Warsaw authorities have issued new development conditions for a high-rise building at Zawiszy Square. The building will be allowed to be 75% larger than anticipated for the last several years. In return, the investor will build a small street, which will be used mainly by him. The design of the office building, commissioned by Ghelamco, is being prepared by JEMS Architekci.
Zawiszy Square
Photo: Panek / Wikimedia Commons
The first decision on the construction of a skyscraper at Zawiszy Square was issued in 2006. At the time, City Hall set the maximum height of the development at 130 meters. The lump was to be slender and have a total area of 44,100 sqm. In 2018, the plans were updated at the request of Ghelamco. The investor planned to build a skyscraper with a height of 160 meters and a total area of 98,500 sqm. This is more than double the area compared to the original decision of the city authorities. The Sobieski Tower building also received striking visuals. However, the shots ignored the historical context of Nowogrodzka and Ochota Streets, whose character will change significantly after the skyscraper's construction.
not waiting for the plan
A visualization of the building conditions from 2006 and a visualization of Sobieski Towers from 2018.
Photo: Ochocianie Sąsiedzi, photo: Ghelamco
In the same year, the Warsaw Council decided to proceed with the preparation of a local zoning plan for the area around Zawiszy Square. Despite the small territorial scope of the study, covering mainly developed plots of land, the plan did not come into force. What's more - during the three years of work, city planners did not even manage to put the draft out for public review and comments.
more and higher
Currently designed building
photo. press mat. / UM Warszawa
Thesituation was exploited by the developer, who reapplied with a new application for development conditions. In December 2021, the new shape of the development at the site was established, meaning the construction of a ¾ larger building than originally planned. The skyscraper is to consist of four parts with varying heights from 108 to 130 meters, which will rise from Ochota towards Zawiszy Square. The building will have 34 above-ground and 5 underground floors in the highest part, with a total office space of 43,000 sqm and retail space of 3,000 sqm.
The currently designed building
photo. press mat. / UM Warszawa
In exchange for permission for a much larger skyscraper, the investor will give the city a local street that will mainly serve its own building. On the other hand, the total cost - needed and demanded for a long time, and immediately necessary if the skyscraper is built - of reconstructing roads in the area (cutting through Jerozolimskie Avenue towards Downtown, straightening the intersection at Zawiszy Square and related changes on Grojecka Street), is estimated at 150-200 million zlotys.
Ochocianie Sąsiedzi Association
visualizations vs. design
Land development project
photo: UM Warszawa
The preliminary visualizations of the complex made public, however, have little in common with the official site development project. The public plazas, park and fountains visible on the redesign do not appear in the document, and the road layout remains unchanged from the existing one. The only change is the construction of a small back street, which will mainly serve the development's underground parking lot. City Hall representatives assure that the shape of the investment is in line with the assumptions of the local plan in progress, which, however, was not subjected to public consultation. Thus, the key decision for one of the most important spaces in downtown Warsaw and Ochota is made on the basis of developer-official arrangements. The development conditions were personally signed by Warsaw's Deputy Mayor Michal Olszewski.
The neighboring Sobieski Hotel building
photo by Adrian Grycuk / Wikimedia Commons
To our knowledge, it is extremely rare for a vice-president to deputize officials from the Bureau of Architecture and Spatial Planning and sign a zoning or building permit decision himself. Why did this happen in this case? Did none of the officials from the Bureau of Architecture want to sign off on such a controversial decision?
Ochocianie Neighbors Association
