The article is a contribution to the discussion on Polish postmodernism viewed against the background of changes in world architecture as well as the political transformations taking place in Poland. Postmodernism is regarded as a trend enriching architecture with elements of freedom, fun, joke – in other words, with the joy of designing as well as those of the use and visual perception – all absent in the modernist dogma. A brief history of the trend has been included along with the selection of literature and the outline of the early Polish postmodernism. Some selected examples of Polish postmodern accomplishments before and after 1989 have been evaluated. The article ends with some thoughts about the essence of postmodernism as expression of joy.

The article is a contribution to the discussion on Polish postmodernism viewed against the background of changes in world architecture as well as the political transformations taking place in Poland. Postmodernism is regarded as a trend enriching architecture with elements of freedom, fun, joke – in other words, with the joy of designing as well as those of the use and visual perception – all absent in the modernist dogma. A brief history of the trend has been included along with the selection of literature and the outline of the early Polish postmodernism. Some selected examples of Polish postmodern accomplishments before and after 1989 have been evaluated. The article ends with some thoughts about the essence of postmodernism as expression of joy.