After gaining independence in 1962, following a bloody war with France, Algeria embarked on an intensive process of building an independent state based on the ideology of national liberation, socialism and a policy of non-alignment. The Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) took power, and Ahmed Ben Bella became the first president; he was overthrown in 1965 by Houari Boumédiène, who shaped the country’s new political and economic reality until his death in 1978.

Algeria adopted a socialist model based on strong state interventionism and the nationalisation of key sectors of the economy – particularly the oil and gas industries. Particularly after 1971, when energy resources were nationalised, the state sought to rapidly industrialise and modernise the country, seeing this as the path to genuine independence and freedom from Western influence. The political system was based on a single-party system (the FLN), and the armed forces and security services played a significant role in political life.

The authorities also promoted the so-called ‘Algerian model of development’, which involved integrating the rural economy with industry, developing technical education, and actively supporting state-run housing, healthcare and education.

From the outset, Algeria was an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement and a close ally of the Eastern Bloc countries, particularly the Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. It supported national liberation movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America, whilst maintaining strained relations with Western countries, primarily with its former colonial power, France.

Cooperation with socialist countries, including the People’s Republic of Poland, took concrete forms: technical assistance agreements, academic exchanges, export contracts and – most significantly – the employment of specialists in fields crucial to the country’s modernisation. It was precisely in this context that the widespread presence of Polish architects, town planners and engineers in Algeria was made possible.

In the 1960s and 1980s, the People’s Republic of Poland actively participated in international technical and engineering projects in countries of the Global South. Thanks to intergovernmental agreements, Polish specialists from the ‘Polservice’ Design and Research Office, as well as from urban planning institutes, design offices and technical universities, travelled to Algeria, where they designed hospitals, hotels, holiday resorts, residential estates and spatial development plans.

Many of these architects worked under long-term government contracts or for Algerian state-owned companies such as SONATIBA, SONATOUR or SONAGHTER. They received good salaries, and their work formed part of a policy of exporting services, which was of not only economic but also propaganda significance for the People’s Republic of Poland – it demonstrated the competence of socialist countries and their contribution to the development of the post-colonial world.

In Algiers, Oran, Constantine, Mostaganem, Mustaghanam and other cities, dozens of projects were completed based on designs by Polish architects – ranging from urban development plans to ministry buildings and healthcare infrastructure

Under intergovernmental agreements and contracts concluded by the Polservice Office, architects from various centres – Warsaw, Bydgoszcz and Wrocław – travelled to Algeria.

Architectural landmarks in Oran, Batna and Oum el Bouaghi

One of the most distinctive buildings designed by Polish architects in Algeria is the Convalescent Centre in the Canastel district of Oran. The architect, Tadeusz Różański, who worked in Algeria between 1968 and 1988, created a five-storey building with a reinforced concrete structure and a clearly defined courtyard. Noteworthy features include the use of local rubble stone and the spatial composition, which combines modernity with elements inspired by the surrounding environment.

Orans is also home to another impressive project – the IGCMO Institute of Marine Engineering at Mohamed Boudiaf University. It was built between 1977 and 1982 to a design by Brunon Węsierski and Grzegorz Chodkowski of the Bydgoszcz-based ‘Miastoprojekt’. The building was designed on a grand scale – the complex was to cover an area of 170,000 m², with a dome constructed using thin-shell, prestressed technology.

Among the educational projects, it is worth mentioning the Technical Secondary School in Batna (now the Lycée Bachir El Ibrahimi), designed by Mikołaj Soroka between 1969 and 1975. Built in the spirit of rational modernism and constructed using reinforced concrete, the school continues to serve the local community to this day.

A smaller but equally interesting project is the semi-detached house in Oum el Bouaghi (1983), designed by Andrzej Wochna. This building – with a floor area of 340 m² – combined local materials (perforated brick, hollow blocks) with the geometry and economy of means typical of the 1980s.

