Interior design of modernist housing estates in Łódź on the example of the estate of Montwiłła-Mirecki and the so-called Colony of Cooperatives

Abstract

When buildings designed by modernist architects are inhabited by representatives of the intelligentsia – officials, doctors, teachers – in terms of interior design, it is expected to harmonize with the character of buildings, and therefore the modernist blocks or houses need modern furniture. The topic of the apartments of “ordinary people” from the interwar period is a difficult research area, because the opportunity to learn about their furnishings is usually provided only by a few preserved photos, often in private hands. In Poland, as well as in the discussed city of Łódź, a case of continuation of residence by the generations of the same family from the pre-war period is rare. Such a situation took place in the discussed complexes: at the Montwiłła-Mirecki (1928–1933) and in the two-family houses of the Municipal Management Board Employees Cooperative (1927–1931), where - despite the period of deportation - after World War II, most (about 80%) of the pre-war residents returned to their premises. As a result, elements of the old equipment and the memory of their origin have been preserved in some interiors. The analysis of the collected photos of apartment furnishings, as well as individual pieces of furniture from these interiors preserved until today, shows that the prevailing trend was to conserve forms, sometimes referring loosely to historical styles. More modern elements of interior equipment rarely appear, and these also find their way into the “familiar” surroundings. It seems that the reason behind such situation was neither the lack of furniture with modern forms on the market, nor the lack of access to knowledge about these forms (propagated in the then professional and popular press), nor the inability to consult with specialists in the field of interior design. Undoubtedly, it was influenced by the global economic crisis that occurred during the period when the studied apartments were inhabited, but also the issue of slowly changing tastes of tenants was important.