The first association with the word modern office that comes to mind to a person not connected with this industry is a structure which is a part of an office complex located in a typical business district of a city. Meanwhile, office investments may be successfully realized in the very heart of a city center and to be more precise – in the neighborhood or even in the area of historical market halls. These buildings are often realized in result of revitalization of an old development. However, they are built from proverbial scratch in some cases. What else – next to location – connects buildings located in the very heart of a city?
One of such common denominators is a group of tenants. Offices situated in the neighborhood or in historical centers are often chosen by companies which appreciate a prestigious address constituting a business card of an enterprise. The second one is developed access to public communication, that is e.g. stops of many bus or tram lines connected with almost each recess of a city. Such aspect is also proximity of prestigious streets, including renowned restaurants, luxurious shops, hotels or precious monuments.
Architectural framework
However, revitalization of an office investment in such a prestigious location among historical tenement houses is related to necessity of fulfilling certain architectural requirements such as adjustment of a building’s project to adjacent development. Such situation occurred in the case of Plac Zamkowy – Business with Heritage located at Senatorska Street in the Warsaw Old Town. The project was consulted with Metropolitan Monument Conservator. In result, a solid of the building harmoniously chimes with a surrounding development and the building kept its individual and modern character. Wojciech Grabianowski is responsible for the architectural project of the office Plac Zamkowy – Business with Heritage. The architect works in RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky studio known from buildings in historical cities. The efforts of the author and Senatorska Investment – responsible for realization of the investment – were appreciated and awarded The Project of the Year 2015 for the best modernization in Central and Eastern Europe in the competition EuropaProperty CEE Investment & Green Building Awards.
Plac Zamkowy – Business with Heritage is one of the examples of offices located in the very heart of Polish cities. Another example is Rzeźnicza 16 in Wrocław, which is currently being realized at the crossroads of Rzeźnicza and Nowy Świat Streets, only 200m from the main square of the capital of Lower Silesia. The architecture of the realized office refers to a department store from the beginning of the 21st c. The solid of the building and its elevation made from natural materials and glass were designed in such a way to adjust them into neighboring development. Wrocław is a city which is famous from concentration of office structures in the area or in close proximity to the historical center. Another investment realized in the neighborhood of the Main Square at the crossroads of Santa Claus and Nowy Świat is Nicolas Business Center.
Similar realizations are also located in Poznań. A small office QUADRO OFFICE – the newest office investment of Monday Development – is being realized in close proximity to the Old Market at the crossroads of Małe Garbary and Bóżnicza Streets.
The above examples are projects realized from the foundations. However, the scale of the structures built from scratch in the neighborhood or in close proximity to the historical market is much smaller in comparison to those founded in result of revitalization of the old development. There are a lot of office structures located in the very heart of city centers often in revitalized tenement houses in Wrocław, Warsaw, Cracow, or other regional cities. They attract connoisseurs of historical structures who mainly care about prestige while choosing headquarters for their companies.
Offices located in the neighborhood or in close proximity to city markets have a lot in common. The proximity to facilities for tenants, attractive neighborhood – these are only few similarities. Office structures located in the very heart of cities are also a unique architecture constituting combination of modernity with the past, which is a complementation of a historical midtown development.