Recently, GP Architects announced the completion of the Mennica Legacy Tower project, a 115,000-square-meter two-office tower in Warsaw, Poland, whose main clients are mBank, one of Poland's largest banking institutions, and WeWork, a co-working service provider. Located in the Central Business District, the project features a large landscaped plaza between two 35- and 10-storey office towers, with pedestrian walkways winding between them.
As part of a newly approved master plan for the Warsaw CBD, the project is divided into a higher main tower on the east side of the site and a lower annex on the west side, including approximately 80,000 square metres of Grade A office space, a conference centre, fitness centre and ground level commercial, as well as four floors of underground parking and ancillary services. The large public open space that surrounds the two towers provides outdoor seating and a variety of characteristic views.
The overall size and shape of the project is guided by the local master plan, with more than 60% of the site dedicated to outdoor common areas, exceeding the planned ratio. The stepped arrangement of the two towers, as well as the sloping and specially treated top of the tower, allows natural light to enter the adjacent residential towers, meeting the requirements of sunlight.
The northeast and southwest corners of the main tower are curved, helping to reduce the visible length of the east-west façade, while the other tower corners are represented by strong vertical edges. There is a vertical groove in the southeast corner and a vertical groove in the northwest corner, which breaks the volume of the building and forms the main architectural features, especially in the southeast corner, with the upward extension of the volume, the groove extends upward in three-story increments, further opening to the sky, creating a dynamic silhouette, forming a glowing lighthouse at night. The sloping screen drapery at the top of the building reinforces the sense of contour, and the textured zigzag façade gives the envelope a changing appearance as people move around the building.
"The tower's unique silhouette helps define it as an urban landmark," says Mr. Joachim Schuessler, head of GP design, "and its stepped curved façade makes it stand out from the city skyline".
The office's three-story lobby uses cables to support transparent glass, blurring the boundaries between outdoor and indoor spaces. The core of the tower uses large stone slabs, which contrast with the light form of the lobby and highlight the solid mass of the core tube. The 2,000 m2 tower plan provides an almost column-free space with a rental span of 11 to 13 meters and an axis of 1.35 meters.
The project's façade features three layers of glass, a high-performance perimeter structure and an integrated openable fan that provides fresh air to the user and combines state-of-the-art building skin technology with architectural aesthetics. Large landscaped outdoor terraces on the fifth and eighth floors of the main tower provide tenants with outdoor amenities and unobstructed views of the city.
The complex was officially completed in November 2020 and recently posted photos of the project in the media, marking the successful opening of the first project completed by GP in Poland.