Among the Polish architects practising in Algeria, Wiesław Kempka ( 1938–2017) and Andrzej Pawlikowski ( 1926–2020) deserve special mention, whose work had a significant impact on the urban landscape of this North African country. Kempka, an architect, urban planner, sculptor and graphic artist, was associated with Algeria for over a decade, serving, amongst other roles, as head of the Ministry of National Defence’s special projects team at the government agency ‘Ecotec’ (1972–1977), and subsequently as chief designer at the state-owned company ‘Sonaghter’ (1980–1984) and as an adviser to the Office of the President of the Republic of Algeria (from 1981). During this time, he carried out numerous projects – ranging from studies on prefabrication systems in housing construction (e.g. the ‘El-Hadjar Housing Estate in Annaba’ and housing estates in the Draria and Ben-Ak-Noun districts of Algiers) through to administrative and service complexes (in Oran, Constantine and Algiers), schools and hotels, to prestigious government buildings. At the same time, he drew up programme and spatial studies for three newly planned universities in Batna, Setif and Tlenan. His work was characterised not only by technical proficiency but also by his ability to manage projects in a culturally complex environment, which he himself described as a “period of almost immediate implementation”. At the same time, Andrzej Pawlikowski was active, having designed a number of public buildings in western Algeria – including hotels in Mustaghanam and Sidi Bu-l-Abbas, a community centre in Mustaghanam and an administrative building in Bou-Hadjar. His designs, though more local in scale, demonstrate a skilful blend of modernist formal language with functionality and adaptation to local conditions. Both architects played a significant role in the presence of Polish design thought in the Maghreb, creating functional architecture that was contextually appropriate and appreciated by local partners.

In the 1970s, many Polish architects were active in Algeria, involved in urban planning projects and public buildings. In the early 1970s, the design team for the Algiers masterplan included Zbigniew Wolak ( 1926–200*) and Bogumił Płachecki ( 1914–1984), who had previously been involved, amongst other things, in spatial planning in Poland and Africa. Gabriel Rekwirowicz ( 1924–2021), who specialised in urban planning and the preservation of historic monuments, was involved in drawing up the spatial development plan for the Old Town (Kasbah) in Algiers. Also active at that time was Edmund Sokołowski ( 1922–2006), who resided in Algeria from 1970 to 1974. He specialised in healthcare architecture: he designed a 600-bed hospital and oversaw work on the extension and modernisation of the University Clinics complex in Algiers. Ryszard Semka ( 1925–2016) was also among those active during this period, designing, amongst other things, residential and administrative buildings. In Oran, meanwhile, Janusz Bachmiński ( 1928–1988) and Jan Różalski ( 1937–2020) were active, known for designs in keeping with the modernist tradition of the Polish school of architecture.

In the 1980s, the presence of Polish architects in Algeria remained strong and diverse. Józef Kopera designed , amongst other things, a housing estate in the town of Tébessa (Tabessa) at that time. Andrzej Bzdęga ( 1938–2017) served as chief designer at an architectural and construction practice in Oran from 1981 to 1994, overseeing numerous residential and public projects. Wiesław Olszowicz was employed on the conservation work involved in the reconstruction of the historic Citadel in Algiers. Among the female architects active during this period was Maria Brzęcka-Kosk ( 1930–2013), who was employed on a contract basis in Algeria from 1983 to 1986. Jacek Michalski ( 1947–2016), an architect with extensive international experience, worked at the firms BEAO and BEWO (1982–1988). Together with Janusz Mroziński and Andrzej Słabiak, he developed the design for the Châteauneuf Hotel in Oran (600 beds, 1984), which, however, was never completed. Furthermore, the following architects were on secondment in Algeria: Wojciech Michalski ( 1946–2008) from 1986 to 1988, Zygmunt Dmowski ( 1923–2004), Piotr Sembert ( 1935–2011), Barbara Wawrzyniak ( 1947–2005), and in 1985 Bruno Wendtke ( 1936–2010), Waldemar Domagała ( 1946–2007), from 1983 to 1986 Edmund Kiełtyka ( 1942–2009).

