka, Aleksandra Sienkiewicz, Alicja Sznajder
accompanying programme: Aleksandra Kędziorek, CENTRALA, Jędrzej Zakrzewski

cover photo: Kuba Celej / Zachęta – National Gallery of Art