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🇵🇱 Poland /Energy & Infrastructure

Abandoned Warsaw factory to get a new life as a housing project

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources New plan
  • WWAA’s project will transform the former Perun factory site in Warsaw’s Grochów district into a development with 242 apartments and service premises.
  • The over-century-old brick halls will be secured, restored and adapted for new uses while retaining their industrial character.
  • The publicly accessible site will include green areas and an educational path about the history of the welding-equipment factory.

The abandoned Perun factory in Warsaw’s Grochów district is set for a new life. Its distinctive brick halls, once marked by the Perun logo, will become the center of a housing development rather than continue to decay beside newer residential estates.

The history of the site reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century. Welding equipment made on Grochowska Street was known throughout Poland, and production began there in the early 1900s. The project by Warsaw architecture studio WWAA, led by Natalia Paszkowska and Marcin Mostafa, will combine the industrial buildings with contemporary housing and spaces open to local residents.

The development, carried out by Alides Polska, is planned to include 242 apartments and service premises. Protection work on the historic halls is beginning in early September. The buildings will be preserved and adapted for new functions, including services.

Plans call for the existing roofs to be removed, with their elements taken away for conservation. Previously bricked-up windows will be reopened, and the structures will undergo comprehensive restoration. New architecture will provide a contemporary setting for the factory’s industrial heritage, while carefully designed sight lines will keep the historic halls in the foreground.

The estate will remain publicly accessible. Alongside homes and services, it will include green areas and an educational path explaining the history of the former welding-equipment factory. “The process will require reconciling two seemingly opposing principles: preserving the authenticity of the place while preparing the former buildings for an entirely new way of being used. We want the elements that define the character of the former factory to remain an important part of the architecture of the entire development,” Marcin Mostafa said.

The process will require reconciling two seemingly opposing principles: preserving the authenticity of the place while preparing the former buildings for an entirely new way of being used. We want the elements that define the character of the former factory to remain an important part of the architecture of the entire development.

· Marcin MostafaThe WWAA architect explains how the project will balance conservation with the factory’s conversion to new uses.
About this summary

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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