During the discussion following the screening of the film Chandigarh – The Power of Utopia, we will talk about what we can learn today from smaller and larger utopias and whether the creation of new ideas and projects of this nature still makes sense for us today.

We will consider whether looking at urban areas—projects designed as a whole, based on ideologically strong, often even utopian concepts—can inspire us, but also provide concrete solutions to the problems that cities face today. Looking at the Chandigarh project, both the one actually implemented by Le Corbusier and the one originally planned by Maciej Nowicki, we will also cite other examples of utopias – urban or social (in which the creation of physical space, of a specific type of architecture, was an important element) – which are still functioning and doing well. We will also look at those that were either not implemented or failed, and we will discuss what might have caused this. Art historian and architect Dorota Leśniak-Rychlak will lead a discussion with Urszula Jabłońska, writer and author of the reportage “Światy wzniesiemy nowe” (“We Will Build New Worlds”) about communities searching for a better tomorrow, Kacper Kępiński, critic and researcher of architecture, and Jerzy Łątka, an architect who believes in experimental projects.

The discussion is organized in cooperation with SARP Wrocław and the National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning.