Warsaw's new look walk of fame
Devastated pavements, neglected gardens, chaotic advertising, street traders and general gloominess can all to be found at the back of Domy Towarowe Centrum (DTC) in the very center of Warsaw. However, it could be revamped with impressive illumination from 14 towering poles with 'crowns' at the top, evergreen elevation on the side of DTC and a completely redesigned tile floor if the current project by Maas and Bulanda & Mucha Architekci is finally accepted by Warsaw's authorities.
In a bid to improve the neighborhood, DTC last year asked the Polish Architects' Association in Warsaw and the City's Chief Architect to arrange a competition to revitalize Pasaż Wiecha. The winners were Maas and Bulanda & Mucha Architekci.
"Revitalizing Pasaż Wiecha includes three main elements, i.e. floor, elevation and illumination," said the architect from Maas, Dariusz Hyc. The floor was designed so as to make Pasaż Wiecha a distinguished part of Warsaw. Meant to become "the alley of Warsaw hotspots," the passage will offer space in the form of stones in the floor, to allude to people and events that have contributed to the specific atmosphere of Warsaw.
The project also provides an additional green area on the western wall of the passage. The elevation of all the staircases will be converted into green walls covered by evergreen plants, so that the effect will be maintained in winter.
However, the most appealing aspect of the project may be its illumination. Fourteen posts, each 19 meters high will be sited down the length of the passage. They will give light to the floor, and the 'crowns' at the top will function as decorative illumination. The illuminating elements are designed so that they provide optimal and diversified light to the passage, without blinding the nearby living apartments.
Today's Pasaż Wiecha is a part of the 'Eastern wall' built between 1960-1969 on the basis of an original project from 1958 by Zbigniew Karpiński and Jan Kelwin. Displaying elements of late modernism, it initially had residential, commercial, and entertainment functions. The project was based on the Lijnbaan passage in Rotterdam from 1953 by J.B. Bakm and J.H. van den Broeck. For many years the passage was one of the most important places in Warsaw, with luxurious shops, cinemas, and restaurants. In the late 1980s it gradually lost its importance. Lack of investment in maintenance and infrastructure made the place unattractive, neglected, and unsafe. In 1999 the new owner of the nearby buildings started general repairs of the elevation and interiors as well as of the neighborhood. It began with renovation of the facades and windows of the department stores - Wars & Sawa and Junior - on the side of ul. Marszałkowska. Now the time has come for Pasaż Wiecha.
Everything is the hands of the town councilors. "We are ready to start realizing the project," announced the commissioner of development at DTC RE, Jarosław Kaniewski. "Now we are waiting for the decision of the Town Hall. The sooner it is taken the earlier we will start the works. There is a chance to launch the project this year." Wiesław Drzewiecki from the Spatial Order Commission claims it will take no longer than three weeks for the President of Warsaw to make a decision.
DTC will finance the project but the investment cost is still a commercial secret.
In a bid to improve the neighborhood, DTC last year asked the Polish Architects' Association in Warsaw and the City's Chief Architect to arrange a competition to revitalize Pasaż Wiecha. The winners were Maas and Bulanda & Mucha Architekci.
"Revitalizing Pasaż Wiecha includes three main elements, i.e. floor, elevation and illumination," said the architect from Maas, Dariusz Hyc. The floor was designed so as to make Pasaż Wiecha a distinguished part of Warsaw. Meant to become "the alley of Warsaw hotspots," the passage will offer space in the form of stones in the floor, to allude to people and events that have contributed to the specific atmosphere of Warsaw.
The project also provides an additional green area on the western wall of the passage. The elevation of all the staircases will be converted into green walls covered by evergreen plants, so that the effect will be maintained in winter.
However, the most appealing aspect of the project may be its illumination. Fourteen posts, each 19 meters high will be sited down the length of the passage. They will give light to the floor, and the 'crowns' at the top will function as decorative illumination. The illuminating elements are designed so that they provide optimal and diversified light to the passage, without blinding the nearby living apartments.
Today's Pasaż Wiecha is a part of the 'Eastern wall' built between 1960-1969 on the basis of an original project from 1958 by Zbigniew Karpiński and Jan Kelwin. Displaying elements of late modernism, it initially had residential, commercial, and entertainment functions. The project was based on the Lijnbaan passage in Rotterdam from 1953 by J.B. Bakm and J.H. van den Broeck. For many years the passage was one of the most important places in Warsaw, with luxurious shops, cinemas, and restaurants. In the late 1980s it gradually lost its importance. Lack of investment in maintenance and infrastructure made the place unattractive, neglected, and unsafe. In 1999 the new owner of the nearby buildings started general repairs of the elevation and interiors as well as of the neighborhood. It began with renovation of the facades and windows of the department stores - Wars & Sawa and Junior - on the side of ul. Marszałkowska. Now the time has come for Pasaż Wiecha.
Everything is the hands of the town councilors. "We are ready to start realizing the project," announced the commissioner of development at DTC RE, Jarosław Kaniewski. "Now we are waiting for the decision of the Town Hall. The sooner it is taken the earlier we will start the works. There is a chance to launch the project this year." Wiesław Drzewiecki from the Spatial Order Commission claims it will take no longer than three weeks for the President of Warsaw to make a decision.
DTC will finance the project but the investment cost is still a commercial secret.
