A new mixed-use complex will be built at 195 Jerozolimskie Avenue. Will the building complex designed by 77 STUDIO architecture become the new center of the Włochy district?
The 77 STUDIO architecture studio has developed a concept for the development of the plot at 195 Jerozolimskie Avenue. The address is located in the heart of the Włochy district, located on the southwestern side of Warsaw. The complex proposed by the office aims to provide the dynamically developing district with facilities of mixed functionality - retail, services and offices. In total, the buildings will offer more than 29,000 square meters of usable space. What assumptions guided the design team?
195 Jerozolimskie Avenue - a new office and service complex from 77 STUDIO architecture
© 77 STUDIO architecture
difficult neighborhood
The new building complex is to stand near the intersection of Jerozolimskie Avenues and Popularna Street, a place designated by the City as "the downtown of the Włochy district." The neighborhood of the planned development is covered with more residential buildings, although the condition of the infrastructure located there is not necessarily conducive to comfortable living conditions. Nearby housing estates are surrounded by busy thoroughfares, where mainly large construction and furniture hypermarkets, as well as large office complexes are located. The closest space of a recreational nature is located in the Szczęśliwicki Park, which is more than 2 kilometers away, and at a similar distance there is a larger cluster of establishments of a service or catering character on Włodarzewska Street.
195 Jerozolimskie Avenue - a new office and service complex from 77 STUDIO architecture
© 77 STUDIO architektury
The lack of adequate infrastructure is not stopping the boom in new construction projects, and more residentialdevelopments are quickly being built in the area. According to Westminster Polska, the developer responsible for the concept described above, more than half a thousand apartments located on Jutrzenki Street, Sunrise Street, Łopuszańska Street and Równoległa Street, among others, are expected to be put into service later this year . As a result, the area will see a huge influx of new residents who will need space to spend their leisure time or access to major services and dining.
The area is dominated by hypermarkets and office centers with huge parking lots and a highway overpass, so it's hard to talk about a center of value for people here, says architect Pawel Naduk. - That's why we want to revitalize this part of the city, invite residents, proposing a solution in the shape of an intimate city square sheltered from the noisy road.
new neighborhood center
The planned complex is to consist of three buildings located between Jerozolimskie Avenue 195 and Jutrzenki Street. The investor plans to place offices, service and catering establishments, a spa zone or a gym in the resulting interiors. The sparing forms of the planned buildings are expected to have a positive impact on the urban landscape of the immediate area. At this location, the development is quite chaotic, with a variety of forms. In order to unify the frontage, the design team decided to introduce a front elevation with a minimalist expression, achieved through the use of large-area glazing and right-angled veining. In addition to cleaning up the frontage on the section of Jerusalem Avenue under development, the monolithic mass of the front building is intended to isolate the courtyard that will be created between the three planned volumes.
195 Jerozolimskie Avenue - new office and retail complex from 77 STUDIO architecture
© 77 STUDIO architecture
It is this space that will constitute the greatest value of the complex. "The new Salon of the district of Włochy", as the authors of the project call it, is to become a place that will be used not only by people working in the offices located in the complex, but by all local residents. According to the presented concepts, the courtyard created between the buildings is to be landscaped with greenery and create space for leisure activities and events. This will also be supported by a wide range of service and catering establishments.
The accessibility of the space in question is determined by the location of the complex and the design solutions applied. The building will be located close to transportation points important for the district, such as the complex of bus stops at the intersection of Jerozolimskie Avenue and Popularna Street, or near the Warsaw Commuter Rail station. From the side of Jutrzenki Street, pedestrians will be attracted by the appropriately planned composition of the blocks forming the complex, which will not form a uniform frontage, as is the case with the building located on Jerozolimskie Avenue. The architectural "gate" composed in this way will invite passing people to visit the new square.
195 Jerozolimskie Avenue - a new office and retail complex from 77 STUDIO architecture
© 77 STUDIO of architecture
The facades of the buildings comprising the complex on the side of the inner courtyard will differ from the minimalist walls seen from Jutrzenki Street and Jerozolimskie Avenues. Here the architects have allowed themselves a bit more formal freedom, cladding the individual elevations with openwork wooden panels. According to the designers, they are to fulfill not only an aesthetic function - they will positively influence the perception of the space created between the office buildings, and also improve the thermal characteristics of the buildings, limiting the access of sunlight to the interiors in summer.
artificial heart
Will the planned complex indeed become a new center for the area of the intersection of Popularna Street and Jerozolimskie Avenue? It's hard to say - on the one hand, the lack of this kind of space is indeed a problem for the immediate area, which has been dominated by office buildings and big-box stores. However, it seems that a place for this kind of infrastructure should be taken care of by the City in the first place, and secondly by a private investor, who is probably more guided by his own interests than by the good of the residents. Moreover, the small space offered by the proposed concept is only a drop in the ocean of the needs of a rapidly developing neighborhood. Nevertheless, we keep our fingers crossed for the realization of a concept that takes into account the needs of both the private investor and the community living in the neighborhood.
