DIUNA
DIUNA is a revitalization project of an office park built in 1999 that focuses on creating external and internal optimal conditions for its users with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Embracing nature and its resources, the courtyard development utilizes them to enhance the experience for office workers and visitors alike. This park, open to all, is situated in an unexpected location within the city of Warsaw, offering a refreshing escape more commonly found in rural settings. Throughout the design and implementation process, great care is taken to minimize the environmental impact, resulting in a project with a significantly low carbon footprint. Initially conceived in 2021, this initiative was first supposed to relax the workers returning to offices after the pandemic and has since set a standard for future developments in the area. Nestled in the partially abandoned Służew office district of Warsaw, DIUNA serves as a testament to human-centered, nature-inspired investments. Its success not only revitalized the area, but also proved to be a commercial triumph by attracting new tenants. The transformation is not only visible today, with a forest thriving atop three levels of underground parking within the city, but it also promises long-term benefits by optimizing energy efficiency throughout the office park’s buildings.
Kolonia Lubeckiego
Warszawa Ochota railway station
Railway station in Warsaw, Poland.
Mennica Legacy Tower
The Mennica Legacy Tower complex, part of a newly approved master plan for development in the CBD of Warsaw, is divided into a 35-story tower on the southeast side of the site and a smaller 10-story building on the west side. The development features approximately 80,000 square meters of Class A office space, including a conference center, fitness center and ground-level retail, as well as four levels of underground parking and ancillary services. Large, public open spaces around and between the two structures provide outdoor seating and a variety of landscape features. The overall massing and shape of the complex was guided by the local master plan. More than 60% of the site is dedicated to outdoor public areas, exceeding the plan guidelines. The stepped arrangement of the two buildings, as well as the sculpted, sloped top of the tower, specifically respond to requirements that allow daylight into adjacent residential buildings. The podium and ground-floor levels of the complex feature building amenities, retail frontage, and highly transparent lobby spaces that promote an active pedestrian passage between the two towers. The rounded corners of the building masses draw activity and movement into the main pedestrian passageway, which connects large, publicly accessible plazas on the south and northwest ends of the site. This connection anchors the development within the urban fabric of the city and creates a vibrant destination. The main tower features rounded corners on the northeast and southwest sides that help to reduce the visible length of the east and west facades; on the opposite corners, the tower incorporates a strong vertical edge. The southeast and northwest corners are each further distinguished by a vertical recess that breaks up the building’s mass and introduces a dominant feature, defining the complex as a landmark. The southeast corner, in particular, steps in three-floor increments outward as it rises, opening the recess to the sky and creating a dynamic profile that becomes a glowing beacon at night. A sloping screen wall at the building’s top enhances the profile and integrates roof terraces into the overall massing. The textured, saw-toothed facades give the enclosure an ever-changing appearance as one moves around the building. Inside, a three-story lobby with a cable-supported enclosure utilizes a transparent glazing that blurs the boundary between interior and exterior space. The tower core is clad with large stone slabs that accentuate the solid mass of the core, in contrast to the lightness of the building’s lobby. The 2,000-square-meter tower floor plate provides an almost column-free space with 11- to 13-meter lease spans and a 1.35-meter planning grid. The complex’s triple-glazed, high-performance facade with integrated operable panels supplies fresh air to occupants and combines state-of-the-art building enclosure technology with an appealing aesthetic. Large landscaped outdoor terraces on the fifth level of the main tower and the eighth level of the west building provide exterior amenity spaces with sweeping views that engage the city.
