Project: Office Tower
Designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
Client: UBS Real Estate Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH
Engineer: ARUP
Area: 60 000 sqm
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Website: shl.dk
Renowned Danish practice Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects designs an addition to Warsaw skyline with their project for 60,000 square meter Office Tower. This 188 meter high tower is located in the fast growing financial district of Polish capital.
From the Architects:
The new Office Tower Warsaw is situated in the financial district of central Warsaw, Poland. The 188 meter high-rise building is to replace the existing ‘Ilmet’ building and will stand out as a modern landmark clearly identifiable in the Warsaw skyline by its unique elegant shape and appearance.
The object of the competition was to design an office tower that will be a new landmark in the Warsaw skyline while at the same time capturing the full potential of the outstanding historic location.
The building consists of three individually stepped rectangular volumes with increasing heights towards the east. The façades create a subtle rhythm in the cityscape by slightly shifting inwards and outwards, and the inclined rooflines preserve optimal light conditions for the adjacent buildings.
The design of the building offers a spatial coherence between roof and street level. The lobby at street level, with its spectacular shaped ceiling, corresponds with the sloping shapes of the rooftops, making the building perceive as a sculptural object.
The open lobby allows the people of Warsaw to pass into and through the building, connecting the plaza and park in front of the building with the courtyards of the historical tenement houses to the south. The building offers a number of attractive public areas and serves to complement the project’s prominent setting, as well as the entire neighbourhood.
The building is designed to reduce energy consumption with the goal of qualifying for the highest levels of sustainability certifications as BREEAM Excellent or LEED Gold status. The modular façade system with floor to ceiling glass elements, provide high levels of transparency as well as full integration of sun shading and light reflection shutters. The sloped rooftops are equipped with photovoltaic cells and elements for harvesting rainwater. The total sustainability approach is a combination of intelligent building management and minimizing technical installations by using passive elements.
