Władysław Grochowski: Modern business is at a turning point and is looking for meaning

Are we able to take care of monuments in Poland?

Of course, we could take much more and much better care, because sometimes a monument after revitalization can be more damaged than before it. There are many examples of false care for an object. I would compare such revitalization to plastic surgery. The monument must be authentic, it should not be a mask or a copy.

Does time matter?

Yes, and it plays a key role. Buildings are like people, time affects them and us, and that's beautiful. Grandmas are often beautiful because their faces show their whole lives. It's similar with a monument. It doesn't need plastic surgery. Even difficult moments in history - fires, wars, disasters - have value and we try not to hide them. All of this is a record of time. It's alive. Thanks to this, a given monument can evoke emotions in a person.

In the book "Steve Jobs" Walter Isaacson writes about madmen: "These are the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world... and they are the ones who do." Do you feel like a madman on the Polish business, hotel, and architecture scene?

I don't hide the fact that what we do in ARCHE is difficult, because the law is difficult, overregulated, there are various interest groups, there are conservators, regulations, a lot of fear, but it's good that there are still some lunatics. And yes, I believe that lunatics change the world. (laughter)

We published two open letters in "Rzeczpospolita", and since third time's the charm, on June 13, 2025 we started collecting signatures in Łódź. We have three months. Even if the bill does not pass, I can already see a huge response. From local governments, architects, conservators, so social awareness is growing. Poles are slowly realizing that heritage is our duty to those who came before us and those who will come after us.

You have often talked about how the revitalization of a building that you undertook changed not only the building itself, but also its entire surroundings, sometimes entire villages, towns and cities. Isn't that exactly how architecture should affect people - to change them and their lives in a positive way?

I see it. Communities identify with a given place and change. They have memories of these places – palaces, manor houses, sugar factories. Their families worked there. For many years – just like old forgotten buildings, they felt abandoned. Looking at a building that is given new life, they also receive new strength, they gain spirit, they have hope, they feel that someone has noticed and appreciated them. It often happens that after successful revitalization of a small town, people stop leaving, even though they used to leave.

Do you believe in ghosts?

I believe in the spirit of a given place, there is a world that we cannot fully know, but I believe that it exists. It has happened more than once that in a building there was such energy, such reality, sometimes it is good and sometimes it is bad.

"It's usually love at first sight"

Do you sometimes wonder what today's ARCHE revitalizations will look like in another 100 years?

I don't think that far ahead. I live for today, and we operate very minimalistically. We don't transform historical monuments. Often our projects look as if they were unfinished, but that's intentional. Today we do so much, tomorrow we might add something else. We believe in living architecture. Some may call it chaos, but it's definitely more interesting than order.

I wonder if you choose subsequent objects for your portfolio like a doctor in the ER - the sickest one goes first?

Oh no, emotions count here. It's usually love at first sight. We use the rule of three C's - see, fall in love, decide. Otherwise it would be boring. Hard calculation doesn't work.

It looks like it's a lot of fun, and you're spreading it to your family and your company. (laughter)

It's very natural. Sometimes I ask in the morning, jokingly: "Does anyone have to go to work today?" Most people answer: "They don't have to, they want to."

"Business is starting to talk about emotions"

So ARCHE is a business that, although it earns millions, is not ashamed of its emotions.

There's something to it. I have the impression that emotions are talked about a lot in business today. Even men – until now tough professionals – are starting to talk about it out loud. This is something new, because previously they were very ashamed of it, and yet emotions are such a human thing. They are a part of us and that's a good thing.

Since the choice of a place for revitalization depends on the state of being in love, do you perhaps have your own “favorite love”?

If you ask a mother which child she loves the most, what will she say? Each building is different – ​​a different place, a different idea, and a different community around it.

What do you think about Polish investors who, instead of revitalizing buildings in Poland, buy properties in Spain or Greece?

We will not forbid anyone to buy in Spain, I wish investors well, but here in Poland it is so beautiful! Besides, you can invest both here and there. Besides, investors who buy premises from us know that they are participating in something useful, important and good. It may seem strange, but in investing it is not always, or rather rarely, only about money, it does not give much satisfaction in itself.

So, what is investing all about?

For me, it is important to change the world for the better, to contribute my bit. We put our lives into abandoned buildings, but that is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that thanks to these revitalizations, the entire community around us is renewed. People discover themselves anew, discover their hidden talents, for the first time in their lives they get a chance. The homeless, people with disabilities, former prisoners work for us.

We are such a good example of social design, but also social investment. We show that it is possible.

Why are you doing this?

This gives me satisfaction and meaning. You know, I have received more in life, although I also started from scratch, I know poverty, I know various difficult situations. Maybe that is why I can understand those who have received less in life. My duty today is to help them.

I look at contemporary business and I have the feeling that it is at a turning point, and the whole world is at a turning point. Business is asking more and more questions about meaning. I think that giving of yourself, creating places that change people's lives for the better, that is real good investing.

Władysław Grochowski is collecting signatures for a petition to the government

On June 13, 2025, during the 3rd edition of the Revitalization Forum in Łódź , the president and founder of the Arche hotel and development group, Władysław Grochowski, officially launched a campaign to collect signatures for an online petition aimed at supporting actions aimed at legislative changes aimed at saving historical monuments. A short film with his appeal was also presented and is available on social media.

Each of the monuments hides an incredible history and was a witness to past eras, but due to dramatic fates, relatively few of them have remained in Poland until our times. Let's not allow those that survived to disappear forever.

- To illustrate, registered monuments are those that the relevant Provincial Conservator has placed under legal protection based on an administrative decision issued, and there are currently 194,160 of them. In turn, 80,000 are monuments entered into the provincial register, for which a card with a description, history and photos has been created. Importantly, several thousand of them require immediate corrective action, and often the obstacle is disastrous legislation and excessive bureaucracy - we read in the statement of the ARCHE Group.

Here is the text of the petition, published in today's issue of the Rzeczpospolita daily:

Petition to the authorities of the Republic of Poland regarding the acceleration of work on the draft act on saving immovable monuments

In February this year, the Rzeczpospolita daily published a draft law on saving immovable monuments in the territory of the Republic of Poland, developed by ARCHE SA This draft was an introduction to nationwide social consultations and was well-received, exceeding my wildest expectations. This only confirmed my belief that monuments are very important to us Poles, because they unite past, present and future generations beyond divisions!

I am very pleased that the authorities of the Republic of Poland have also responded positively, and that a team of experts has been appointed within the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage to deal with the subject of amending the Act on the Protection of Monuments.

Now, support for these actions by all those who care about saving monuments can translate into the expected specifics, and above all into effective action by decision-makers. Let the draft act prepared by ARCHE SA be a signpost and an example of concise and good legislation. Let us show what a powerful force we are and in this way support the authorities of the Republic of Poland in further deregulatory changes that will allow, beyond divisions, to fix the bad law that currently hinders saving monuments.

I ask for your support for this petition, which can be found at www.arche.pl/zabytki. Let us show, just like the generation that rebuilt Warsaw after the war, that we too can reconcile in a just cause and save historical sites for those who will come after us.

With optimistic greetings,

Wladyslaw Grochowski

Chairman of the Board

ARCHE S.A.

The petition can be submitted by visiting the website: arche.pl/zabytki.