Royal Tulip Warsaw Apartments
The project is the most beautiful place in city enchanted in one building. The capital has always attracted eyes of the whole country, as well as abroad, setting new styles of design, trends and customs. In the 1920s, it experienced its heyday, then called the Paris of the North. Today place is associated with high-rise buildings as center of business. The rich history of place, as well as of city itself, became an inspiration for designers. They created unique concept whose leitmotif is capital with its districts. The designers proposed that the ground floor of building would be a kind of map of city. Inspired by the great district plan of capital from the 1920s, they alluded to its shape and the arrangement of its districts. To the left of the main entrance, guests are greeted by a cafe. The idea for café at this location was evoked by coffee roasting factory that was located here and was the first coffee roasting plant in country. An attentive eye will also catch gold slats on the floor dividing the different types of flooring, arranged in characteristic shape, like tracks. This is reference to former tram station, which was located nearby. Old photos of depot and former trams, with their oval shapes and burgundy color, were inspiration for café counter in shape and color reminiscent of rail vehicles of the time. The reception refers to Downtown. The oval shape of desks alludes to Rotunda and architectural idea behind its creation - as only round object in perpendicular structure of city. Its folded, accordion-like roof became the inspiration for original wall decoration behind the reception counters. The black-and-white floor was made of mosaic tiles, the so-called gorseciki tiles, so popular in the past. The layout of the wooden floor refers to hexagons in the Palace, while colors of area reflect colors of the Grzeskiewicz mosaic. The bar area is inspired by riverside. The very colors in which it is decorated allude to landscape there. The blue reflects the deep tundra of river, while green and wood, are wooded waterfront areas and boulevards. The mirror with which bar is finished is a reference to the reflections appearing on surface of river on sunny day. Designers also alluded to architecture of the capital. The structure over bar - is a nod to Poniatowski Bridge, the one over live cooking to Gdansk Bridge. In the structure over buffet there is inspiration from Silesian-Dabrowski Bridge. The greenest district in city, patronizes restaurant. The bottle green of the walls is base for rest of finishing touches. The vault division of Comedy Theater can be found, in this case, on walls, and heavy velvet curtains in windows, are like theatrical curtain. The brick fence of city' villa, also found its counterpart on one of walls and inspired arrangement of bricks into the word - as abbreviation for neighborhood's name. The apartments (2-16th floor), like rest of interiors, refer to city districts.
OFFICE INTERIORS OF THE CITIBANK HEADQUARTERS BUILDING
The renovation project of the Citi Bank office building located in the Jabłonowski Palace at Teatralny Square in Warsaw. The building incorporates multiple functions: office areas, a reception, a café, a canteen, a sports zone, and a town hall. The main design principles were transparency, ecology, acoustics, and lighting, with the aim of breathing life into the designed building.
Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
The new Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN) is the Museum’s first permanent home since its founding in 2005, when it was established as a collecting institution focused on art created since 1989. The 213,000-square-foot building is located in Plac Defilad (Parade Square), the largest public square in Europe and a gathering place for Varsovians since the 1950s. Framed by the Soviet-era Palace of Culture and Science on one side and an arcade of shops and malls on the other, the Museum anchors the revitalization of the plaza and serves as a center for new art and ideas in the nation’s capital. The square also will house the future TR Warszawa Theatre. The three-story MSN Warsaw building is organized horizontally and composed of two rectangular forms, in contrast to the verticality of the Palace of Culture and Science. The museum’s distinguishing façade, composed of white, cast-in-place concrete, hand-crafted by skilled local craftspeople, expresses the institution’s ethos and offers a lasting and timeless presence. A monumental, classically inspired, double-symmetrical staircase at the heart of the Museum is flooded with natural light, offering a space for social interaction. The openness of the ground floor creates a central meeting point and offers generous views of the city and through the museum. The center space also organizes the entrances to the main suites of interconnected galleries on the two upper floors. Each suite of galleries on the two main exhibition levels features windowed “city rooms” lined in European ash that offer places for pause and reflection and framed views of the city of Warsaw. Fixed galleries, ranging in height from 4 meters (13 ft) to 7.5 meters (25 feet), are different sizes and proportions. A system of louvres and scrims modulates natural light and activates the galleries throughout the day. The roof—referred to as the building’s “fifth facade”—offers continuous diffused daylight inside. The galleries feature elegant but durable terrazzo floors. A one-meter-high horizontal slot surrounds the entire façade and contains clerestory windows for the research galleries and daylight windows for the administrative office level. A continuous arcade on the ground level serves as a transitional space between the city and the Museum, setting the stage for the experience within. The ground-level exterior is lined with newly planted honey locust trees that lightly enclose the forum between the museum and TR Warszawa Theatre.
