Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | Jan-Krzysztof (Krys) Buczynski |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 21 September 1927 |
| Died: | 9 June 2012 |
| Bio Notes: | Jan-Krzysztof (Krys) Buczinski was born in Wilno, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithunia) on 21 September 1927, the son of Marian Buczinski, a doctor and landowner. His family knew they were at risk after the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. The family was arrested, his father shot and with his mother and sister he was transported to western Siberia. In 1941 following the invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany and the Soviet amnesty to the Poles, Buczinski was freed. He was then aged 15. He travelled 2,500 miles to Tashkent with a friend and joined the 120,000 Polish survivors out of the 2 million that had been transported by the Soviets. He was then sent on to Teheran and where he was reunited with his mother and sister. He was too young to be enlisted and was sent to the Polish Military School if Gaza where he spent five years studying engineering. From there he was sent to Norwich where he was stationed in a military camp. After demobilisation in 1947 he went on to study architecture at the Polish Faculty of London University and he joined the London County Council after graduation, working under Robert Matthew. About this time he also became a qualified town planner. When Matthew moved to Edinburgh and founded his practice, Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall & Partners, he invited Buczinski to join him which he did in 1960. Together with Stuart Matthew and Thomas Spaven he produced a development plan of Glasgow Royal College (later Strathclyde University) campus, which was submitted in 1962. He remained in the practice for two years before he joined Percy Johnson-Marshall (brother of Stirrat who was Robert Matthew’s partner) as planning consultant working on University projects. Buczinski then moved to Brazil to work on the planning of Brazilia and Sao Paulo before returning briefly to Edinburgh and then working for a while in Egypt. He returned again to Edinburgh in the late 1970s where he helped to establish the office of J Seymour Harris and later joined Glasgow Planning Department. His final post was with Leech Developers and after retirement he taught planning at Edinburgh College of Art. As a person he was a great optimist, always looking forward and keen to learn new things - and did not dwell on the horrors of his youth. He was deeply committed to the practise of architecture and planning and was keen to encourage talent through his teaching. Outwith his profession he was a keen skier. He died on 9 June 2012, survived by his partner Christine. |
Employment and Training
Employers
| The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | |||||
| Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | |
 | Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall (RMJM) | 1960 | 1962 | Architect | |
| London County Council Town Planning Department (LCC Town Planning' Department) | Before 1960 | |||
| Percy Johnson-Marshall & Associates | 1962 | Planner | ||
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| Glendinning, Miles | 2008 | Modern architect: the life and times of Robert Matthew | RIBA Publishing | p233,289 | |
Periodical References
| The following periodicals contain references to this : | |||||
| Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | |
| Journal of the (Royal) Town Planning Institute | August 2012 | 148 | Scottish Journal called 'The Scottish Planner' | |
| Scotsman | 10 July 2012 | |||