In general—good, in detail—with many reservations. That may be the answer to the title question. Anyway, the renovation is not over at all, although one of the „final” deadlines given by the magistrate has just passed. Poznaners are crowding to see what the city's most important square looks like.
It's been a renovation epic. The general overhaul of the Old Market Square in Poznań has essentially been going on since the spring of last year, although in previous years there had already been extensive archaeological work here, preliminary excavations were carried out, and the old paving stones were removed from a significant part of the square six months before the start of the main overhaul. Construction work was carried out by the Tormel consortium selected in one of the subsequent tenders. The start of the renovation was constantly delayed for organizational and formal reasons, and with it, the announced dates for completing the work and making the Square accessible to residents again were postponed.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—eastern side of Market Square with new paving, entrance of Swietoslawska and Wodna streets
Photo: Jakub Głaz
Dilapidated welcomes
The organization of the construction was fundamentally sloppy. Residents were wading through mud, couldn't find temporary crossings, the construction site was pretty messy, and Egyptian darkness fell in the evening. And that at the same time work was (and still is) underway on reconstructing the main streets of the center (in a similar style, by the same company) functioning in the downtown area began to resemble survival. Last year, residents grassroots rebranded Poznań as „Uncharted.” There were even postcards created with photos of hills of dirt and cobblestones greeting them from Rozkopane.
Less visible preparations for the general overhaul were even longer. A series of thematic consultations on various aspects of the Market took place in 2015. After that—first with greater breaks, and later regularly—meetings of the interdisciplinary team for the Old Market were held. During them, the general principles of the renovation were worked out: its area (up to the first block of streets connected to the Market), issues of proper lighting, underground retention tanks, replacement of underground utilities, introduction of trees in the Market that did not exist before. Finally, the team settled for a long time the issues of what electrified Poznań residents the most: the type of pavement.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—south side of the Old Market with the new surface, on the right the Arsenal and the clumsy edifice obstructing the view of the City Scales
photo: Jakub Głaz
cube of discord
This is because the old granite pavement laid in the Market Square in 1964 (removed from other streets in the city) was uneven and deteriorating after numerous failures of underground utilities. In the end, not without violent protests from supporters of the old pavement and variable decisions by the city's conservation officer, it was agreed that anew even paving of five types of granite would appear on most of the square, and the best specimens of the old paving would be laid around the mid-market development, up to the boundary of the surrounding linear drainage. In turn, even older cobblestones made of field stones discovered by archaeologists are planned for the bands around the town hall and several other buildings.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—poor paving (including massive joints!) of two types of old cobblestones near the town hall
Photo: Jakub Głaz
On the sidewalks, it is planned to replace the old granite slabs with new ones of similar color and appearance, as well as compensation strips of fine pavers. The selection of new materials, their placement and even their resistance to dirt were tested on a test plot. A preliminary design based on these findings was prepared by APA Jacek Bulat studio. Later, on behalf of Tormel, the Graph'it studio was responsible for the design work.
scrubbing the pavement
In recent days, after a very hasty finish of the works, especially in front of the City Hall, almost the entire Market Square was made available to pedestrians. Almost, because work is still underway in the streets of the mid-market block, in front of the builders' tenements, next to Odwach and by the Town Hall, where the historic pillory has still not been restored.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—still ongoing works in the course of J.B. Street. Quadro, in the background the Arsenal City Gallery, on the right—the City Scales
photo: Jakub Głaz
Poznanians are thus testing the pavement, freed from construction workers, laid over the completely replaced and modernized underground infrastructure (including retention tanks). The Market Square's pavement is finally level and friendly to the elderly or disabled (EU funding was granted for this very purpose, by the way). At the outlet of the market streets, the height of the sidewalks and sidewalk made of cubes was completely equalized. Elsewhere, the height of curbs was reduced to about two centimeters. The exception is the western frontage, where—due to the steep slope of the area—higher curbs had to be maintained.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—the only high curb remains in the Market Square on the west side
Photo: Jakub Głaz
In general, the first impression is very good, there are no major visual differences between the fields of new and old pavement, and the variation of granite colors helped to avoid monotony and make the new pavement more similar to the old one. The new pavers, however, are no longer—something that preservationists and lovers of the wide-ranging old—glossy and rounded. And it's probably a good thing, because even the more evenly paved old pavement around the mid-market block is not very comfortable.
Where was the tiler?
