Humanist modernity: Maciej and Stanisława Nowicki is on view at the Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place in New York, from October 1, 2026, through March 27, 2027. Presented with Poland’s National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning and curated by Kacper Kępiński, it is the first exhibition to present Stanisława Sandecka-Nowicka and Maciej (Matthew) Nowicki as equal partners in a shared practice.
Exhibition details at a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Venue | Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, New York |
| New York run | October 1, 2026–March 27, 2027 |
| Presented with | Poland’s National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning |
| Curator | Kacper Kępiński |
| Focus | Architecture, structure, graphics, teaching and the Nowickis’ human-centered modernism |
What “humanist modernity” means
The exhibition takes its title from a concept Maciej and Stanisława Nowicki developed in the 1940s. Their argument was that modernism should begin with people: who will use a building, how daily activities shape space, and how architecture connects occupants with landscape and climate. In a 1945 article for the Warsaw journal Skarpa, Maciej wrote that “linking architecture to the human being for whom it is designed may be understood as the humanism of our art.”
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That position challenges a version of modernism judged mainly by formal novelty. The show instead places use, surroundings and lived experience alongside drawing, construction and structural invention. Its comparisons are especially relevant to designers weighing human-centered planning against abstract form, and local climate and landscape against universal solutions.
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The installation combines original and facsimile archival material with newly produced work. Rather than presenting only completed buildings, it follows ideas from first sketch to built or unbuilt proposal.
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- Architectural drawings and sketches.
- Facsimile plans, perspectives and concept sketches.
- Vintage and reproduction photographs of built and unbuilt projects, together with portraits.
- Architectural models.
- Posters and graphic work signed by both Nowickis.
- Contemporary commissioned and loaned responses.
- Exhibition text and printed matter.
This range makes the collaboration visible across architecture, structure, graphic communication and teaching. It also allows visitors to compare what a drawing proposes with what a building ultimately requires.
Two architects, one shared practice
Maciej (Matthew) Nowicki
Maciej Nowicki was a Polish-American architect who collaborated with major architects and worked on projects including the planned Chandigarh scheme with Albert Mayer. His career ended when he was 40: his plane crashed while he was returning from a job site in India. The exhibition treats his structural and architectural work as part of a wider practice rather than as an isolated story of technical achievement.
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Stanisława Sandecka-Nowicka
Stanisława was an architect, graphic artist and educator. In 1963, she became the first woman in the United States appointed a full professor of architecture, at the University of Pennsylvania. She retired as professor emeritus in 1977 and received the American Institute of Architects medal in 1978. Her graphics, pedagogy and curatorial influence are shown alongside Maciej’s projects, correcting a common imbalance in accounts of their partnership.
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Chandigarh and the question of context
The planned Chandigarh work provides a major lens for the exhibition’s human-centered argument. Chandigarh links structural and architectural thinking to ecology, everyday life and the conditions of a specific place. The display’s emphasis on climate and landscape invites comparison with universal modernist assumptions: a plan can be formally consistent yet still need to respond to how people move, gather, work and live in its environment.
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A public program titled Nowicki’s Unbuilt Chandigarh: An Ecology of Everyday Life examined that issue with Kępiński, Karolina Częczek, Evangelos Kotsioris and Catherine Seavitt. The event was scheduled for October 6, 2026, during the New York presentation.
New York programs and dates
| Date | Program | Details |
|---|---|---|
| October 1, 2026 | Fall Exhibitions Opening Night | 6–8 p.m. at the Center for Architecture; free, with remarks and refreshments |
| October 6, 2026 | Nowicki’s Unbuilt Chandigarh: An Ecology of Everyday Life | Public talk with Kacper Kępiński, Karolina Częczek, Evangelos Kotsioris and Catherine Seavitt |
| October 9, 2026 | Curator-led exhibition tour | Led by Kacper Kępiński |
Because the current date is after these October events, visitors should confirm any additional programming directly with the Center for Architecture before making a special trip. The exhibition itself remains scheduled through March 27, 2027.
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From international tour to New York
The New York presentation follows a multi-city tour:
- United Nations Headquarters, New York — January 2024.
- James B. Hunt Jr. Library, Raleigh — September 2024.
- ZODIAK Architecture Pavilion, Warsaw — April to July 2025.
- Museum of Architecture in Wrocław — 2026.
- Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh — May to July 2026.
- Center for Architecture, New York — October 1, 2026, to March 27, 2027.
Why the exhibition matters to today’s building professionals
For architects, engineers, educators and contractors, the show’s value is not limited to historical biography. It places structure, graphics, planning and occupation in one conversation. The Nowickis’ work encourages practical questions: what activities does a plan support, how does a building meet its surrounding climate and landscape, and how can representation communicate those decisions to the people who will build and use the result?
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The exhibition does not supply a single quantitative performance metric for this approach. Its evidence is visual, archival and historical: drawings, models, photographs, written ideas and the record of built and unbuilt work. That makes it useful as a framework for examining design decisions, not as a measured efficiency claim.
A fuller account of modernism
By presenting Stanisława and Maciej as equal partners, Humanist modernity expands the usual account of postwar modernism. It connects Polish and American architectural culture with teaching and projects across Europe, the United States and India, while showing how a practice can include design, structure, graphic work and education. Visitors leave with a definition of modernity grounded less in appearance than in responsibility to people and place.
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