FRESHA Office
Fresha’s office in Warsaw’s Central Tower embodies the brand’s visual identity with a modern and dynamic color scheme based on its brand book. The space is designed to be vibrant and inspiring, fostering creativity and collaboration. The first area visitors encounter is the purple social space, the heart of the office, dedicated to communal meals, events, and team bonding. A long wooden island serves as both a dining table and a workspace, while a hanging planter-lamp enhances the ambiance with lush greenery. The corridors, painted in a bold lime-green shade, energize employees and bring vibrancy to the space. In contrast, the desk areas maintain a calm and neutral palette of white, complemented by wooden furniture and abundant plants to create a focused and comfortable work environment. Alternative workspaces, including meeting rooms and the playroom, feature bright orange accents. The playroom, with its cozy sofa, offers the best view of the Palace of Culture and downtown Warsaw, making it a perfect spot for relaxation. The office also includes soundproof phone booths, ensuring acoustic comfort for private calls. Dynamic lighting effects, such as neon signs, mirrors, and illuminated stretch ceilings, add a unique character to the space. A key design element is the abundance of greenery, which enhances energy and fosters creativity throughout the office.
Dobra 55: The Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics building, Warsaw, Poland
Dobra 55 has become a pioneering new home for language education where the University of Warsaw has consolidated their varying requirements into a single sustainable center of excellence. The new 42 000 m2 building includes 92 ‘language labs’, 70 administrative rooms, 39 research and development rooms, 7 conference rooms, recreational spaces, a multimedia room that can accommodate 150 people as well as a library and reading areas, the project unites the universities’ linguistics departments into one location and brings a high level of transparency to the traditionally enclosed urban courtyard block, creating a green heart for the Powiśle riverbank district campus community. The recently completed new extension (phase II) for the Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics building has four overground and two underground levels with a gross area of circa 28 700 m², which is nearly twice as big as the first phase of the building which has also been designed by our studio and completed in 2012, with an area of 13 500 m2. Both phases constitute one unitary building structure. Embracing the university by connecting the main campus with the riverside neighborhood and its much loved library, the transparent facade opens the building up to its immediate neighborhood and its surrounding nature. Its ul.Wislana street elevation With a shimmering glazed skin, which exposes its concrete structure and which is punctured by a series of courtyards, the design bursts with communal energy. Accessible to all, the building provides a generous urban entrance in which the street corner is set back to form an entrance plinth and breakout spaces for every visitor to the building. Next, the spatial sequences continue with a flight of theatrical stairs which form a back bone and a social ‘connector’ throughout the remaining floors. This ‘connector’ starts at the street level and ends at the rooftops of the neighborhood with views over the city. The building not only strives for state-of-the-art teaching facilities, but also for an innovative way of tackling climate change. It does so via renewable energy and energy saving solutions. These include: heat pumps with ground heat exchangers, and the use of photovoltaic panels. The project also incorporates the use of energy-efficient chillers, energy-saving lighting systems and use of rainwater for garden irrigation. The interior space should make visitors feel like they have entered in to an exciting atmosphere. Within the grey hinterland of Powiśle, amongst its shopfronts and gardens, we can observe the spirit of a fragment of a city which has been growing as an organic part of the capital. Therefore it was important to make the inside of the building an extension of the neighboring context with a touch of something completely new. The architecture of the Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics building is based on lightness, with a refined framework of steel, concrete and glass. The building plays a game consisting of blurring the tangible boundaries of its mass and rendering superfluous the reading of a single solid volume into something more poetic.
Holy Cross Church
Roman Catholic church in Warsaw, Poland.
Presidential Palace
Palace in Warsaw and official residence of the President of the Republic of Poland.
Royal Castle in Warsaw
Castle residency in Warsaw, Poland.
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Open in Atlas MapFrequently Asked Questions
How long does the Warsaw architecture walking tour take?+
The self-guided walking tour covers approximately 15.7 km with 17 stops. Allow approximately 9 hours including 20 minutes of viewing time per building.
Is the Warsaw architecture tour free?+
Yes, this is a completely free self-guided walking tour. You can view the route on the interactive map, export it to Google Maps for navigation, and explore at your own pace.
Do I need to book the Warsaw architecture tour in advance?+
No booking is required — this is a self-guided tour that you can start at any time. All buildings can be viewed from the outside. For guided tours with expert commentary, we recommend checking GetYourGuide for local architecture tours.
What is the best time to do the Warsaw architecture walking tour?+
Morning light (before 11am) is ideal for photography of building facades. Weekdays tend to be less crowded around commercial buildings. Allow a full half day for the complete tour.