A new building has recently been constructed in the city centre of Gliwice: H11 Boutique Office, by Zalewski Architecture Group. As part of the project, a railway building from the early 20th century was demolished. The office building standing in its place consists of two parts, which have been given contrasting colours. The dark part mimics the old outline of the tenement walls, while the light part is the new one. The project has stirred up considerable controversy.
The railway tenement house at 39 Zabrska Street was until recently a two-storey building with a classicist design. The building was in a dilapidated state and in need of renovation. However, the architects from the Zalewski Architecture Group office went several steps further. As the architects responsible for the design of the stirring office building write, such historic buildings become difficult to adapt to modern standards and users’ expectations once they have been abandoned.
“This was also the fate of the existing building on this site, which was unsuitable for adaptation due to its poor condition. However, such buildings, as witnesses to history, are carriers of collective memory and evidence of the historical continuity and evolution of the city. Sometimes, as in this case, they inspire the imagination – and as such are of value to investors, users and residents alike. This is why the architects decided to recreate the traces of the old building in the new building – but not directly. To recreate historical details artificially would be to falsify reality – hence the succinct treatment of the drawing and the reference to details – cornices and window bands in the form of reliefs,” explain representatives of the Zalewski Architecture Group.
In their design, the architects wanted to adapt its size to the urban context, including matching the height of the building to the townhouses characteristic of the downtown area, ensuring modern utility, technical and environmental standards, and preserving the heritage and history of the site.
Gliwice – townhouse before and after redevelopment. Photo: Google Maps and Tomasz Zakrzewski / Archifolio
The former tenement structure has been integrated into the new body of the building, creating a combination of the historic outline and the contemporary section. It is characterised by a simplicity of form and a metallic surface that reflects its surroundings like a mirror. The dynamic composition makes the building different from all sides. The building has 5 floors with a flexible office function, a new entrance with an added staircase with a passenger lift. The building meets all standards of modern construction, including energy-saving and ecological.
The building before and after reconstruction. Photo: Google Maps and Tomasz Zakrzewski / Archifolio
“The vestige of the original tenement – the dark outline of an archetypal building block with a sloping roof – is the symbolic cornerstone of the new building. On closer inspection, we read in it a synthetic relief of historical openings, cornices, and bands,” the architects explain.
The building uses an abstract, athectonic arrangement of new, large window openings to penetrate and visually unify the office building. In terms of construction – part of the basement and external walls of the building have been adapted, but other elements due to their poor condition, as well as the need to meet technical conditions, have been newly constructed.
The tenement house before and after reconstruction. Photo: Google Maps and Tomasz Zakrzewski / Archifolio
Object name: H11 BOUTIQUE OFFICE IN GLIWICE
Designer: Zalewski Architecture Group
Architect: Krzysztof Zalewski
Design collaboration: Paweł Zalewski, Patrycja Dapa – Rylukowska,
Author of photographs: Tomasz Zakrzewski / Archifolio
Location: Gliwice, Silesia
Implementation date: 2024 r.
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Office building | Tenement | Metamorphosis | City | whiteMAD on Instagram
