A city on the water? It's not Amsterdam or Venice, but the Praga Port in Warsaw. The concept for the next stage of development in the Vistula River district was presented by the APA Wojciechowski Sp. z o.o. studio.
Port Praski is a post-industrial part of Warsaw, located on the right bank of the Vistula River, which has been subject to intensive development over the past several years. Buildings designed by major Polish architectural firms have been erected here - the urban planning concept for the development of subsequent quarters is the work of APA Wojciechowski and JEMS Architekci, the development of individual buildings [see: Port Praski by APA Wojciechowski] on Wybrzeże Szczecińskie, Krowiej and Okrzei streets was handled by the Maciej Kuryłowicz and APA Wojciechowski studios. The latter is also responsible for a new concept for the development of the waterfront and one of the piers of Port Praski, where an unusual residential development is to be built.
Port of Prague: Docks
image: APA Wojciechowski © Praga Port
a city on water
A riverside housing development is to be built on the waterfront and the northern jetty of Port Praski, which are currently undeveloped, post-industrial areas. According to the design by APA Wojciechowski, nine buildings with heights ranging from 5 to 7 stories are planned, as well as one, located in the most protruding part of the pier, rising to a height of 10 stories. Visualizations made available by the studio show three-wing assumptions organized around inner courtyards, which, according to the architects, by their scale and layout are to refer to Prague tenement houses. Although the references are rather conventional, the set of presented volumes presents a coherent concept, in which individual elements of the buildings are subject to alternation. Construction will be divided into two stages.
Praga Port: Doki
image: APA Wojciechowski © Praga Port
According to the investor, 337 apartments are planned in the first one on the waterfront facing J. Zamoyskiego Street. In the second, 935 apartments would be built on one of the port's piers. In addition to the apartments , there will be retail and service establishments, as well as public spaces, including a promenade at the northern end of the plot on which the development is to be built.
Praga Port: Docks
image: APA Wojciechowski © Praga Port
green port
According to the assumptions, the Port of Prague is to include solutions that will reduce the investment's impact on the environment. A large number of plantings have been designed, including more than 400 trees, rain gardens and green promenades. Greenery is also to appear on the roofs of the projected buildings. The southern pier, which is currently an area overgrown with wild vegetation, is to be rehabilitated and made available to residents with minimal interference with the existing biologically active space.
Praga Port: Docks
image: APA Wojciechowski © Praga Port
no plan
Despite ongoing work since 2005, the Port Praski area is still not covered by a local development plan. The plan was presented twice, in 2011 and 2015, but failed to pass. However, as Warsaw's Radio dla Ciebie reported, another draft has been prepared and is expected to be submitted to the City Council for a vote on September 19. Regardless of its final form, the developer, which is the Port Praski company owned by Zygmunt Solorz, has its own plan, which is to take advantage of the housing specs law, the so-called developer's lex. Under it, after appropriate consultations with the local government and residents, investments can be created that contradict the local plan. The developer has already begun consultations on the Internet, and meetings with residents will also be held at the Museum of Warsaw's Praga and at mobile points.
Praga Port: Doki
image: APA Wojciechowski © Praga Port
something for the city
In order to convince the authorities and residents to go ahead with the project, the developer announces accompanying investments in the form of completing the infrastructure with missing vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle routes. The construction of Port Praski will also include modernization of the Queen Jadwiga Elementary School No. 50. Queen Jadwiga. However, commentators on the Internet point out that the modernization of the school may be an insufficient measure in view of the considerable amount of planned housing and the already not-so-good condition of Prague's educational institutions. One of the changes announced within the harbor is also expected to be the opening of the harbor pool for recreational purposes. While this is an attractive vision, recent changes in the Vistula suggest the need to rethink this idea. The project has already received a preliminary positive opinion from the Office of Architecture and Spatial Planning of the Warsaw City Hall.
Praga Port: Docks
image: APA Wojciechowski © Praga Port
practice makes perfect
This is not the first time the APA Wojciechowski studio has designed a riverside district. In 2020, the Riverview development on the Motlawa River in Gdansk, built according to a concept developed by the office, was completed [see " Riverview on the Motlawa River in Gdansk "]: Riverview is one of the most successful projects on the Motlawa River]. The premise received recognition both domestically (Best Gdansk Architectural Realization) and internationally (European Property Awards 2000-2021 and a nomination for the Mies van der Rohe Award for 2022).
