Here, Warsaw will open to the Vistula River. The former FSO is being transformed into a new district

For decades, this part of Prague was primarily an industrial place. Today, the area of ​​the former test track of the Passenger Car Factory is to be transformed into a new part of the city open to the Vistula River. Praga Boulevards, the masterplan of which was prepared by the BBGK Architekci studio, is to combine residential buildings, public spaces and greenery. The next stage of the investment has just been completed, including 10 buildings, 764 apartments and a 55-meter tower.

From the car factory to the city on the Vistula River

The history of this place is closely related to Warsaw industry. The Passenger Car Factory was established in Żerań in the late 1940s. Warsaws, Syrens, Polish Fiats and Polonez cars were produced here, and later also Daewoo and Chevrolet cars. Today’s Jagiellońska Street, previously called Stalingradzka Avenue, ran alongside the plant. The wide thoroughfare was designed primarily with factory-related traffic in mind.

Car production ended at the end of February 2011, when the last car left the Żerań assembly line. A large area remained after the industrial era, which over time began to be perceived not as a factory base, but as a potentially valuable part of the city.

Today, the owner of the plot is Mennica Polska. Its location is unique – the area is located directly next to the Vistula River and is not separated from the river by a multi-lane expressway. This creates the opportunity to create a relationship between the city and the river, which is much more difficult to achieve in many other parts of Warsaw.

“The most unique and characteristic element of this part of the Masovian Lowland is the Vistula River and the surrounding nature. In this respect, the plot on which the Praga Boulevards are being built is completely unique, with its ideal exposure to light, proximity to the river, contact with nature and a view of the panorama of the center. If a city should be built in any place today, it is here,” emphasize the architects from the BBGK studio.

A development that opens onto the river

Praga Boulevards will occupy a long area between Jagiellońska and Wisła. The designers wanted to avoid the typical layout of a large housing estate, instead creating a structure resembling a fragment of the urban fabric – with quarters, streets, squares and greenery.

Higher buildings are planned on the Jagiellońska side, creating an urban frontage. Service premises are planned on the ground floors. The closer to the Vistula River, the lower the buildings become. Five- and six-story urban villas will be built in the immediate vicinity of the river.

Two towers are an important element of the composition. They are intended to be dominants of the entire complex and an element of the panorama of Warsaw viewed from the left bank of the Vistula. One of them, measuring 55 meters, has already been completed.

The arrangement of the buildings was also adapted to the views. The shift of individual volumes and appropriately designated viewing axes are intended to ensure that as many apartments as possible have visual contact with the Vistula River or the Vistula River areas. The view of the river will also remain available from further parts of the investment.

The green axis runs through the entire estate

The relationship with the Vistula landscape does not end with the view. A green axis is to run through the entire development – a linear park approximately one kilometer long. It will run along the main pedestrian route, connecting subsequent quarters of the investment. It is intended to be a place for walks, rest and meetings.

At both ends of the green axis, squares have been planned, which in the future will serve as city squares. Their task will be not only to organize the space inside the investment, but also to open it to the rest of Warsaw.

On the western side of Praga Boulevards there is the area of ​​the future Golędzinów Natural Park. The planned park is to cover approximately 65 hectares along the Vistula River. It is composed of, among others, existing meadows, thickets and riparian forests. The area is located within the boundaries of Natura 2000 “Middle Vistula Valley” and the Warsaw Protected Landscape Area. The proximity of protected areas along the Vistula River was one of the important factors taken into account when designing the development.

Architecture with the next decades in mind

BBGK Architekci focused on architecture that is not to be subordinated to short-term trends. Calm colors, stone and individually designed details are intended to build the character of individual buildings. There are also subtle inspirations from the colors of southern Europe.

Although the whole is to be coherent, individual buildings will not be identical. Their character will be emphasized, among others, by individual entrances, frames, balustrades and fragments of the facade. Common rules regarding scale, materials and colors are intended to prevent the impression of random development.

This approach also corresponds to the investor’s strategy. Mennica Polska has been involved in shaping the architecture of the Praga Boulevards from the very beginning. For her, the quality of materials, proportions and detail are important, as they determine how the investment will be perceived in a dozen or several dozen years.

The diversity of architecture is reflected in the housing offer. The entire project includes premises of various sizes and standards, addressed to various groups of residents.

It will be more than a housing estate

The recently completed stage includes 10 buildings, including a 55-meter tower, and 764 apartments. Another 13 buildings are currently under construction. 790 apartments will be built there.

Ultimately, Praga Boulevards will consist of about 50 buildings and about 4,000. apartments. Given this scale, it is difficult to treat the project solely as another housing estate. This is a project that is to create a new part of the urban structure of Praga-Północ.

“For years, this part of Warsaw remained a bit in the shadow of the left-bank part of the city, but today we can see its enormous potential. Warsaw is a city located on a relatively flat area, which is why the Vistula is one of its most characteristic landscape elements. Much of what is most valuable in Warsaw has to do with the river. That is why it was so important for us to use the potential of this plot well. Here we managed to create a place that opens to the Vistula and allows a large number of residents to use its vicinity. Warsaw. This is a project that offers a completely new way of thinking about this part of Praga and complements the history of building the city along the Vistula River,” summarizes Konrad Grabowiecki from BBGK Architekci.

If the project’s assumptions are implemented on a full scale, the area, which for decades has been associated primarily with car production, will become a part of Warsaw facing the river. The most important change will not be the number of new buildings, but the way in which the buildings will function in relation to the Vistula River, greenery and the existing city.