One of this year’s first renovations of historic buildings in Warsaw, carried out with the help of municipal subsidies, has just been completed. One such project was the renovation of the roof of a tenement house at Rynek Nowego Miasta 17. The building received a refreshed roof covering, where during the works it was decided to select recyclable tiles and replace the damaged ones with demolition material from other Warsaw buildings.
The pre-war New Town Square looked very different from today. Instead of stylistically uniform frontages, the market was characterised by diverse architecture. There were both one-storey or single-storey buildings with simple forms and imposing six-storey tenements with Art Nouveau or eclectic decoration. The building at number 17 is the result of the post-war reconstruction of the New Town, carried out in 1953-56. Its architecture is reminiscent of 18th-century classicist tenement houses, although before 1939 low-rise, not very representative buildings stood here.
The New Town Market Square after reconstruction. Source: “Warsaw – on the destruction and rebuilding of the city”, Alfred Ciborowski – Interpress Warsaw 1969
During the reconstruction, the façade of the building was decorated with paintings by an outstanding Warsaw artist and educator, Hanna Żuławska. This artist is also the author of decorations for several tenements in the Main Town in Gdańsk and in the Old and New Town in Warsaw. In addition to monumental painting, Żuławska was also involved in ceramics, and her mosaics can be admired in the arcades of houses at Konstytucji Square and Torwar.
The burning New Town Square in 1944 and the same place today. Source: Museum of Warsaw and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
The market in 1959 and 2022. Photo: NAC and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
This year’s renovation continues the work of the housing association that owns the entire frontage. As with the tenement at number 27, the renovation has been carried out using recycled tiles, the Pola model. After the old roofing was carefully dismantled, the tiles were selected – those suitable for reuse were returned to the roof, and the damaged ones were replaced with demolition material from other Warsaw buildings.
This approach is not only more economical, but also has a natural effect, fitting perfectly into the historical context. The renovated roof blends in perfectly with its surroundings without standing out from the other townhouses. It is worth noting that demolition tiles were already used during the construction of the tenement, as evidenced by colour archive photographs showing the colour variation of the roof slopes.
New Town Square 17 before and after the roof renovation. Photo: BSKZ
During the renovation, the flashings were also replaced. Instead of the old, dilapidated sheet metal, copper sheet was used – a traditional, durable and aesthetically pleasing material, ideally suited to the historic tenement. The renovation of the roof of the tenement at 17 Rynek Nowy Miasta was supported by a city grant of PLN 136 274, which covered around 60% of the cost of the works. This made it possible to carry out the work in a way that was in keeping with the historic character of the building, while maintaining its aesthetic and functional value. There are also plans to renovate the façade.
Source: Warsaw CityHall
Read also: Renovation | Tenement | City | Warsaw | Architecture in Poland
