One hundred and sixteen meters. That's how much Silver Andersia, which is just rising from the ground after many years of announcements, will measure. It will be the tallest skyscraper in Poznan. And that's probably the only "naj" that applies to this project.
Silver Andersia is the final, fourth stage of the office and hotel complex that Von der Heyden Group has been developing for nearly 25 years. The entire development complex is located on the outskirts of the Old Town next to Stary Browar (proj. Studio ADS, 2003, 2007) between Królowej Jadwigi Street, Kościuszki Street, Anders Square and Novotel Hotel (formerly Orbis Poznań Hotel, proj. Jerzy Buszkiewicz, Józef Maciejewski, 1972, reconstruction: studio of Wojciech Kolesiński: 2000 r.).
The premise is being built based on a comprehensive concept from the second half of the 1990s by the Ewa and Stanislaw Sipinski Architectural Studio. This office is also responsible for the designs of all the buildings of the complex. These include two skyscrapers, Poznań Financial Centre (2001) and Andersia Tower (2007), and a much lower office building called ABC with a service area (2015). A public walkway runs between the latter and the skyscrapers.
Silver Andersia, visualization, view from the north, from the park near the Stary Browar shopping center, the new skyscraper - on the right
proj. Pracownia Architektoniczna E. i S. Sipinski
aviators decide
Announcements about the construction of Silver Andersia have been appearing for almost a decade. From time to time the investor would announce the start of work, show more visualizations, and silence would fall. The designs changed, there was even a proposal to place two towers of the same height next to each other. The function was also to be different. A few years ago, the announcements were dominated by apartments. Now it was planned to be primarily office space. The building is to reach 116 meters (the air corridor for planes over the center does not allow more) and thus become the tallest skyscraper in Poznan. So far, the palm of primacy has been held by Andersia Tower (105.2 meters to the top of the mast), followed (though in principle ex aequo) by the distinctive red landmark of the University of Economics (designed by Witold Milewski, Zygmunt Skupniewicz, Lech Sternal, 1974, execution: 1991, 1994). Together with the massive telecommunications mast, it also reaches almost 105 meters.
Silver Andersia (left), visualization, view from Królowej Jadwigi Street, the lower part closer to the street largely obscures the highest mass of the building
proj. Pracownia Architektoniczna E. i S. Sipinski
Silver Andersia will be tall, but also massive. This is because it will consist of several cuboidal masses - the tallest one with 25 floors (plus three underground) and slightly lower ones (19 and 13 floors, respectively) - on the south and west sides (at Królowej Jadwigi street and Novotel hotel). The fully glazed semistructured elevations are to be devoid of externally emphasized divisions. A positive change from the previous "smart" buildings - is the planned ability to ventilate rooms thanks to tilting window sashes.
Smooth facades will distinguish Silver Andersia from the previous two skyscrapers slenderized optically with bright vertical muntins. The only reference to them now is a similar solution for the ground and second floor elevations. There are also no masts or spires on the roof , once characteristic of Sipinski's studio . Also missing are the diagonally accentuated top floors, which in neighboring skyscrapers rose st ubbly to the west - in line with the slope of the land on which the entire complex stands.
Silver Andersia, visualization, view from the intersection of Ratajczaka and Kosciuszko streets, on the left the Old Brewery, on the right, in front of the new skyscraper: Soldier's House and Novotel hotel
proj. Pracownia Architektoniczna E. i S. Sipinski
sea of skyscrapers
The total area of the newest building will be about 40,000 sqm, and the work is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Poznan's downtown will then gain a new distinct dominant feature, though certainly not as strongly affecting the city's silhouette as when the concept was drawn in the late 1990s. Not only has the iconic (albeit lower) Bałtyk office building (design: MVRDV, 2017) become a significant accent in the meantime, but two clusters of taller buildings have sprouted up in close proximity over the past few years. The closest and newest is the New Market office complex on the site of the former bus station. On the other hand, a few hundred meters away, right next to the station, on Składowa Street, a group of office and apartment buildings has sprung up, dominated by the tallest residential skyscraper in Poznań (height: 76 m, completion: 2020).
A view of the construction from Drwęski Park through Królowej Jadwigi Street, Silver Andersia will be built where the cranes can be seen
photo: Jakub Głaz
The train station complex is also entirely the work of the Sipinski studio, realized gradually since the end of the last century by local developer Ataner - at a similar pace to the buildings on Andersa Square. In contrast, Nowy Rynek (investor: SKANSKA) is being built at a much faster pace, according to an urban planning concept proposed by JEMS Architekci studio in 2017 in an investor closed competition.
To avoid monotony, the designs of the individual buildings of New Market come from different offices. The low-rise sprawling office buildings are the work of Maćków Pracownia Projektowa, while the two taller forms are the result of work by Medusa Group (completion: 2021) and JEMS Architekci (construction in progress). The latter building, unfortunately lower and less slender than planned (we wrote about it here), will enter into a spatial dialogue with Silver, located diagonally across the nearest intersection. The space between the New Market buildings, meanwhile, is the responsibility of Poznan-based designers from Ultra Architects. By the way, it is worth noting that all the significant investments discussed here were built on land not covered by local development plans.
The massive landmark of the Nowy Rynek office complex (designed by JEMS Architekci), behind it a finished office building designed by Medusa Group, view from Niezłomnych Street
photo: Jakub Glaz
deserted passage
When Silver's construction is finished, the interior of the entire Andersia complex may also come to life. Today, the interior walkway leads nowhere and is a dead, unfriendly space. Contrary to the designers' intentions of talking about a "centralizing complex," Andersia will probably remain an alienated collection of office buildings that will find it difficult to blend in with the downtown area. It will be effectively isolated by two streets, Królowej Jadwigi and Kościuszki, as well as by the massive solid walls of the Old Brewery.
Passage between skyscrapers of the complex (right ) and a lower office building (left), view to the west, in the future the perspective will be closed by Silver Andersia
photo: Jakub Głaz
Walkers or pedestrians will probably not be attracted by the quality of the architecture either. The overall design is, so far, correct at best. The forms of the skyscrapers strongly trump the beginning of the century, although even then the shape of the first tower was more in line with what was being built in this area around the world a decade earlier. On the other hand, the advantage of the latest development will probably be its neutrality expressed by smooth glass walls. Arguably, this will weaken the impact of the rather bulky block on the surrounding area and the silhouette of the city.
