The Mayor of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska, met with Daniel Libeskind in Milan. It is another step towards achieving the goal of implementing the vision of the famous architect in the area of the New Centre of Łódź. On 29 July she showed, together with the president of the EC1 Łódź Foundation, Andrzej Walczak, initial, revolutionary visualisations prepared for the New Centre of Łódź by the American architect.

– We need to create a zone of energy, a magnetic field that will completely change the face of Łódź, to emphasise that it isn’t any more a 19th-century city. This place will be alive 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With the right strategy we will convince people that it is worth investing here. We will convince people globally, not only local politicians. There really is money in the world. We just need something spectacular to invest in. Nobody is going to invest money in a boring 19th-century textile city – says Libeskind. – Łódź will become the promised land again – believes the Mayor.

Łódź prepares for a real revolution, which will be the construction, from scratch, of a modern district around the station of Łódź Fabryczna and the hundred-year-old EC1 heat and power plant. The creation of a new image of the city is supported by one of the most outstanding sons of Łódź and, at the same time, one of the most famous architects in the world – Daniel Libeskind. The American designer was born in Łódź in 1946. He left Poland in 1957, first for Israel, and in 1959 he settled in New York. Today he is the leading representative of deconstructivism and one of the stars of the world of architecture. His most important projects include: Jewish Museum in Berlin, Jewish Museum in San Francisco and Imperial War Museum North (Manchester). He is also the author of the winning design for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center grounds in New York. The only building designed so far by Daniel Libeskind in Poland, the apartment building of Złota 44, is being erected in Warsaw. Daniel Libeskind is also a lecturer and professor at different schools of architecture around the world and a laureate of numerous awards, including three awards of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Venice Biennale Stone Lion Award in 1985. The U.S. Department of State appointed him as the Cultural Ambassador for Architecture. He is also an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in London and the first architect to have been awarded the Hiroshima Art Prize, which is granted to artists whose works promote the world peace.

Daniel Libeskind is considered one of the most revolutionary architects. Is Łódź also in for a revolution thanks to his participation in the project? It is highly probable. In this way it seems real that Łódź will again be known as one of the most attractive metropolises in the world.

For nearly a year, that is since his visit to his home city in August 2010, the designer has been working on the concept for the central part of the New Centre of Łódź, encompassing Kobro Market Square, Special Cultural Zone and City Gate. At the beginning of this year Łódź was visited by Carla Swickerath, head of Daniel Libeskind’s studio. She met with the architect of the city and city clerks responsible for spatial development, who prepared guidelines for the architect.

During the March fair in Cannes the entire Europe could learn about Daniel Libeskind’s support for the project of the New Centre of Łódź. The architect prepared a special promotional stand for Łódź. And on 28 July the Mayor of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska, met with Libeskind in Milan. She was accompanied by the president of the EC1 Łódź Foundation, Andrzej Walczak, and the city plenipotentiary for the New Centre of Łódź, Błażej Moder. On 29 July during the celebration to commemorate the 588th anniversary of the establishment of the city of Łódź, which was held at Wolności Square, the Mayor revealed the details of the discussions with the architect. We also got to know the outline of the architectural concept created by Libeskind.

The architect’s work on the concept was financed in full by the EC1 Łódź Foundation. Andrzej Walczak presented the first, initial visualisations. – We have been talking about the New Centre of Łódź already for five years. Daniel Libeskind, like Rob Krier earlier, legitimises our city. During the meeting with him we spoke mainly about money – about how to create an undertaking which would be attractive in terms of finance and investment, and which would earn a profit for Łódź. This idea is focused on young people, on hope, on success, and on money – said president Walczak. Mayor Hanna Zdanowska shares his enthusiasm. – Łódź will gain new value, it will become the promised land again.

The architect promises to visit his home city again in September to present further details and to take part in the official closing of the station of Łódź Fabryczna, which will be renovated to form the beginning of the New Centre of Łódź.