Ufficio Primo
| Ufficio Primo | |
|---|---|
 View of the building from the south-east, along Wspólna Street. Skylights on the roof are visible | |
 | |
| Former names | Presidium of the Government Office Building |
| General information | |
| Type | Office building |
| Architectural style | Modern historicism |
| Location | 62 Wspólna Street, Warsaw,  Poland |
| Coordinates | 52°13′36″N 21°00′33″E / 52.22667°N 21.00917°E |
| Completed | 1952 |
| Renovated | 2012 |
| Owner | Euro Invest |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 6 |
| Floor area | approx. 6,000 m2 (65,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Marek Leykam |
| Website | |
| ufficioprimo | |
Ufficio Primo, formerly Presidium of the Government Office Building,[1][2][3] is a historic office building located at 62 Wspólna Street in Warsaw. It represents modern historicism and refers to the Italian Renaissance.
History
[edit]The building was designed by architect Marek Leykam,[1] with structural engineering by J. Dowgiałło.[4] The design was showcased at an exhibition in the Zachęta gallery in 1950.[5] It was intended to be part of a planned ministerial district,[6] as a "palace of power". Visually, it was designed to connect with the former Warszawa Główna railway station (later Warszawa Śródmieście).[7]
Completed around 1952,[8] the building served as the headquarters for the Presidium of the Government under Bolesław Bierut.[6][9] However, it fulfilled this role for only a few sessions until 1953. Subsequently, it housed design offices for the automotive and defense industries,[10] as well as the headquarters of various industrial associations, including the Chemak Chemical Equipment Manufacturing Association.[11][12]
From 1990, the building was managed by Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych,[1] and later by Euro Invest, part of the Kulczyk Holding group.[13]
Between 1993 and 2008, the building's basement housed the Ground Zero music club,[14] which hosted performances by artists such as U2, Eiffel 65, and Bob Geldof.[15] Prior to that, the same space was occupied by the Barbara Cinema, established after 1956.[9][15][16]
In 2003, the building was included on the Association of Polish Architects' list of contemporary cultural assets in Warsaw from between 1945 and 1989 for meeting all evaluated criteria.[17] Since July 2012, it has been listed in Warsaw's municipal register of cultural heritage (ID: SRO10857),[18] and in 2015, it was added to the Registry of Cultural Property of the Masovian Voivodeship (register no. A-1290, dated 19 March 2015).[3]
Between 2010 and 2012, the building underwent a major renovation to achieve an A+ standard.[9] The renovation included the restoration of cloisters, columns, and oak doors, resulting in a total leasable area, including a conference hall, of over 6,000 m².[19] The renovation cost exceeded 15 million euro.[15][20] Ufficio Primo received the third prize in the first edition (covering 2001–2014) of the Architectural Award of the President of Warsaw in the "revitalized architecture" category.[21] The awarded architectural teams were O&O (Wiesław Olko, Artur Nurczewski, Łukasz Engel, Łukasz Kwietniewski, Grzegorz Bajorek) and Pracownia B'ART (Bartłomiej Biełyszew, Andrzej Skopiński, Arkadiusz Chrulski, Monika Szydłowska).[21][22] The building's new commercial name references the Uffizi gallery in Florence.[9][15]
In 2015, four sculptures titled Strażnicy (Guardians) by Barbara Falender, depicting Tyche, Hermes, Fortuna, and Mercury, were placed at the building's entrances.[23] That same year, Ciech S.A., a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, relocated its headquarters to Ufficio Primo.[24]
Architecture
[edit]The building has six above-ground floors and two underground levels.[6] Constructed on a square plan, it resembles a cube.[1][6] The facade is nearly identical on all sides.[25] Inside, a spacious rotunda spans the building's full height, featuring long galleries with columns encircling it.[1] On the top two floors, the columns are double-height.[25] The rotunda is capped by a flat, concrete dome with circular skylights.[1] The basement includes a conference hall designed for 400 people, with a semicircular vault featuring concentric, reinforced concrete ribs converging at a cylindrical chandelier. The interior of this hall resembles that of the Centennial Hall in Wrocław.[6] Office spaces have ceilings exceeding 3.5 meters in height.[26] Windows are narrow and paired,[6] adorned with bossage, particularly at the base. Circular stairwells with central voids occupy the building's corners. The structure is topped with a classical cornice.[25] The main entrance was planned from Jan Pankiewicz Street.[7]
The basement includes a nuclear fallout shelter.[9][15][25] According to some sources, materials from demolished post-German structures in Lower Silesia were used in its construction, and the skylights allegedly came from Adolf Hitler's bunker.[15][20][27]
The architectural style blends influences from various periods.[2] It reflects a compromise between Socialist realism and national architecture, incorporating Western European elements.[8] The monumental form draws inspiration from Florence's urban palaces of the Quattrocento period in the 15th century. The colonnade references Romanesque columns from the St. Leonard's Crypt at Wawel Cathedral.[1] The galleried cloisters may be inspired by those at the Wawel Castle.[6] The building's style, unique during the Socialist realism era, is characterized as modern historicism.[8]
Contemporary critics labeled the building a "cosmopolitan deviation".[8] In the 21st century, its form has been described as "remarkable",[2] "outstanding and unique",[6] and "historically and culturally multifaceted".[7] The architecture may represent an attempt to challenge and satirize socialist realist aesthetics, which sought historical references without specific temporal anchors. This resulted in an aesthetic tied to the West and banking,[25] possibly exposing the "megalomania of the client".[7] In 2012, the building was added to Warsaw's municipal register of cultural heritage (ID: SRO10857), and in 2015, it was designated a protected monument (register no. A-1290, dated 19 March 2015).[3]
Gallery
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References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g Leśniakowska, Marta (2005). Architektura w Warszawie 1965−1989 [Architecture in Warsaw 1965–1989] (in Polish). Warsaw: Arkada. p. 62. ISBN 83-908950-7-2.
