Not hamburgers and not monkeys will be sold in the renovated Cepelia pavilion in Warsaw. Empik will move into the iconic building of the capital's downtown. Visuals have finally been shown. The pavilion is expected to look almost as it did in its heyday. However, it regrets the old neon sign and graphics.
The light, modernist shopping pavilions of the 1960s in downtown Warsaw have mostly become history. Instead, the former Cepelia pavilion on Marszałkowska Street next to the Dmowskiego traffic circle has held on to its post. In recent decades, however, it has borne little resemblance to the filigree form it was given in 1966 by realizing a design by Zygmunt Stępiński working with Andrzej Milewski and Aleksander Haweman (concepts of the original shape can be viewed on the Museum of Warsaw website).
Modified, with the windows boarded up, painted orange and draped with advertisements, the building looked squalid and pathetic until recently. However, after an unsuccessful attempt to adapt it for a bar of the McDonald's chain, it was placed on the register of historical monuments in 2019 . The project presented at the time freed the pavilion from disfiguring modifications, but processed the original form far too loosely. The entry in the registry blocked the possibility of such significant interference with the body's dimensions and proportions.
Cepelia pavilion in Warsaw, 1971 - view from the north from the sidewalk of Marszałkowska Street
source: National Digital Archives
cepelia no longer mysterious
Renovation of the increasingly deteriorating structure began only in February this year, following a conservation order. However, the investor, the Sienna 111 company, showed no target visualization, and the scope of the construction work raised concerns about the pavilion's fate. It looked like a case similar to the neighboring PKO rotunda, demolished and reerected in a much clunkier form. Kacper Kepinski wrote about these threats, the lack of transparency in communicating their intentions, and the history of the pavilion in A&B in March. The architects of the project also refused to give him any information. The AMC - Andrzej M. Choldzynski and Bernatek Architekci design offices, working on Cepelia under the supervision of the Mazovian Historic Preservation Officer, are responsible for the project.
Visualization of Cepelia pavilion in Warsaw after renovation, proj. AMC - Andrzej M. Choldzynski, Bernatek Architekci
Source: Empik, © AMC - Andrzej M. Chołdzyński, Bernatek Architekci
It is only now that the target form of the pavilion and its user have finally been revealed: the Empik retail chain, which has shown visualizations and announces that the
The realization will restore the modernist lightness of the building -glass walls, vegetation and characteristic free-standing display cases will return. The building's structure and roof shape will undergo renovation. The historic lighting, facade cladding and characteristic lamella windows will also be replicated, as well as decorative elements - including a unique blue ceramic cladding by Stanislaw Kucharski, composed of hand-fired tiles.
And - indeed, the visualizations show a condition very close to the original, although (perhaps due to the quality of the graphics) the building after the renovation seems a bit less filigree in places. This raises questions about the cross-sectional profiles of the window frames, the appearance of the facade cladding and the forms of the details, which, if they deviate from the original form, may affect the slightly different perception of the building. After all, there are frequent cases where contemporary, more massive window frame profiles or elements of modern installations have weakened the lightness of modernist buildings.
Visualization of the Cepelia pavilion in Warsaw after renovation, proj. AMC - Andrzej M. Choldzynski, Bernatek Architekci - juxtaposed with a historical photo from 1971.
Source: Empik, National Digital Archive © AMC - Andrzej M. Choldzynski, Bernatek Architekci
old neon - better
An already visible change to the disadvantage is the replacement of neon signs with the Cepelia inscription and the company's characteristic cockerel by a rather massive and less interesting Empik logotype. It would be reasonable to develop it, by way of exception, in a lighter and referring to the old neon form. The lettering and graphics from the 1960s were an integral part of the composition. The free-flowing lines were a suitable counterpoint to the straight lines shaping the block.
Cepelia pavilion in Warsaw, 1971 - view from Marszalkowska Street towards the Palace of Culture
source: National Digital Archive
A big plus, however, is the future function of the building, which will not turn into a hamburger bar, or, as some have predicted, a franchise store of a well-known food chain. Ewa Szmidt, Empik Group CEO, announces clearly:
This store will be (...) unique - a state-of-the-art, flagship Empik in the historic Cepelia building will become a showcase for our brand.
The investor announces that the 1,300-square-meter three floors (including the basement) will house not only a store with press, books, records, "creative products" and stationery, but also a small reading room and a stage for author meetings. At the same time, Empik promises a "rich program of events." The salon is scheduled to open in late 2024/early 2025. That's when we'll get to know the interior, which according to a perfunctory comment from Empik is expected to be "designer and friendly." It is unclear whether there will be references to the original design and - linked to folk handicrafts - the history of the pavilion. One thing seems certain: the renovated Cepelia/Empik will benefit the immediate neighborhood - both in its form and its inviting function.
