The Za Żelazną Bramą housing estate is one of the most recognisable Warsaw housing estates built during the communist era. It was built between 1965 and 1972 in the Warsaw district of Mirow, partly in the Wola district and partly in the city centre. Its name refers to the historic Żelazna Brama (Iron Gate), which was once the entrance to the Saxon Garden. The gate, although no longer in existence, was an important landmark of the city, located on the Saxon Axis, where today there is a green belt between the carriageways of Marszałkowska Street.
Project genesis and architectural principles
Between 1713 and 1748, the area of today’s housing estate was included in the broad urban plans associated with the Saxon Axis. From the end of the 18th century, the area developed intensively and was rapidly built up. One of the key projects was the construction of two market halls between 1899 and 1901, which were built on the site of the former Mirowski Barracks. The Iron Gate Square, which served as a market place, gave its name to the future development of the 20th century. World War II brought dramatic changes – much of the development in the area was destroyed or burnt down. This gave post-war architects and urban planners the chance to realise their grand plans.
Construction of a housing estate, late 1960s Source: “Warsaw – on the destruction and reconstruction of the city” – Alfred Ciborowski, Interpress, Warsaw 1969
The design of the Za Żelazną Bramą housing estate was a response to a competition announced in 1961 by the Association of Polish Architects (SARP). The authors of the project were young graduates of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology: Jerzy Czyż, Jan Furman, Andrzej Skopiński, Jerzy Józefowicz, Marek Bieniewski and Stanisław Furman. Their project was selected as the winning one, and the conceptual assumptions were to revolutionise the way of thinking about housing development in Poland.
The area currently occupied by the housing estate in 1935 and 2023. Photo: mapa.um.warszawa.pl
The initial plan envisaged the construction of 11 long blocks 11 storeys high and several lower, multi-storey buildings. The space between the buildings was to be filled with green areas and service and retail pavilions, and the focal point of the estate was to be a wide pedestrian boulevard. A characteristic feature of the designs was the variety in the dimensions of the buildings and their skilful integration into the context of modernist buildings.
Political changes and pressure from the authorities
However, from the selection of the design to the start of construction in 1965, these assumptions were drastically modified under pressure from the party authorities. The communist government, aiming to increase the population of the estate, forced the number of blocks and their height to be increased to 16 storeys. The construction of smaller buildings was also abandoned and the number of planned flats increased to meet the needs of Warsaw’s growing population. As a result of these changes, around 18,000 people were to live on the estate. One of the more controversial decisions was the abandonment of balconies to reduce construction costs.
May 1973 and September 2024, the current UN roundabout. Source: Helmut Lauterbach and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Urban layout and architecture
The Za Żelazną Bramą housing estate was designed on an area of 33 hectares, located between the Saxon Garden and Królewska, Twarda, Prosta, Żelazna and Elektoralna streets. It consists of 19 long blocks 16 storeys high, each with between 300 and 420 flats. The blocks have been arranged so that their long elevations face east and west and their narrow gables face north and south. This arrangement was intended to promote better sunlight in the flats, although this treatment did not always have the desired effect.
Flats – types, layout and standard
One of the key features of the estate was the variety of flats. In the buildings with 420 units, there were 210 M2 flats of 27 sq m each and the same number of M3 flats of 39 sq m. In buildings with 300 units, 240 flats were 48 sq m each (M4). (M4) and 60 flats were 57 sq m each. (M5). It is worth noting that many of the flats had so-called dark kitchens – devoid of windows, which was one of the most frequently criticised aspects of the project.
The original flats, especially those completed in the 1960s, were finished to a high standard for the time. Parquet floors were used at the time, which was rare in communist construction. Each corridor and flat was fitted with so-called French windows – high floor-to-ceiling glazing to optically enlarge the interiors and let in more light. However, despite these modern solutions, the housing estate was criticised for its cramped, poorly planned spaces.
The end of the 1970s and contemporary times, the basement of the block of flats at 9 Grzybowska Street . Source: NAC – National Digital Archive www.nac.gov.pl/ and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Innovative building technology
Contrary to popular belief, the Za Żelazną Bramą housing estate was not built from prefabricated elements of a large slab, but from monolithic poured concrete slabs, which was an innovative solution at the time. The construction of the buildings was more durable and robust, and the ‘Stolica’ construction technology, previously used in the construction of the Prototype Housing Estate (we wrote about it HERE), allowed for the flexibility of shaping the space of the flats. Special formwork was used here, which, when poured in concrete, created a durable and stable structure. Each building was designed on reinforced concrete pillars called pilotis in French, according to the principles of the most famous modernist architect Le Corbusier.
Social significance and common functions
The architects attached great importance to the social aspect of the estate. Spacious lobbies were designed on the ground floors of the buildings to serve as meeting places for the residents. They were to be used for meetings, exhibitions or cultural events. In some of the buildings, these spaces are still being used today as originally intended, but in others they have been converted and incorporated into neighbouring flats. These spaces played an important role in the integration of the community, which was an important part of the idea of the estate as a place for community living.
The elevation of one of the blocks of flats. You can see the luxroofs that were walled up in the 1990s. Photo: Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza i whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Modernisations and changes after 1990
From the 1990s onwards, the estate began to be intensively developed with successive buildings. Partly these are activities that violate the original urban concept, partly a deliberate reserve for future buildings is being developed, such as in the area around John Paul II Avenue.
At the same time, the process of modernising the housing estate was also initiated and is still ongoing today. Due to limited resources, the modernisation is taking place in stages. Plumbing, windows (often ignoring the original subdivisions) and some lifts have been replaced. Intercoms have been installed, the buildings have been insulated and a number of changes have been made to the layout of the façade, such as bricking up the luxroofs that previously provided light in the corridors. The appearance of the ground-floor shop windows was also modified. These changes, although intended to improve the living conditions of the residents, were often criticised for destroying the original modernist composition of the buildings.
Controversy and architectural heritage
The Za Żelazną Bramą (Behind the Iron Gate) housing estate has aroused extreme emotions from the beginning. On the one hand, it was a symbol of modernity and the architectural ambitions of the communist regime, while on the other, it epitomised many of the flaws of that period: small, cramped flats, lack of balconies, dark kitchens. The chaotic layout of the buildings, which did not take into account the previous street grid, was also criticised, as was the low standard of workmanship of many elements. In the 1990s, the estate gained a reputation as ‘Warsaw’s bedroom community’, where anonymity and lack of a sense of community were commonplace.
However, with the benefit of hindsight, the Za Żelazną Bramą estate is beginning to be seen by some architecture critics as an interesting example of modernist housing that fits in well with the rhythm of life in contemporary Warsaw. Thanks to its proximity to the city centre, the estate has become an attractive place to live, especially for young people and students. Today, it is also inhabited by a large Asian community, including immigrants from Vietnam.
Za Żelazną Bramą estate, view from the intersection of Marszałkowska and Królewska Streets – 1970s. Photo: Leszek Wysznacki, “Warsaw from Liberation to Our Days”, Sport and Tourism Publishing House, Warsaw 1977, p. 217 and Google Earth
The contemporary significance of
The Za Żelazną Bramą (Behind the Iron Gate) housing estate is a fascinating example of 1960s and 1970s architecture, demonstrating not only the ambitions and limitations of communist urban planning, but also the dynamic transformations that have taken place in Warsaw’s urban space over the past few decades. Despite numerous controversies and modernisations, the estate remains an important element of Warsaw’s landscape, becoming part of the city’s history and an important reference point for the debate on contemporary urban architecture.
Source: cargocollective.com, tubylotustalo.pl
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