Interview
Krzysztof Pawlowski
World Heritage Convention
Krzysztof Pawlowski is an architect and urban planner specializing in issues related to the history of urbanism and the revitalization of historic urban complexes. Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw Polytechnic, he obtained his doctorate in 1965.
From 1974 to 1982, he was Assistant General Curator of Historical Monuments in Poland. He then moved to France to teach. He has published several books on urban planning in France, such as Circulades languedociennes de l'an mille: naissance de l'urbanisme européen (Montpellier: Presses du Languedoc, 1992) and Tony Garnier. Les débuts de l'urbanisme fonctionnel en France (Paris: Center de recherche d'urbanisme, 1967). In 2000, he became director of the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Lódz Technical University. In addition, since 2001 he has been on the architecture and urban planning committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He also continues to teach at the Lublin University of Technology. Often decorated, Krzysztof Pawlowski received an honorary doctorate from the Polytechnic University of Lviv (2009), has been appointed Knight and Officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters (2011) and was awarded the Medal of Merit for Polish culture, Gloria Artis (2015) and the Vitruvius Prize of the Polish Academy of Sciences (2018).
In addition to his many academic achievements, Krzysztof Pawlowski has contributed greatly to the conservation of cultural heritage in Poland and abroad. In this regard, he has carried out several missions for UNESCO in Europe, Africa and Asia. He has twice been President of ICOMOS Poland (1981-1984 and 1993-2002) and has also been Vice President of ICOMOS International. He attended the first sessions of the World Heritage Committee, first as Vice-President of the Committee (1977) and then as Rapporteur (1978).
Interview with
Krzysztof Pawlowski
8 May 2018, Warsaw, Poland
The following audio excerpts come from an interview with Krzysztof Pawlowski by Christina Cameron the 8 May 2018 in Warsaw. The interviewee recounts his involvement in the beginnings of the World Heritage Convention, notably his efforts to include the first Polish sites on the World Heritage List, including the difficult nomination of Auschwitz-Birkenau. He also stressed the importance of putting more effort into the conservation and proper management of properties: for him, inscribing a World Heritage site is as much responsibility as an honour.
- 1. The World Heritage Convention
- 1a. Involvement of Krzysztof Pawlowski in World Heritage
- 1b. Key objectives of the Convention
- 1c. Successes and failures of the Convention
- 2. The World Heritage Committee
- 3. The advisory bodies : ICOMOS and IUCN
Oral Archives of the
World Heritage Convention
Under the leadership of the Canada Research Chair on Built Heritage at the University of Montreal, an international team of researchers conducts interviews with pioneers of World Heritage to capture memories of important moments in the history of UNESCO Convention.
Launched in 2006, this initiative is part of the UNESCO History project that celebrated the 60th anniversary of the creation of UNESCO. The Oral Archives project records the precious witness of people closely associated with the creation and implementation of the Convention. Their recollections and views have greatly enriched the book by Christina Cameron and Mechtild Rössler, Many Voices, One Vision: The Early Years of the World Heritage Convention (Ashgate/Routledge, 2013).
