The tenement house at 8 Moniuszki Street in Warsaw is undergoing renovation. This is not just any place. It used to be home to the legendary Adria, known to every resident of the capital. The building, which has been abandoned for years, will be transformed into a residential facility with institutional rental options and service and catering facilities.
A new phase at Moniuszki 8
LivUp is responsible for the investment, undertaking the difficult task of modernising a tenement house with great symbolic significance for Warsaw. It was here that Café Adria operated in the interwar period, associated mainly with elegance, social life and new entertainment trends in the capital. Once the work is complete, the famous building will be bustling with life as it was 100 years ago, but this time as a complex of apartments for long-term rental, complemented by commercial functions available to a wide range of users.
Scope of the investment by LivUp
The design by APMD Architects involves the reconstruction and extension of the historic building at 8 Moniuszki Street and a change in its function from office to residential. The six-storey building will have 65 units ranging in size from 25 to 64 sq m, spread over a total area of 2,600 sq m. The ground floor and basement will feature approximately 1,200 sq m of space for retail and catering. Construction work began in August last year and is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2027. The general contractor is TECHBAU Budownictwo.
APMD Architects and the new interior design
All flats at Moniuszki 8 will be equipped with air conditioning, and their layouts will be designed for comfort. The project also includes an extensive programme of common areas, prepared according to the LivUp standard. Residents will have access to a lobby with a reception desk, a work and relaxation area, an intimate gym, recreational spaces, a bicycle storage room and a garden located on the first floor. The roof will feature a green terrace with a panoramic view of Warsaw.
Architecture and preservation of the historic building at Moniuszki 8
The scope of conservation work includes renovation of the façade, restoration of Ionic columns and entablature, reconstruction of stucco details and restoration of stone lions at the entrance. New window frames will be made of wood, in accordance with historical divisions and colours approved by the conservator. Once the work is complete, a plaque commemorating Jan Kryst “Alan”‘s action on 22 May 1943 will also be returned to the façade.
Adria’s heritage
The interior design project is being prepared by the Warsaw-based IDSTUDIO studio. The concept refers to the aesthetics of the interwar period, interpreted through a contemporary lens. The decor will be based on high-quality materials, soft furniture forms, local craftsmanship and a subdued colour palette. The lobby and common areas will feature graphics inspired by archival photographs of Warsaw and the former Adria, and a significant part of the furnishings will be custom-made by Polish contractors.
Moniuszki 8 – history
The building at Moniuszki 8 was built between 1928 and 1930 as the headquarters of the Italian insurance company Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtà. From 1931, its representative part housed Adria, a restaurant and entertainment venue that could accommodate up to 1,500 guests, known for its rotating dance floor, winter garden under a glass roof and extensive dance and music programme. The place quickly became one of the most prestigious social venues in interwar Warsaw. During the German occupation, the venue was exclusively available to Germans. During the Warsaw Uprising, the building housed, among other things, a canteen and the “Błyskawica” radio station. In August 1944, a huge shell from a Karl Gerät mortar fell on the building, but fortunately it did not explode. After the war, the building was rebuilt and allocated to the State Insurance Company, and Adria resumed operations in 1973, only to close down permanently in 2005.
Source: media.bepr.pl, jedenraz.wordpress.com
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The front of the building in 1930 and today. Source: Digital Library of the Warsaw University of Technology and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Rickshaw in front of Adria, 1940 and 2024. Source: NAC – National Digital Archives www.nac.gov.pl/ and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
August 1944 and April 2024. Marszałkowska Street, corner of Moniuszki Street. View of Napoleon Square. Source: Days of the Uprising. A photographic chronicle of Warsaw in battle. Stanisław Kopf, Jan Grużewski PAX Publishing Institute, Warsaw 1957 and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
30 September 1944, the 61st day of the Warsaw Uprising. Victims of an air raid near the colonnade of a tenement house and the same place today. Source: waralbum.ru, Author: Eugeniusz Lokajski and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Moniuszki in August 1959 and today. Source: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Author: Hans Leibundgut, Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Facade in 2024 and in the future. Source: whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski and APMD Architects
