Controversial renovation in Powiśle. Pre-war cladding is being removed from the facade

The ongoing renovation of the façade of the power station’s administrative building in Powiśle, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 41 at the corner of Tamka Street, has sparked considerable controversy. Sandstone cladding, much of which dates back to before the war and bears mementos of the Warsaw Uprising in the form of gunshots, is being removed from the elevation there. The owner assures that the historic elements will be reinstalled

The impressive edifice was erected in 1937-39 in the functionalist style, based on a design by Czesław Jabłoński and Józef Korszyński. It was built to serve the needs of the Powiśle power station located nearby. Despite its location at a point where fighting was intense, the building was not destroyed during the war. However, traces of those events can be observed on the façade of the building. It is marked by hundreds of gunshots. Some of the stone slabs were removed in the post-war period and replaced with fragments of new sandstone, but despite this, the building is still an important reminder of those events. Due to its architectural and historical value, it was entered in the register of monuments. After the war it became the headquarters of the electricity company, and today it is the headquarters of the Warsaw Electricity Distribution Company

Renovation work in Powiśle. Photo: whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski

When more and more fragments of the façade began to disappear and broken sandstone started to fall from under the scaffolding, the residents became concerned about the work. The first to intervene was the organisation Tu było, tu stało, which reports that

‘The renovation is being carried out by the owner of the building in accordance with the guidelines issued by the provincial conservator of monuments. It was necessary because the façade, after many years, has numerous damages and the sandstone is a very delicate material, sensitive to the influence of weather conditions. Hence, according to the aforementioned conservation guidelines, 25 per cent of the originally installed and now renovated slabs are to be used for the re-installation, especially those with firing marks. The new slabs must be made of sandstone obtained from the same quarry and must be prepared in the same way as they were done 85 years ago. The work is to be completed by the end of this year

We will therefore have to wait a little longer to see the results of the work and the degree of preservation of the postholes. There are few sites left in Warsaw that are such a tangible reminder of the city’s history. Intervention in this case is therefore very justified and those who carry out any activities at these objects should be watched carefully. This is especially true in view of the fact that a building on Rozbrat Street, also a witness to the 1944 uprising, has very recently come down in history, which we wrote about HERE

Source: Tu było, tustało

Read also: Architecture | Facade | Modernism | Renovation | Monument | Warsaw