Star power

Poland has been attracting them for ages. Initially, they used to come at the behest of Polish kings, bishops and noblemen from countries such as Italy to transplant renaissance, baroque and classicist architectural ideas onto domestic soil and to erect imposing castles, palaces and churches. Today, after decades of communist rule, during which the patterns to follow came predominantly from the East, Poland is again drawing the world's architectural heavyweights, whose spectacular designs are, just like those of the Italian masters of the past, meant to bespeak the economic power of the investors and leave an enduring mark on Polish city-scapes.

Capital attraction

Warsaw has so far witnessed the delivery and announcement of the largest number of foreign-designed commercial, residential and culture space projects among Polish cities. In 2003, the capital saw the completion of the Metropolitan office building, whose design had been prepared by Norman Foster, architect of such prestigious projects as the renovated Reichstag building in Berlin and the new Wembley stadium in London. The following year, the Metropolitan was distinguished at the MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes as the world's best new office property development. In 2006, Hochtief Project Development Polska opened its Rondo 1 scheme designed by the Skidmore, Owings & Merill (SOM) architectural studio, known for the SearsTower and John Hancock Center skyscrapers in Chicago.

Nowadays, the capital's downtown area is expected to host at least three more signature towers designed by internationally recognized architectural firms within the next few years. Construction is already underway on the Daniel Libeskind-designed, 192-m tall Złota 44 residential building, while two other landmark towers are still waiting for their building permits.

The city center's pl. Grzybowski is expected to soon feature a 160-m tall tower designed by the Chicago-based Murphy/Jahn architectural firm. The building will house apartments and hotel space and will distinguish itself through its color-changing facade. The area neighboring the existing Marriott hotel, for its part, will get the ZahaHadid-designedLiliumTower, which is expected to be the capital's tallest modern skyscraper when it is completed.

Big architectural names are also involved in some of the currently prepared public investments in Warsaw. The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will be constructed according to a design prepared by Finland's Lahdelm & Mahlamäki Architects. The design was selected via an international architectural competition in which other world-famous architects including Daniel Libeskind and Kengo Kuma participated. The same was the case with the future Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, whose design competition was won by Switzerland's Christian Kerez.

Nationwide trend

Much as Warsaw still dominates the trend, world-renowned architects are now also preparing landmark designs for a number of Poland's regional cities. Poland-born Daniel Libeskind has already designed a new high-rise building for the Poznań-based developer Wechta. Called KoronaTower, the project was one of the central elements of Poznań's promotion offer during this year's edition of the MIPIM real estate fair.

Another design from Libeskind's studio could be realized in Gdańsk, where the city authorities want to revitalize the Polski Hak area. In May, Libeskind presented his vision of the place, one that would see the development of both residential and commercial space and includes a 193-m skyscraper. Construction of the scheme, however, is not expected to start before 2010, since its design contravenes the local spatial development plan and city authorities will have to find a way to modify this plan. The architect is also interested in the Bydgoszcz authorities' intention to revamp the city's pl. Teatralny and has already agreed to design a conference center there.

Prestigious public investments outside Warsaw have also attracted other renowned foreign architects. The architectural concept of Gdańsk's Baltic Arena stadium, for one, has been prepared by the Düsseldorf-based RKW Rhode Kellerman Wawrowsky architectural firm. Kraków's architectural competition for the design of a contemporary art museum, for its part, was won by the Italian architects Claudio Nardi and Leonardo Maria Proli.

Cooperation needed

In most cases, the international architects do not do all the work on their Polish projects without local help. Cooperation with a local architectural studio is indispensable, said Czesław Komorowski, chief architect at the architectural firm Epstein, which has been working on a number of prestigious projects in Warsaw with international studios including SOM, Murphy/Jahn and the Jerde Partnership. Of crucial importance is Polish architects' knowledge of local construction law and it is usually they who obtain the necessary permits.

What does the cooperation look like in practice? According to Komorowski, each case is different and much depends on whether the international partner is one particular architect or a large architectural firm. Most often, however, it is the international partner who provides the general vision of a particular project, which is then consulted with and worked upon in detail by the local architects.

"It is never an abrupt transition, but as the work on a particular project progresses, we gradually find ourselves doing more and the international partner doing less," said Komorowski.

Prestige-building

Why are more and more investors in Poland having their projects designed by internationally recognized architectural firms? "The employment of a renowned architect gives a developer considerable benefits. Firstly, it guarantees the high quality of the prepared design. Secondly, it boosts the images of both the developer and the building itself by increasing its recognizability," said Jarosław Zagórski, commercial and business development director at Ghelamco Poland. He added that his own company, which is already cooperating with the Belgian Jespers Eyers & Partners architectural studio, is now going to invite a well-known architect with experience in designing skyscrapers in Asia to work on one of its future office projects in Poland.

"The use of renowned designers can support the promotion of the investment and increase the level of its prestige. However, the most important thing for the developer is that [the architects] can bring a higher quality of design through their more extensive knowledge, experience and skills that are not always available on the local market - such as the latest ideas in sustainability and modern technologies as well as different ways of thinking about structures, facades and installations," said Douglas Noble, managing director of Orco Poland.

The magic of big names, Epstein's Komorowski pointed out, works the same way in the world of fashion, in which clothes of such brands as Versace are automatically associated with quality and prestige, even though they are now not designed by the famous designer himself. "People are attracted to names and brands which stand for high quality," said Komorowski.

According to Tomasz Andryszczyk, a press spokesperson for the city of Warsaw, the presence of world-renown architects in the capital is also crucial for the city's promotion abroad.

"We are sending a clear signal to investors that what we are interested in is top-quality architecture," Andryszczyk said.