A vision of Warsaw
Strolling around Warsaw city center's chaotic architecture, where the metropolitan allure of expensive hotels and luxurious boutiques mixes with the gloom of decrepit tenements and sheet-metal barracks, can be a less than delightful experience. City officials, however, have unveiled a plan to rectify the design sins of yesterday. "Warsaw will have a totally different character than it has now," says the capital's president, Lech Kaczyński, who is also running for the country's presidency.
Warsaw authorities have a very ambitious plan concerning the city's development. The realization of some of its aims will definitely not happen under the present authorities' rules, and most probably neither in their lifetime. Regardless, the city's citizens will soon be able to judge the authorities' grand designs for themselves when the Warsaw of the Future exhibition, prepared by the main architect of Warsaw, Michał Borowski, opens.
Visitors to the exhibition, which is currently in the Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN) until August 8, can see the development strategy of Warsaw up to the year 2020, the brainchild of the city's vice president, Sławomir Skrzypek "This is a prior document," said the chief architect Borowski, and officials have stressed how challenging and brave the plans for development are.
Both the strategy of development and the exhibition concentrates on three of the most controversial landmarks of Warsaw. "Krakowskie Przedmieście is pretty, but should be prettier," said Kaczyński. "To what extent narrower the roadway should be is a subject substantially discussed. We have organized this exhibition for discussion," he said. Works at Krakowskie Przedmieście will start this year.
Another debate is what to do with Plac Piłsudskiego. "All squares, apart from Plac Piłsudskiego and Plac Zamkowy, are parking places," complains Borowski. An architectural competition for the Plac has already been announced, and a competition for a structure commemorating the Pope will be organized in a month. "This could be a cross, or a chapel. It's too early to say exactly," said Kaczyński.
Perhaps the most challenging problems are posed by Plac Defilad, which needs urgent action. "There are tens of actions under way. Although we have already solved several problems, we still have a difficult time ahead. The problem of Plac Defilad cannot be prolonged anymore," said Kaczyński.
The problems Kaczyński mentioned involve the property rights of the unknown owners of the dispersed plots as well as territorial claims, especially by the railway. There are also technical barriers due to the network of cables and wires under the Palace of Culture and Science and Plac Defilad.
"You can see that something has already moved on Plac Defilad. The Marks & Spencer store was demolished and this will also happen to the rest of the shopping halls," insists Borowski. "On the northern side there will be a performance hall. Plac Defilad will also have a Museum of Modern Art. This will be the biggest construction site in this part of the world."
It's not all good news for locals, however. "Unfortunately the level of Polish investments in this area will be very low, because of the prices," warned Kaczyński.
The rumors of rebuilding Plac Defilad, Plac Piłsudskiego and Krakowskie Przedmieście have long been in the air, but no real action could be seen. "There is something going on all the time. The problem is that the formalities take longer than the physical realization of the investment," claims Kaczyński.
The chief architect has repeatedly stressed the importance of Warsaw's preconditions study. "It obliges the city to take certain actions. It determines the height of buildings and the construction sites. I hope the document will be enacted in the autumn," he said. This is a document defining the spatial policy of a gmina. The obligation to prepare this document was introduced in 1994 in an Act on spatial planning. Currently, 98 percent of gminas in Poland have such studies. Among the two percent that do not is Warsaw. To explain this situation one has to move back to the old political system, in which Warsaw was not just one entity, but a union of 11 gminas. This was the case until March 2002, when Warsaw became one gmina. In the absence of the preconditions study, developers have been referring to the Warsaw spatial plan for guidance. However, experts say that the spatial plan does not function as a strategic regulation on Warsaw development.
So how will all the regulations and projects have an impact on Warsaw's architecture? At the moment, buildings such as the Marriott Hotel or the Warsaw Trade Tower define the scale of Warsaw skyscrapers. Now the highest building, apart from PKiN and the Warsaw Trade Tower, is Rondo1. "We will have more of them," promises Kaczyński. He pointed to the Western part of Warsaw, especially to the route from Plac Zawiszy, through ul. Grzybowska to the Arkadia shopping mall, as the Manhattan of Warsaw. "The process of city planning is never finished," he says.
Warsaw will not, however, be just reaching for the skies. "We also need villas, like those in Wawer or Białołęka, if we want to keep the rich citizens in the city," said Kaczyński. "Warsaw will have both high and low architecture."
