A city within a city is being built in Warsaw’s Praga district. Apartments, park and everything you need for everyday life

A city where you can walk to get bread, coffee, kindergarten, training or minor shopping is no longer just an urban experiment. The idea of ​​a 15-minute city has been increasingly influencing the design of new housing estates for several years. In Warsaw, one example of this approach is SOHO by Yareal in Praga Południe.

However, this is not an ordinary housing estate with commercial premises on the ground floor. The complex was conceived as a multifunctional part of the city, in which residential, catering, recreational, office and service functions are to complement each other.

Not only apartments

SOHO by Yareal was designed by HRA Architekci. The complex is being built respecting the post-industrial character of this part of Prague, combining older buildings with new buildings. An important element of the project is a linear park, as well as courtyards, terraces and recreational spaces. Restricting car traffic is intended to additionally strengthen the pedestrian nature of the development.

The scale of the undertaking is considerable. The completed residential part includes 10 buildings and 870 apartments. At the same time, over 11,300 sq m are planned. commercial and service space.

And this part may in practice decide about the success of the entire concept. The slogan “15-minute city” itself means little if the impressive architecture is not accompanied by an offer that meets the real needs of its inhabitants.

For now, the list of tenants is diverse. There are, among others: restaurants and cafes, Carrefour, Hebe, kindergarten, beauty points, flower shop, eye clinic and psychological and pedagogical clinic. They are joined by Maxi Zoo, Alike Pottery Studio and Unroasted.

The new Maxi Zoo will occupy over 150 sq m. on the ground floor of the SOHO 10 building, at ul. Żupnicza. A ceramics workshop, Alike Pottery Studio, will be established in the neighboring premises, offering workshops, training and an accessories shop. In turn, Unroasted will open a store next to the linear park.

– We are developing SOHO by Yareal as a place that combines the everyday needs of residents with an offer that builds the unique character of this part of the city. The new tenants perfectly demonstrate the diversity of concepts that we want to integrate within the complex – from services and trade, through lifestyle and educational offers, to places created with the local community and spending time in mind – says Paulina Petynka, director of commercial space leasing at Yareal Polska.

Is 15 minutes really enough?

However, a more interesting issue arises here. The idea of ​​a 15-minute city assumes that basic needs can be met close to home. This does not mean that residents will stop using cars or public transport. It is also difficult to expect that one complex will provide everything needed by several thousand people.

Therefore, the success of such projects is not determined by the number of premises alone. What matters is their diversity, accessibility and whether they actually create an everyday, living urban fabric. This cannot be decided on the day the investment opens. It takes time to check whether residents actually use these places, and the premises also attract people from outside the estate. In the case of SOHO by Yareal, this process is still ongoing.

Prague instead of a catalogue

The strength of the project is the attempt to fit the new development into the character of Kamionek. This is especially important in a district whose identity has been built over the years by industrial buildings, small factories, old tenement houses and the less formal Prague urban fabric. SOHO was not designed as a gated community cut off from its surroundings. A linear park, service premises accessible from the street and common spaces are intended to open the complex to the neighborhood. The project was awarded the BREEAM Communities certificate, which applies not only to the parameters of a single building, but also to the broader method of planning and functioning of the investment.

This is an important direction, although the certificate itself does not determine how well the place will operate in a few or a dozen years. The quality of urban space is ultimately determined by things that are more difficult to measure: the everyday habits of residents, the sense of security, the attractiveness of public spaces or the simple willingness to spend time there.

The final stage

SOHO by Yareal is not a closed chapter yet. Currently, the fifth and final stage of the complex is being implemented – SOHO HUB. As part of the works planned for 2026–2028, additional commercial spaces will be created: over 9,000 sq m. in buildings J at ul. Mińska 39 and in the revitalized historic building B.55 at Mińska 39B. The project will also be supplemented with nearly 2,500 sq m. commercial and service space. Only then will it be possible to see the full scale of the project.

And perhaps this is what is most interesting about this project. Not another impressive apartment building, but an attempt to create a part of the city that will work even when residents leave their apartments. If the premises actually remain full, the park becomes alive not only on weekends, and the services turn out to be needed not only on the developer’s brochure, SOHO may become an example of how new investments can change an existing district. However, this effect has to be earned. Architecture can create a framework, but it will be people who will decide whether real urban life will be created.