- ^ a b c Cymer, Anna (2019). Architektura w Polsce 1945–1989 [Architecture in Poland 1945–1989] (in Polish) (2nd ed.). Warsaw: Centrum Architektury Narodowy Instytut Architektury i Urbanistyki. p. 50. ISBN 978-83-949185-9-0.
- ^ a b c "Wykaz zabytków nieruchomych wpisanych do rejestru zabytków (księga A) – stan na 30 września 2022 roku – woj. mazowieckie (Warszawa)" [List of Immovable Monuments Entered in the Register of Monuments (Book A) – as of 30 September 2022 – Masovian Voivodeship (Warsaw)] (PDF). nid.pl (in Polish). p. 59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2022.
- ^ Strachocki, Jeremi (1957). "O architekturze dziesięciolecia – na nowo" [On the Architecture of the Decade – Anew]. Architektura (in Polish). 1 (111). Warsaw: Arkady: 16. ISSN 0003-8814.
- ^ "Pokaz architektury monumentalnej w Zachęcie" [Exhibition of Monumental Architecture at Zachęta]. Stolica (in Polish). 3 (218): 6. 16 February 1951. ISSN 0039-1689.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Zieliński, Jarosław (2009). Realizm socjalistyczny w Warszawie. Urbanistyka i architektura (1949–1956) [Socialist Realism in Warsaw. Urban Planning and Architecture (1949–1956)] (in Polish). Warsaw: Hereditas. pp. 173–176. ISBN 978-83-927791-3-1.
- ^ a b c d Sołtys, Maria; Kuciński, Marek (2014). Archimapa. Dziedzictwo Architektury Warszawy lat 1939–1945 [Archimapa. Architectural Heritage of Warsaw 1939–1945] (in Polish). Warsaw: Warsaw Rising Museum. ISBN 978-83-60142-93-6.
- ^ a b c d Leśniakowska, Marta (1998). Architektura w Warszawie [Architecture in Warsaw] (in Polish). Warsaw: Arkada. p. 107. ISBN 83-908950-0-5.
- ^ a b c d e "Ufficio Primo Warszawa Wspólna 62". urbanity.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ Wojtczuk, Michał (5 January 2012). "Siedziba Bieruta zamieniła się w luksusowy biurowiec" [Bierut's Headquarters Transformed into a Luxury Office Building]. wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Zjednoczenie Przemysłu Budowy Urządzeń Chemicznych "Chemak"" [Chemical Equipment Manufacturing Association "Chemak"]. egospodarka.pl (in Polish). 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Ustalenie listy branż (grup wyrobów) objętych koordynacją gospodarczą" [Determination of the List of Industries (Product Groups) Subject to Economic Coordination]. prawo.pl (in Polish). 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Ufficio Primo. Kontakt" [Ufficio Primo. Contact]. ufficioprimo.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Ostatnia impreza w Ground Zero Warszawa" [Last Party at Ground Zero Warsaw]. ftb.pl (in Polish). 18 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Wróblewski, Piotr (1 April 2019). "Ufficio Primo. Siedziba rządu, schron atomowy Bieruta, a potem klub w którym grało U2. Dziś ekskluzywne biura podniesione z ruiny" [Ufficio Primo. Government Headquarters, Bierut's Nuclear Shelter, and Later a Club Where U2 Performed. Now Exclusive Offices Restored from Ruin]. warszawa.naszemiasto.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ Majewski, Jerzy S. (2019). Boruszkowska, Dorota (ed.). Historia warszawskich kin [History of Warsaw Cinemas] (in Polish) (1st ed.). Warsaw: Agora. p. 241. ISBN 978-83-268-2722-8.
- ^ "Lista obiektów architektury XX w. z lat 1945–1989 – Stowarzyszenie SARP" [List of 20th-Century Architectural Objects from 1945–1989 – SARP Association] (PDF). warszawa.sarp.org.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2007.
- ^ "Gminna ewidencja zabytków m.st. Warszawy" [Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage of the City of Warsaw] (PDF). bip.warszawa.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2019.
- ^ "Ufficio Primo. Budynek" [Ufficio Primo. Building]. ufficioprimo.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ a b Kobos, Karol (18 March 2011). "Włoski renesans z PRL w centrum Warszawy" [Italian Renaissance from the PRL in the Center of Warsaw]. tvn24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Ufficio Primo Konkurs – nagroda architektoniczna" [Ufficio Primo Competition – Architectural Award]. nagroda-architektoniczna.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ Żylski, Tomasz (ed.). "I i II edycja Nagrody Architektonicznej Prezydenta m.st. Warszawy Katalog Pokonkursowy" [1st and 2nd Edition of the Architectural Award of the President of Warsaw Post-Competition Catalogue] (PDF). nagroda-architektoniczna.pl (in Polish). pp. 40–41. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Barbara Falender". culture.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "CIECH S.A. zmienia swoją siedzibę" [CIECH S.A. Changes Its Headquarters]. ciechgroup.com (in Polish). 19 October 2015. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Piątek, Grzegorz; Trybuś, Jarosław (2012). Archimapa 1949–1956. Warszawa/Warsaw. Socrealizm [Archimapa 1949–1956. Warsaw. Socialist Realism] (in Polish). Warsaw: Warsaw Rising Museum. ISBN 978-83-60142-49-3.
- ^ "Ufficio Primo. Możliwość wynajmu" [Ufficio Primo. Leasing Opportunities]. ufficioprimo.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "Ufficio Primo – między historią a nowoczesnością" [Ufficio Primo – Between History and Modernity]. inzynierbudownictwa.pl (in Polish). 21 February 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2025.