At last! After years of uncertainty and concern about the fate of the three Waliców Street landmarks in Warsaw’s Wola district, concrete plans have emerged. The buildings located at numbers 10, 12 and 14 will get a new life as office and cultural space. The renovated walls will house the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.
Waliców as a witness to history
The tenements on Waliców Street are among the last witnesses of the tragic history of the Warsaw Ghetto. Partially ruined during World War II, they remained forgotten and dilapidated for decades. A particularly dramatic fate befell the building at No. 14, whose bomb-destroyed facade was never rebuilt. Today, the surviving wall fragments are almost a museum exhibit – a silent but distinct trace of the past. Across the street, an authentic fragment of the ghetto wall, riddled with bullets, still stands, integrated into the new buildings.
A dialogue between old and new
The Grupa 5 Architekci studio has developed a project for the adaptation of a number of tenement houses, which involves preserving and highlighting the authentic historic substance. The buildings already gained conservation protection in 2018. Now it is time to save them and transform them into public spaces. The ground floors will serve exhibition and service functions, while the upper floors will house modern offices. Thanks to the developed concept of roofing the space left by the non-existent front of the building number 14, the preserved fragments of the walls will finally receive proper protection. However, they will not be completely built over. The roof, whose form will be reminiscent of the original one from before 1944, will create a semi-open space. It will remain accessible from the street, which will emphasise the symbolic significance of the visible destruction as scars of the city.
New form of historic walls
The contemporary elements used in the design, such as the glazed additions to the volumes or the new roofs over the courtyards, are clearly distinct from the original fabric of the buildings. This treatment is intended to create a clear layout in which the historic walls retain their identity and the modern architecture becomes their background and complement. The northern part of the Waliców 12 tenement will be enclosed by a glass wall. This procedure will ensure that the addition does not try to pretend to be an original element. Such a decision stems from conservation recommendations and serves to clearly separate history from contemporary interventions.
Public and educational function
The courtyards of all three townhouses will be covered with roofs, transforming them into spaces accessible through the historic gates from Pereca and Waliców Streets. Inside, bright lobbies and lobbies will be created, linking the buildings into a coherent complex. Expositions are planned both on the ground floor and in the basement of the former building at number 14. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation plans to hold exhibitions here, including a planned exhibition of the ‘No More War’ posters that have accompanied anniversaries of the outbreak of World War II for years. The complex will thus become a place for work and reflection.
The townhouses today and in the future. Photo: Mateusz Markowski/whiteMAD and Grupa 5 Architekci
Waliców streets anew
The team of architects envisages maximum usability flexibility in the buildings. The former flats will be consolidated into larger office modules and vertical and horizontal communication will link the entire complex, providing independent access to the different parts from different entrances. A typical floor will offer more than 1,500 sq m of space, ready to be adapted according to the needs of the tenants. In addition, an intimate underground car park will be created at the rear of the property at Waliców 10 and 12.
An architectural lesson in memory
The imminent renovation of the tenements on Waliców Street is more than just an architectural project. It is a form of conscious dialogue with the history of a place that was not rebuilt after the war and for decades afterwards served as a reminder of the tragedy of the Warsaw Ghetto. Waliców Street seemed to have always remained in the shadows, but thanks to the new concept this will finally change.
Source: Grupa 5 Architekci
Read also: Monument | Tenement | Curiosities | City | Warsaw | Architecture in Poland
Surviving tenement houses in Waliców, 1935 and 2024. Photo: mapa.um.warszawa.pl
