The plot of land left behind by the Galeria Krakow Plaza shopping center has been standing undeveloped for a year. Yesterday Krakow media circulated information about plans to develop the land by the Dabski pond. What will be built there?
The area around Dabie and the northeastern part of Grzegórzki are areas that in recent years have been increasingly overgrown with office complexes. The area by Dabskie Pond will be no different, where the owner of the area, Strabag Real Estate, has just made public the design of a new investment.
Plaza Nova office and hotel complex
© Strabag Real Estate | press materials
The new Plaza Nova
According to information provided by the developer, a "multifunctional office and hotel complex" called Plaza Nova is to be built near the Tauron Arena. In practice, this will mean the construction of five structures, two of which will serve office and service functions, and three of which will serve hotel and service functions. What the nature of the services provided will be is hard to say, although the remote location from tourist centers puts a question mark over the success of the hotel part.
Plaza Nova office and hotel complex
© Strabag Real Estate | press materials
office buildings on the waterfront
The buildings shown in the visualizations are uncomplicated, cuboid blocks, facing the pond's surface with their shorter sides. Austrian studio MHM Architects is responsible for their design. Unfortunately, both the office buildings and the hotel and service facilities do not present a high standard. The silhouettes and elevations of the four buildings were solved without any idea, the proportions are rather squat, and the gray color scheme does not evoke the best associations. Against this background , one of the two office buildings stands out , with its front segment raised and protruding in front of the main body of the building, set on three pairs of diagonal pillars. The first two floors are to be glazed, building a contrast with the visually heavy, overhanging section above. The concept looks impressive from the point of view of structural solutions, but lacks finesse. The spaces between the buildings are to have a diverse character - there will be both a paved plaza between the office buildings and green areas.
Plaza Nova office and hotel complex
© Strabag Real Estate | press materials
What about Dabski Pond?
The immediate surroundings of the planned buildings are also to be changed. According to the investor, the area around the Dąbski pond will be comprehensively developed. The concept of the new space was prepared by the Krakow-based studio ATP Asymetria, responsible, among others, for the Wroclavia shopping center and the Fabryczna Office Park office complex, located near the planned Strabag investment.
When planning the development of the site, our goal was to integrate the Dąbski Pond into the compositional and functional layout of the entire site. A clear and simple urban layout of parallel buildings creates wide interiors between them with green courtyards and passages open towards the pond. They are connected by wide descents with a refreshed walking boulevard on the bank of the reservoir. The publicly accessible promenade with a renewed vantage point on the other bank will be a place of respite and relaxation not only for users of the new facilities, but also for residents of the surrounding neighborhoods and the entire community of Krakow. Especially since it is planned to connect Plaza Nova ' s facilities with the level of the bus stop by a footbridge with an elevator and stairs with direct descent to the level of the pond's waterfront ," explains Ireneusz Gadowski, Senior Architect, ATP Asymetria.
Plaza Nova office and hotel complex
© Strabag Real Estate | press materials
However, there may be concerns about the environmental impact of the work, which will be carried out near Dabski Pond. The reservoir and its immediate surroundings are an ecological utility, which is home to protected species of organisms - including yellow water lily and roseate. Controversy over the protection of the Dabski Pond ecosystem has already arisen during the construction of the Krakow Plaza Gallery. The investor assures that there will be no ecological disaster in the area. What's more, the building itself is to be erected using environmentally friendly technologies (photovoltaic panels, green roofs), and construction will use recycled materials from the demolition of the former shopping center. The office buildings under construction are expected to receive LEED, WELL and "Barrier-Free Facility" certifications.
Galeria Krakow Plaza shopping center - demolition of the building.
Photo: DWXN © CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons
a place with history
Plaza Nova will stand on the site where Galeria Krakow Plaza rose until last spring. The building opened in 2002 as a large-format shopping mall, typical of its time. Form - also typical, because postmodern. The horizontal block, perched above Lake Dabskie, actually consisted of two segments. The western side was dominated by a horizontal, undulating façade, preceded by rhythmically "castle-like" towers. At the opposite end of the building, the composition was closed by piled-up, cubic blocks in gray and blue colors. The aesthetics of the two-story interiors operated with historicizing motifs standard for postmodernism - there were arcades, pilasters, cornices, consoles and pointed windows. While in the space of the covered atrium, one could feel as if one were on the set of a costume film, set in a fantastic medieval castle.
Galeria Krakow Plaza shopping center - demolition of the building
Photo: DWXN © CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons
the fall of a commercial fortress
Galeria Krakow Plaza has faced numerous troubles since the beginning of its history. Its very construction became the subject of justifiable criticism, related to the investment's impact on the Dąbski Pond ecosystem. The initial commercial success was followed by problems with the maintenance of the complex - mismanagement, a troublesome location and the functional qualities of the building, which did not offer enough space for tenants in the units, were to blame. Eventually, despite redevelopment plans, Galeria Krakow Plaza was closed in 2021, while two years later only rubble was left behind. Emptying of large-scale shopping centers has been a growing phenomenon recently - and the demolished Plaza became its first Krakow victim.