Now it only remains for the ambitious plans to be realized. Few will be holding their breadth, however; just organizing the Warsaw of the Future exhibition took a year.
Warsaw authorities have a very ambitious plan concerning the city's development. The realization of some of its aims will definitely not happen under the present authorities' rules, and most probably neither in their lifetime. Regardless, the city's citizens will soon be able to judge the authorities' grand designs for themselves when the Warsaw of the Future exhibition, prepared by the main architect of Warsaw, Michał Borowski, opens.
Visitors to the exhibition, which is currently in the Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN) until August 8, can see the development strategy of Warsaw up to the year 2020, the brainchild of the city's vice president, Sławomir Skrzypek "This is a prior document," said the chief architect Borowski, and officials have stressed how challenging and brave the plans for development are.
Both the strategy of development and the exhibition concentrates on three of the most controversial landmarks of Warsaw. "Krakowskie Przedmieście is pretty, but should be prettier," said Kaczyński. "To what extent narrower the roadway should be is a subject substantially discussed. We have organized this exhibition for discussion," he said. Works at Krakowskie Przedmieście will start this year.
Another debate is what to do with Plac Piłsudskiego. "All squares, apart from Plac Piłsudskiego and Plac Zamkowy, are parking places," complains Borowski. An architectural competition for the Plac has already been announced, and a competition for a structure commemorating the Pope will be organized in a month. "This could be a cross, or a chapel. It's too early to say exactly," said Kaczyński.
Perhaps the most challenging problems are posed by Plac Defilad, which needs urgent action. "There are tens of actions under way. Although we have already solved several problems, we still have a difficult time ahead. The problem of Plac Defilad cannot be prolonged anymore," said Kaczyński.
The problems Kaczyński mentioned involve the property rights of the unknown owners of the dispersed plots as well as territorial claims, especially by the railway. There are also technical barriers due to the network of cables and wires under the Palace of Culture and Science and Plac Defilad.
"You can see that something has already moved on Plac Defilad. The Marks & Spencer store was demolished and this will also happen to the rest of the shopping halls," insists Borowski. "On the northern side there will be a performance hall. Plac Defilad will also have a Museum of Modern Art. This will be the biggest construction site in this part of the world."
It's not all good news for locals, however. "Unfortunately the level of Polish investments in this area will be very low, because of the prices," warned Kaczyński.
The rumors of rebuilding Plac Defilad, Plac Piłsudskiego and Krakowskie Przedmieście have long been in the air, but no real action could be seen. "There is something going on all the time. The problem is that the formalities take longer than the physical realization of the investment," claims Kaczyński.
The chief architect has repeatedly stressed the importance of Warsaw's preconditions study. "It obliges the city to take certain actions. It determines the height of buildings and the construction sites. I hope the document will be enacted in the autumn," he said. This is a document defining the spatial policy of a gmina. The obligation to prepare this document was introduced in 1994 in an Act on spatial planning. Currently, 98 percent of gminas in Poland have such studies. Among the two percent that do not is Warsaw. To explain this situation one has to move back to the old political system, in which Warsaw was not just one entity, but a union of 11 gminas. This was the case until March 2002, when Warsaw became one gmina. In the absence of the preconditions study, developers have been referring to the Warsaw spatial plan for guidance. However, experts say that the spatial plan does not function as a strategic regulation on Warsaw development.
So how will all the regulations and projects have an impact on Warsaw's architecture? At the moment, buildings such as the Marriott Hotel or the Warsaw Trade Tower define the scale of Warsaw skyscrapers. Now the highest building, apart from PKiN and the Warsaw Trade Tower, is Rondo1. "We will have more of them," promises Kaczyński. He pointed to the Western part of Warsaw, especially to the route from Plac Zawiszy, through ul. Grzybowska to the Arkadia shopping mall, as the Manhattan of Warsaw. "The process of city planning is never finished," he says.
Warsaw will not, however, be just reaching for the skies. "We also need villas, like those in Wawer or Białołęka, if we want to keep the rich citizens in the city," said Kaczyński. "Warsaw will have both high and low architecture."
Now it only remains for the ambitious plans to be realized. Few will be holding their breadth, however; just organizing the Warsaw of the Future exhibition took a year.
