The fashion for woonerfs continues! In Poland, woonerfs, or "streets for living," public shared spaces for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, are becoming increasingly popular (examples can be found here and here, among others). Another urban woonerf, devoid of transit traffic and without strict separation of vehicle and pedestrian zones, will be built in Warsaw's Wola district, in the area of the Warsaw Breweries being redeveloped.
The idea of a woonerf in street design has been around since the 1960s. It was a response to the exponential growth of vehicular transportation and an attempt to counter the seizure of previously multifunctional, "free" urban street spaces by cars. The concept encourages the promotion of urban space and its traditional character as a place for meetings, recreation, walking, commerce, gastronomy and free traffic.
woonerf in Warsaw
The inner street on the site of Browary Warszawskie, where the woonerf designed by JEMS Architekci studio will be built, has been an important element of the premise design since the beginning of the project. The developer (Echo Investment) put the choice of its name in the hands of Varsovians; out of three proposals, participants in a plebiscite decided that it would commemorate the famous brewers of Wola - Blazej Haberbusch and Konstanty Schiele.
© Echo Investment
We are committed to making the project a natural, integral and, above all, welcoming part of the city. We are composing the offer of Browary Warszawskie in such a way that it invites with original and sophisticated restaurant concepts and open and inviting city squares. A network of streets and paths will lead to the quarter's highlights, without gates or barriers. We are adding a woonerf to the list of those occasions for which our quarter will be worth visiting. I'm convinced that by creating the Haberbusch and Schiele inner pedestrian passage according to this concept, we are creating yet another place where man and his daily needs stand at the center," says Michal Gerwat, director of the Browary Warszawskie project.
Passage of Haberbusch and Schiele, the brewers of Wola
The new Haberbusch and Schielego Passage will be 135 meters long and 6 meters wide. Car traffic on this section will be one-way and slowed down. Part of the woonerf will be occupied by spaces reserved for restaurateurs, and tables of restaurants and cafes will appear. The entire area will be devoid of curbs and posts, and varied greenery will appear along the street.
© Echo Investment
Thewoonerf will be covered with a uniform floor referring to the post-industrial character of the place. We will be guided along it by horizontal, painted markings also inspired by the factory style of space organization. Among other things, in former breweries, signs painted on concrete slabs demarcated loading zones, routes of passage and transportation of raw materials. In the new Warsaw Breweries, special iconography will delineate restaurant zones, rest areas, pedestrian and bicycle traffic or fire roads, adds the Warsaw Breweries project director.
Thewoonerf will be highlighted by a unique piece of urban furniture - the "Pipeline," an urban installation that will guide guests of the Warsaw Breweries from the Brewery Gate Square to the Brewhouse Market. The installation will allude to the pipelines, characteristic of factories, which were formerly used to transport raw material or beer.
© Echo Investment
The opening of Browary Warszawskie is coming soon!
A space being developed by Echo Investment on the site of Browary Warszawskie is being developed with apartments and offices, proprietary food and beverage establishments and social spaces - the Brewhouse Market with the Laboratorium courtyard, the Lodging House in the 170-year-oldcellars, the green park in the Central Garden and the intimate Breakfast Square and the Brewery Gate Square. The hitherto inaccessible area, which reminds us of the brewing tradition and rich history of entrepreneurship, will return to the map of Warsaw in a completely new guise. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2020.
