Pniewski, Bogdan

Born Aug. 26, 1897, in Warsaw; died there Sept. 5, 1965. Polish architect. Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences. A founder of the 20th-century school of Polish architecture.

In 1923, Pniewski graduated from the Polytechnical Institute in Warsaw. He became a teacher at the institute that same year. The structures designed by Pniewski are characterized by a blending of neoclassical and functionalist elements. Typical are a rational simplicity of form, a tendency toward monumental dimensions, and textural expressiveness. Pniewski’s principal works in Warsaw include apartment houses on Madalinski Street (1925–26), a private residence on Klonowa Street (1937), the building of the Ministry of Railroads (1946–50), the Peasant House (1957–65), and the building complex of the National Sejm (1948–52). He also designed the Patria Hotel in Krynica (1934). Pniewski was awarded the State Prize of the Polish People’s Republic in 1952.