Introduction

The text introduces Jerzy Sołtan, an influential Polish modernist architect, educator, theoretician, and artist. It positions Sołtan in the existing modern architecture scholarship, not only in relation to his membership in CIAM and Team 10 but also in relation to modern architecture in Poland and, more generally, in post-socialist Central and Eastern European countries. The publication engages with the topic of international exchanges on both sides of the iron curtain during the Cold War giving a new insight into the geopolitical reflection on modernism. Thanks to Sołtan’s continuous involvement with architectural education, first in Warsaw at the Fine Arts Academy and later at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, he was able to pass onward his vision of modernism based on Le Corbusier’s theory, which places his legacy and heritage in the ongoing scholarship on the immaterial and intangible aspects of modern architecture heritage. The text explains a mixed-methods approach used to research the topic, based on oral history interviews with Sołtan’s co-workers and students, extensive archival document analysis, and study of the existing buildings.