Genesis and methods of building a thematic identity of a green public space of the music district in Bydgoszcz

Urban, historic public spaces with greenery, through their relationship with architectural surroundings, contribute to the urban structure of a city. They are often one of the most important elements shaping its identity. The coexistence of greenery with downtown buildings, by integrating it into the urban layout, creates not only the desired aesthetic and functional effects, but also contributes to establishing new relationships and social conditions, and is a city-forming factor. City parks are places that symbolize this symbiosis of nature and culture in a city. As green public spaces, they create conditions for leisure, and at the same time are a place of searching for attractive thematic solutions in open space. An example of an area developed in this way is Jan Kochanowski Park and its immediate surroundings, called the Music District in Bydgoszcz. The park was established at the beginning of the 20th century in the area of a newly built housing quarter, created in accordance with the concept of a garden city, popular and implemented at that time. Originally, its free landscape composition was to complete the city’s green system, and the residential buildings closing this space created a clear, valuable public space. In the post-war years, this concept was enriched with new architectural realizations. Grand cultural buildings, a building of the Pomeranian Philharmonic and the State Music School Complex were erected around this area. Historic buildings were converted into the Academy of Music and a student dormitory. The park has become a green public space that bound these buildings together. Its area, completed with a gallery of sculptures commemorating famous musicians, thematic installations and events successively created over the years, has become an attractive public space with a distinctive character, clearly referring to the musical tradition of this part of the city. The aim of the article is to show how conscious, consistent actions and the search for innovative solutions, undertaken in the space of Jan Kochanowski Park by, among others, Andrzej Szwalbe, the director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic and its followers, as well as the revitalization carried out in 2014, led to a development of this expressive, filled with music, distinctive part of Bydgoszcz. The Music District, much liked by citizens, determines the prestige of this part of the city, but also serves as a showpiece and distinguishes the entire city. The method of work is based on the analysis of iconographic and cartographic materials, literature analysis and in situ research. On the basis of the collected material, the main conclusions indicate that through the conscious use of urban details and elements of small architecture in the historic, green open space of the city, a complete, satisfactory effect of the ideational assumptions was achieved. The researched area, formally and functionally coherent green space in Bydgoszcz, in relation to the existing architectural layout, is an example of how, on the basis of the existing spatial and historical conditions, a culturally important, characteristic district of the city was created.