Polish architects lecturing at Algerian technical universities played an important role in the exchange of architectural knowledge. Professor Waldemar Wawrzyniak (1937–2023), an architect and urban planner, lectured in the 1980s at the Technical University of Oran (Université des Sciences et de la Technologie d’Oran – USTO). Maria Figwer-Staaruch (1939–2023) also worked at the same academic institution; an architect and lecturer who also had experience in Arab countries. Mieczysław Turski (1928–2018), who had previously been involved in research and design in Poland, was an assistant professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the USTO from 1981 to 1988. Their educational work contributed to the popularisation of the Polish approach to spatial planning and architectural modernism in the Maghreb countries. Teresa Chmura-Pełech worked at the University of Tizi Ouzou, whilst Tomasz Łakomski (1931–2018) worked in Satifa, Furthermore, between 1979 and 1984, Jan Suliga (1925–2000) and Marianna Markiewicz-Migalska were also active there.

Architecture as an export: ambition and pragmatism

Polish architects arriving in Algeria did not merely carry out technical tasks. Many of them viewed their stay as a creative opportunity, but also as an escape from the constraints of bureaucracy and the construction industry in the People’s Republic of Poland. Their work in Algeria was part of a broader phenomenon – the ‘architectural globalisation’ of the late Cold War era. At that time, architecture was becoming a global service, and countries such as Poland were exporting not only labour but also design expertise.

The architects who practised in Algeria combined engineering rigour with sensitivity to the local context. They used locally available materials, adopted economical forms and avoided monumentalism. Although their buildings were rooted in the language of modernism, they often bore the hallmarks of adaptation – open courtyards, local ornamentation, and proportions tailored to the interplay of sun and shade.

Durability and traces of memory

Many of the projects by Polish architects in Algeria are still in use today, although their creators often remain anonymous. Complete documentation is lacking, and some of the buildings have been altered over time or have lost their original details. Nevertheless, the presence of Polish specialists in Algeria is well remembered – both in educational institutions and in the urban landscape.

In Algiers, alongside the architecture, Polish monumental sculpture is also present. It was Marian Konieczny, the creator of, amongst other works, the Nike monument in Warsaw, who designed the monument to Emir Abdelkader and the Monument to the Martyrs – two of the most recognisable symbols of the Algerian capital.

Convalescent Centre in Oran (Canastel)

Location: Canastel district, Oran

Architect: Tadeusz Różański

Date of completion: c. 1985

Description: the convalescent centre is situated in the Canastel district of Oran. It is a five-storey building designed as a sanatorium and health resort. The central section, with a plan approximating a square and featuring an open courtyard, is flanked by elongated wings to the north-west and south-east. The structure is of reinforced concrete. The building’s finish, as well as the landscaping of the surrounding area, makes extensive use of local rubble stone. It was designed by the Polish architect Tadeusz Różański. Working in Algiers between 1968 and 1988, Różański designed public buildings such as schools, monuments and offices. He worked both in Oran and in other Algerian cities: Mostaganem, Hammam Bouhadjar and Sidi Bel Abbes. Completed around 1985

IGCMO Institute of Marine Engineering in Oran

Location: Mohamed Boudiaf University of Technology, Oran

Architects: Brunon Węsierski, Grzegorz Chodkowski

Design organisation: Miastoprojekt Bydgoszcz General Construction Design and Research Office

Design period: 1977–1979

Construction: 1979–1982

Description: a reinforced concrete frame structure, filled with prefabricated reinforced concrete elements and small-dimension components. The dome was to be constructed using thin-walled, prestressed sphere technology. The planned complex was to cover an area of 170,000 m².

Technical secondary school in Batna (Lyceé Bachir El Ibrahimi)

Location: Batna

Architect: Mikołaj Soroka

Years of construction: 1969–1975

Description: reinforced concrete buildings, on a roughly rectangular plan, plastered, 1969–1975.

Semi-detached house in Umm al-Bawaki (Oum el Bouaghi)

Location: Oum el Bouaghi

Architect: Andrzej Wochnia

Year of construction: 1983

Description: the building has a reinforced concrete frame, with walls of perforated brick and hollow blocks; usable floor area 340 m², gross floor area 1,264 m², 1983.