Occupying a place of prominence in Warsaw’s city centre between John Paul II Avenue and Grzybowska street Q22’s stealth profile redefines the city skyline while serving Warsaw’s growing body of global professionals.
Q22 rises 155 metres in height and includes a 15 story annex which connects the tower with the scale and fabric of the city. Designed to provide evolving space requirements for growing firms the structural core has been offset allowing an open floor plate which dramatically increases space-planning flexibility and offers quieter perimeter offices with panoramic views. In order to further maximise floor space, the main structural system uses composite columns, which are narrower than conventional columns, enabling an increase of floor area by 7 m2 per floor. Leasable area was further increased through the introduction of thinner post tensioned slabs.
Project name: Q22 Office Building
Studio Name: Kuryłowicz & Associates
Project size: 89270 m2
Site size: 3260 m2
Completion date: 2016
Building levels: 42
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Photography: Kurylowicz & Associates
The composition gathers several programmatic elements and offers 50,000 m2 of efficient office space anchored by conference facilities, retail, cafe, restaurants as well as further amenities such as a hair salon, a dry cleaner and fitness. The building also includes a five storey underground car park, a car wash and cycle lifts with cyclist changing and shower facilities.
The building utilizes folded angles to elegantly merge public components in the podium with private commercial space in the tower. Surrounding the tower’s podium, easy access to public transportation; tram, bus and metro, and dimensional hardscape enhance public activity at street level.The architecture is the result of detailed formal analysis from key strategic locations and verified views across the city as well as an assessment of the vibrancy that will occur as the Warsaw’s skyline evolves in the future.
This led to a building form that is seamlessly integrated into the idiosyncrasies of its site while expressing multiple flows of movement. While its material language and structural elements allude to a crystalline form which changes character when viewed from different locations, the kinetic architecture appears to be monolithically opaque during the day and lucent at night.
The project establishes a benchmark for sustainable design by embodying state-of-the-art technological advances. These include a high performance tri-glass facade, giving better thermal and acoustic insulation while minimising the heat loss during the winter and solar gains during the summer. To capture solar energy, a photovoltaic system has been incorporated into the design of the sloping glass roof which generates renewable energy which can be used to power the charging points for electric vehicles.
Q22 also uses air-water heat pumps, redistributes recovered energy from the server and technical rooms around the building and uses thermal and lighting zoning providing significant energy savings. The ventilation rates have been increased and air quality has been optimized by incorporating low Volatile Organic Compound content materials into the design. Q22 has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating with one of the highest scores attained in Poland (79.1%) while also becoming an urban landmark that engages with the community.
