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Pniewski, Bohdan
(b 26 Aug 1897; d Warsaw, 5 Sept 1965). Polish architect and teacher. Between 1917 and 1923 he studied at the Warsaw Technical University, starting up as an independent architect in 1925. Initially, his designs were Functionalist in character, for example the Polish Embassy (after 1928), Sofia, or the Herse Exhibition Hall (1929), Poznan. He also produced prize-winning designs (1927, 1931) for the church of Divine Providence, Warsaw. Between 1935 and 1939 he designed the monumental building of the High Court, Warsaw, demonstrating his skill in the use of limestone on the façades and interiors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs complex (1933–6), Warsaw, a villa (from 1935) at 5, Klonowa Street, Warsaw, the Patria residential building (1932–4), Krynica, and the Polish Pavilion at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (Paris, 1937; with Stanislaw Brukalski) share similar features characteristic of his style: slender columns and rich materials, including marble, brass and glass. After 1945 he used a more classical approach, as seen in the Ministry of Transport Building (1947–50) and Polish Parliament Building (1948–51), both in Warsaw. For the restoration (1951–65) of the Grand Theatre (1825–33; by Antonio Corazzi), Warsaw, he designed a new wing extending towards Pitsudski Square, with a façade based on the garden front of the Palais de Versailles and its Neo-classical porticos. Pniewski rarely designed large urban complexes, preferring to work on single buildings and their context, and was concerned with solid workmanship and professionalism. In 1946 he became a professor at the Technical University, Warsaw.
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