7 of Warsaw’s biggest building projects
Published on 06/05/2015
Warsaw’s building sector is thriving - with half of all new commercial buildings in Poland being constructed there, and housebuilding on the up, cranes are appearing thick and fast in the city’s skyline.
Here are seven of the most exciting construction projects going on in the Polish capital – a snapshot of why Warsaw is the building market to be in right now.
1. Warsaw Spire
Topped out on 27 April at 180 metres, the Warsaw Spire tower is now the second-highest building in Poland’s capital, second only to the 1950s-era Palace of Culture and Science. This new addition to Warsaw’s skyline is a lot sleeker than the monolith it trails, adding 47 floors of offices and apartments to the city’s real estate stock. With the uppermost levels finished, this year will see hard work on fitting out the tower’s interior, and that of the two 55-metre towers that flank it, to get it ready for opening in 2016.
2. Q22 tower
This 500 million PLN ($138 million) project, which will reach 195 metres once it is finished in 2016, will have Deloitte’s Polish headquarters among its 50,000 sqm of rentable office space. The building’s elevators will use an innovative system that stores kinetic energy produced on the way down and re-uses it on the way up – otherwise known as KERS, the system used in Formula 1 cars.
3. Warsaw West Station
Built in 1936 and left alone ever since, Warsaw’s West Station is finally getting a revamp – a brand new terminal will be built next to the existing one, accompanied by a new 67,000 sqm office complex. As with many of the developments in this list, the new buildings will focus on green, in this case most of its power coming from solar technology.
4. Business Garden
The latest development in a series that has already seen massive construction work in Wroclaw and Poznan, Business Garden Warsaw will offer 90,000 sqm of office and commercial space spread across seven buildings. With a focus on sustainability, bright interiors and original architecture, the project is being carried out by Vastint Poland, a branch of IKEA’s property division. Adidas, Credit Agricole and Ricoh are some of the firms that have already snapped up space in the development, set for completion in 2016.
5. Warsaw metro extension
Warsaw has two million residents, but up until now only one extremely crowded metro line. But this will change by the end of the year when the new East-West line is finished – 6.7 kilometres, seven stations, a new ticketing system, energy-efficient trains, and a total budget of $1.2 billion. As well as heavy engineering and some seriously big tunnelling equipment, the new line and its seven prospective stations have created surging demand for building and finishing materials to be used on the project.
6. Atrium 2
Designed by PRC Architekci and ready in 2016, this 15-floor project is Skanska’s new office investment in Poland’s capital. It is another new Warsaw project with a focus on cutting its eco footprint – temperature and lighting control will help the building use 50% less water and a third less energy than others in the city.
7. Boulevards on the Vistula
Another long-awaited investment in Warsaw, the second phase of the transformation of the banks of the Vistula River to a thriving public space, was recently pushed back a few months from its planned 2014 completion date.
The development is going to be worth the wait – a new cycling trail, a promenade for pedestrians, and a new park along the river, helping the capital’s residents get closer to their river and making it an integral part of the city’s cultural life.
The third phase of the development will follow over the next couple of years, with an architectural competition scheduled for mid-2015.