Postmodernism was created in Western Europe at the beginning of 1960s as a result of the flood of criticism and directed towards modernism. The main characteristics of this trend include ambiguity, eclecticism and the return to the idea of the dense city. Postmodernism again directs the attention to the relations between the buildings and its surroundings, i.e. it touches upon the question of spatial context. In case of Poland we can only talk about postmodern architecture at the end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s. This delay is caused by the existence of the Communist regime in the country.
In case of Poznan, the most interesting examples of buildings that possess the characteristics of the early postmodernism are the supplementary residential buildings also known as infills which were built at the end of 1980s and at the beginning of 1990s. It should be added here that the residential architecture of the supplementary character was one of the favourite motifs of postmodernism.
But the activities around postmodernism were not limited to the architectural work. Also, the urban planning in Poznań and Wielkopolska can pride itself with some interesting examples. As was mentioned before postmodernism gives back to the city its traditional function with the crucial role of squares, city blocks and streets. On the basis of this experience in the years 1989-2008 the housing estate Różany Potok was created in Morasko district of Poznań.
In Wielkopolska region the example of such a "new" town with postmodern connotations can be Zielone Wzgórza Town in Murowana Goślina. The premise of the area development plan was to go back to the idea of the traditional town with market square as the main element of the layout's spatial composition. The authors were guided by the idea of going back to the past when small towns played an important role in the creation of settlement layouts of Wielkopolska. When searching for postmodern buildings or spatial layouts in Wielkopolska, the housing estate “Helenki” in Śrem should be mentioned. It is a small estate that in its spatial form refers to the postmodern return to dense development arranged according to the principle of interpenetrating interiors and perspective views. Also the expression of building design oscillates around the references to classical architecture.
The selected buildings and layouts presented in this draft, built in Poznań and Wielkopolska in last 20, 30 years possess postmodern characteristics. Within the landscape of the city and the region they have become visible signs of both modernity and architects' creative freedom.