Wola is one of the most intensively developing areas of Warsaw. Remnants of industrial history are scarce here, but in their place a new center of the capital is growing. Near Daszyńskiego Roundabout, on the outskirts of the skyscraper district, Noho One is being built, a complex designed by the BBGK Architekci studio, which will become the vestibule of Warsaw's new office district.
Warsaw's Wola district is an inner-city area that has been undergoing an intensive metamorphosis in recent years, changing its character from an area with an industrial history to a modern district befitting the business center of the capital. Among the buildings being erected, office and residential development dominates, which is in line with the general direction of development of the site and the Local Development Plans being developed for it. However, they do not always guarantee the creation of high-quality urban space, the best (or rather, worst) example of which is the "Warsaw Hong Kong," or Bliska Wola development, one of the most densely built-up residential complexes in the center of Warsaw, offering buyers mostly micro-apartments. Fortunately, there are also better prepared developments planned for Wola, such as the Towarowa 22 mixed-use complex from JEMS Architekci or, described in this article, the Noho One complex. What will distinguish the estate designed by the BBGK Architekci studio?
Polfa factory buildings from the side of Prosta Street, with the characteristic connector visible
Photo: Panek © CC BY-SA 4.0 | Wikimedia Commons
Polfa to be demolished
Noho One will be built on the site of the former Polfa factory on the corner of Karolkowa and Prosta Streets. The factory building, which was built back in the 1920s and later expanded several times, mainly in the 1960s, is in the process of being demolished, freeing up an attractive plot of land in the city center for development. The production of popular Polish drugs such as Accard and Xylometazolin will move to Duchnice, a suburb of Warsaw, while in the coming years the space in Wola will be transformed into a multifunctional complex, with predominantly residential development.
The plot on which the Noho One complex will stand
photo: press materials of BBGK Architekci
a difficult decision
In online discussions there are voices saying that the potential offered by the revitalization of the modernist factory complex has been squandered. Indeed, this would have been a certain novelty in Polish commercial construction, as revitalization usually involves factories built back in the 19th century, and the silhouette of Polfa itself, with its connector elevated high above street level and a thicket of pipes encircling the plot, is a rather characteristic element of the development around the Daszynski Roundabout. However, it should not be forgotten that the former Polfa buildings take advantage of the opportunities provided by the current Local Development Plan only to a small extent, the ground floors of the buildings do not create an attractive space on the side of Prosta Street, and the land on the site is contaminated, so it must undergo reclamation. Although the buildings of the Polfa factory are a pity, in view of the numerous difficulties, replacing the plant with a new development seems a justified action. At this point , however, it is not known whether individual elements of the dismantled buildings will be used in the realization of the Noho One complex, nor whether its architecture will relate to the area's history.
Noho One in Warsaw
proj.: BBGK Architekci
big-city connector
Although attractive for investment, the area near Daszyńskiego Roundabout is highly specific - it is dominated primarily by "metropolitan" developments, with numerous skyscrapers, including the Skyliner designed by APA Wojciechowski and the over 200-meter-high Warsaw Unit, created according to a concept by Projekt Polsko-Belgijska Pracownia Architektury. Just behind them, in turn, is a duo of over 90-meter Towarowa Towers buildings, designed by FS&P Arcus. On the east side, along Kasprzaka Street, the development is already much lower. Noho One, a mixed-use complex consisting of eight buildings, is thus being built in a key location, where the high-rise development of the city center is transforming into a more horizontal urban structure with buildings several, or at most a dozen, stories high. The Noho One buildings will provide a link between these two realities.
High Ring concept
pic: press mat. by BBGK Architects
High Ring around Daszyńskiego traffic circle
BBGK Architects are the authors of both the recently presented buildings and the masterplan for the entire development, which is Noho's first investment in Warsaw. Their concepts have accustomed us to thinking about their projects from a broader perspective, going beyond the plot covered by the design process. It's no different in this case - in addition to creating an urban design concept for the eight planned buildings, they have carefully analyzed the direction in which the development of the immediate neighborhood is heading.
Heatmap
pic: BBGK Architekci press mat.
The result of the analysis is a concept for the so-called High Ring, an intensified development area that wraps around the Daszyńskiego Roundabout area. The architects see it as another important area of spatial development in the capital after the New Center of Warsaw. As Bartosz Swiniarski of BBGK Architekci noted in an interview with RDC Radio, the area consists of many "microcosms," i.e. massive investment projects enclosed in individual quarters. In his opinion, four or five new pedestrian crossings should be built near Daszyńskiego Roundabout to connect urban microcosms, creating a "pedestrian and bicycle bypass" and facilitating movement near the intersection of Towarowa Street and Prosta Street.
Urbanism begins when we stop thinking about a building only within the boundaries of a plot of land, and consider what relations it enters into with other buildings. With the experience of the 20th century and modernism in planning, we now know the immense value hidden in a traditional urban structure, in cities designed with human perception in mind, in cities with a system of public spaces interconnected by pedestrian routes, with the grammar of the language of classical urbanism with its elements such as street, square and park
- emphasizes Bartosz Swiniarski of BBGK Architects.
Additional streets will also be created within Noho One to improve transportation within the complex, as well as green and recreational areas.
Noho One - Heatmap
pic: press mat. by BBGK Architekci
layers of the city
In addition to properly laying out the complex horizontally, the architects also thought about its layout vertically, vertically dividing Noho One into three layers. The lowest, on the ground floor, will be stores and service establishments to serve the residents of the development and those moving through the former Polfa factory site. In the drawings and visualizations presented by the architects, we can see that, largely glazed, the ground floor will be slightly higher than the other floors, giving them a representative character, and taking away some of the heaviness of the designed blocks. Above, in the next layer, there will be apartments, while the top floors are intended for luxury penthouses. According to the developer, the apartments offered for sale will have floor areas starting from 50 square meters and reaching as much as 400 square meters, with a total of 2,000 units.
High Ring and Smile of Warsaw
pic: press mat. by BBGK Architekci
Porticoes and cornices in Wola
It seems that putting the Wola complex in the hands of designers from BBGK Architekci is a harbinger of good results in the aesthetic sphere. The Warsaw-based studio has a track record of realizations characterized by great detail and high quality of materials used - just to name a few, such as Nowy Port in Bydgoszcz. It looks like it will be no different with the first stage. The investor and architects have announced the use of natural stone and architectural concrete, which will find their place, among others, in high column porticoes spanning between individual buildings or leading to their interiors. Noteworthy is also the way of solving the glazing - we won't see a shiny, homogeneous elevation, as is the case with the nearby high-rise buildings, but rather sets of large window openings, recessed between massive, rounded pilasters and prominent cornices. Additional expression is provided by the retreat of the top floors with spacious terraces, reminiscent of hanging gardens.
Noho One in Warsaw
proj.: BBGK Architekci
We don't know exactly when the construction of the entire Noho One complex in Warsaw will be completed. However, the construction of the first stage of the project described here, i.e. the three buildings on the Karolkowa Street side, is already underway, while we still have to wait for more details on the remaining buildings in the complex.
