Mennica Legacy Tower marks GP’s first completed project in Poland. The Mennica Legacy Tower was developed by an affiliate of Golub & Company LLC and Mennica Towers GGH MT Sp z o o S.K.A, and delivered in collaboration with Epstein, a design firm with offices in Chicago and Warsaw.
The Master Plan
Located at the intersection of Prosta and Zelazna streets in the CBD, both the 35-story and 10-story office buildings open to a landscape plaza with a pedestrian walkway that sits between them. The development is divided into the taller main tower on the east side of the site and the smaller building on the west side.
The 115,000-sm two-building office area is anchored by one of Poland’s largest institutions, mBank, and co-working provider WeWork. The development is part of a newly approved plan in the CBD of Warsaw, and consists of 80,000-sm of Class-A office space, a conference center, fitness center, ground-level retail, and four levels of underground parking and ancillary services.
![Mennica Legacy Tower Aerial](/sites/default/files/inline-images/4_Mennica%20Legacy%20Tower_Site%20Aerial.jpg)
More Than An Office Complex
A huge part of the local master plan was to make sure there were outdoor areas dedicated to the public where people can sit and enjoy different landscape features. More than 60% of the area is specifically dedicated to this. 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 project is much more than a signature new office complex,” says James Goettsch, FAIA, chairman and co-CEO at GP, in a release. “Integrally connected to its central urban plaza, the development creates a unique ‘sense of place’ that enhances the public realm of Warsaw.”
Unique Profile & Features
Rounded corners on the main tower’s northeast and southeast sides help reduce the visible length of the east and west facades. On the opposite corners, the lower 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. The southeast corner, in particular, steps outward in three-floor increments 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 the textured, saw-toothed facades give the enclosure an ever-changing appearance as one moves around the building.
![Mennica Legacy Tower facing North](/sites/default/files/inline-images/1_Mennica%20Legacy%20Tower_Overall%20Looking%20North_0.jpg)
Attention To Detail
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-sm tower floor plate provides an almost column-free space with 11- to 13-m lease spans and a 1.35-m 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.
“The tower’s unique profile helps define it as a city landmark,” says Joachim Schuessler, GP Design Principal, in a release. “Its stepped, curved façade further distinguishes it in the skyline from all angles.”
Related Stories
Laboratories | Aug 30, 2021
Science in the sky: Designing high-rise research labs
Recognizing the inherent socioeconomic and environmental benefits of high-density design, research corporations have boldly embraced high-rise research labs.
Giants 400 | Aug 27, 2021
2021 Office Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. office building sector
Gensler, Jacobs, Turner Construction, and STO Building Group head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest office building sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.a
Resiliency | Aug 19, 2021
White paper outlines cost-effective flood protection approaches for building owners
A new white paper from Walter P Moore offers an in-depth review of the flood protection process and proven approaches.
Office Buildings | Aug 4, 2021
‘Lighthouse’ office tower will be new headquarters for A2A in Milan
The tower, dubbed Torre Faro, reimagines the company’s office spaces to adapt to people’s ever-changing needs at work.
Office Buildings | Aug 3, 2021
‘Lighthouse’ office tower will be new Headquarters for A2A in Milan
Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel designed the project.
Office Buildings | Jul 27, 2021
Verizon Media’s new office and broadcast production studio
Perkins+Will and Kostow Greenwood Architects designed the project.
Daylighting Designs | Jul 9, 2021
New daylighting diffusers come in three shape options
Solatube introduces its newest technology innovation to its commercial product line, the OptiView Shaping Diffusers.
Great Solutions | Jul 9, 2021
MojoDesk creates a new solution for managing open office distractions
The MojoDome allows for a private work space while also maintaining a collaborative environment.
Resiliency | Jun 24, 2021
Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]
New on HorizonTV, oceanographer John Englander discusses his latest book, which warns that, regardless of resilience efforts, sea levels will rise by meters in the coming decades. Adaptation, he says, is the key to future building design and construction.
Office Buildings | Jun 24, 2021
Springdale Green office campus granted approval in East Austin
Gensler is designing the project in collaboration with landscape architect dwg.