There are, however, reservations. The first concerns workmanship. In at least a few places the cube was laid carelessly, some elements are chipped, and not everywhere the proper width of joints was maintained. The latter are sometimes filled in poorly or (yet?) not at all. In some places the filling is crumbling.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—unacceptable differences in the width of the joints of the new pavement at the exit of Wozna Street, in the foreground—new paving blocks, in the background—chipped old cobblestones
Photo: Jakub Głaz
The second comment concerns the method of paving, which has led to uninteresting optical "ducts" resulting from mechanical copying of squares of a well-developed pattern. Meanwhile, as any better tiler knows, it was enough to move repetitive modules with the same arrangement of cubes relative to each other.
Old Market Square in Poznań, 28.12.2023—on the floor one can see lines/ducts, which are an unintended effect of not fully thought-out paving
photo: Jakub Głaz
This is not a huge flaw, it can be seen only in certain situations, but nevertheless unacceptable in the case of an investment in such a prestigious place, worth about 140 million zlotys (three times the original estimate), with a lifespan counted in many decades. It probably wouldn't have been a problem if someone overseeing the paving had resigned for a moment to thoughtlessness. Or, if in the final design straight, the paving pattern previously approved by the Old Market team had not been changed from the so-called Potsdam pattern (laying short strips of paving in a herringbone pattern) to a row pattern—simpler to lay. The pavement is therefore in need of numerous adjustments and corrections. One can only hope that the City (which often neglects workmanship issues) will make sure everything is perfect this time.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—the difference between the new paving on the Market Square and the old cobblestone on Swietoslawska Street (preserving it on this route leading to the parish was a tough requirement of the city's conservation officer)
photo: Jakub Głaz
light decision
The big change for the better, however, is the introduction of islands of greenery with trees on both sides of Odwach and by the City Weigh House. They have been fenced with high stone walls with wooden seats. The contemporary but discreet curved forms harmonize well with the historic surroundings.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—islands of greenery with trees and benches on the south side of Odwach, an old cube is laid here; in the background—Działyński Palace
Photo: Jakub Głaz
Plants will also appear, in the form of a vertical garden, on the windowless wall of the modernist Arsenal City Gallery. However, the form and dimensions of the scaffolding for this wall appear to have been greatly scaled up.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—scaffolding for the green wall on the Arsenal City Gallery; visible border (drainage line) between old and new paving)
photo: Jakub Głaz
Another big plus is the lighting, which, after a discussion within the Old Market team, was realized based on a detailed concept prepared by a specialized company. The previously dark market is now more evenly lit thanks to the raising of the historic lanterns standing around the perimeter and the addition of new, lower lamps at the mid-market block.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—a row of elevated lanterns on the south side, the warm light creates a friendly atmosphere
photo: Jakub Głaz
Warm and well-distributed light creates a friendly mood and has the right power (it is not too bright, the lamps do not dazzle and do not shine on the facades). Perhaps city managers will finally understand from this example how much depends on designing consistent lighting for all of Poznań.
The Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—the addition of sparse lower lamps in front of the builders' tenements on the eastern side next to the City Hall; previously it was quite dark here
photo: Jakub Głaz
brought down to the first floor
The return of light to the Market Square and the removal of ubiquitous fences have revealed a very unpleasant aspect of the protracted renovations. The storefronts of some establishments shine with emptiness, bars and restaurants have disappeared, unable to bear the inconvenience, the mess and the associated outflow of customers. For the first few months, therefore, the Market may be aesthetically pleasing and empty at the same time.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—a new bench set up provisionally on the north side, for the time being there are no other seats of this type in the Market
photo: Jakub Głaz
We still have to wait for further assessments, because contrary to the mayor's announcement (final completion in December this year)—the work is still in progress. There are benches waiting to be installed (so far only one has been provisionally erected—quite successful), and there are plans to gradually introduce new illumination of the monuments. Finally, which we will mention today only for the sake of order, the transformation of the streets of the downtown block (streets: Jana Baptysty Quadro, Ratuszowa, Kurzanoga) is far from complete. Finishing work is also underway on the renovated Arsenal City Gallery.
Old Market Square, Poznań, 28.12.2023—Arsenal City Gallery after renovation, J.B. Passage. Quadro and the new roof covering it
photo: Jakub Głaz
pillory for the roof!
There is also no sign of any action to remove from above the J.B. alley. Quadro alley's clumsy and inconsistent with the original intentions roofing of the passage. We wrote about this more than a month ago, but to this day no meeting of the Old Market team, which should deal with this issue, has been convened. The mayor washes his hands, referring to the city's historic preservationist. The latter remains silent. Meanwhile, the culprits should be sought in the company Poznanskie Inwestycje Miejskie, which manages the entire investment.
As long as the canopy of the walkway remains in place in its current shape, we will not be able to talk about the success of the transformation of the Market Square. Those responsible for this aesthetic and architectural scandal should be publicly pilloried. Perhaps this is the reason why it has not yet returned to the Old Market.
