A new building in Krakowskie Przedmieście? Here is a proposal from the Architektura Klasyczna studio

The design studio Architektura Klasyczna has published its proposal for the development of Fr Twardowski Square, located next to the Bristol Hotel. Before the Second World War, tenement houses stood on this spot, which were destroyed. Their ruins were demolished and the empty square was turned into a green area. The three buildings are the only part of the frontage that has not been rebuilt.The new building on Krakowskie Przedmieście would fill this gap

In place of the destroyed tenement houses, architect Tomasz Geras proposes a completely new building that would close the Saska Axis with a monumental edifice

The new building on Krakowskie Przedmieście. Source: Architektura Klasyczna

The Saxon Axis, one of Warsaw’s most monumental urban arrangements, is currently dispersing into the indefinable emptiness of a square at Krakowskie Przedmieście. It seems that in view of the planned reconstruction of the nearby Saxon Palace, the described location may all the more demand a kind of ‘architectural closure’. Since before the war the plot was built up with tenement houses of somewhat random dimensions, we present a purely theoretical proposal for developing the square with a building in the traditional spirit, which we developed in the past

The square before and after the construction of the new building. Source: whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski and Classic Architecture

The building would not be an object without an architectural context. It would have its references in the neighbouring development and at the same time act as an element that closes the axis

The side wings of the building could refer to the House Without Edges on the other side of the street, while the semi-circular niche would more literally draw on classical motifs. Thanks to such a move, the building would not dominate with its monumentality the perspective of Krakowskie Przedmieście, while at the same time providing a ceremonial setting for the Saska Axis that ends here

Józef Piłsudski Monument at present and against the background of the new building. Source: whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski and Classic Architecture

Urban axes are, as a rule, semi-simple and therefore have at least a beginning. Meanwhile, the Saxon Axis is currently a line: it is not clear where it ends or where it begins. The intersection of this premise with Krakowskie Przedmieście seems a natural place for some kind of climax. A high-rise dominant is out of the question due to the dimensions of the Royal Route, so perhaps an architectural dominant would be appropriate? – explains the architect

The concept is to preserve the square as it existed before the war and to develop only the deeper part of the area

What do you think of this idea?

Source: Design Studio – Architektura Klasyczna

Read also: Architecture | Tenement | City | Warsaw | Architecture in Poland