Description
The Warsaw Rotunda is one of the most characteristic buildings on the map of Warsaw. Its revitalisation in the competition announced by PKO BP was taken up by a consortium composed of spółka artystyczna mirek i ostrowski and Kontrapunkt Design and Investment Team. And so the second place in the competition was won by a design combining the symbolism of a safe, guaranteeing security, and of high technology connected with modern solutions indispensable in the today’s world. Delamination of the external facade will reflect the old and present function of the bank’s seat. The designers plan, however, delicate integration in the city’s tissue and do not foresee drastic changes in the facility located at the junction of pedestrian passageways of Warsaw, such as denial of its form or demolition. Rotunda is a modernistic element crowning and supplementing the urban run of the Eastern Wall, a coherent urban complex composed of “Centrum” Department Stores or Pasaż Wiecha, and as such, it is an undeniable asset of the capital.
The main architectural idea guiding authors Aleksander Mirek and Piotr Ostrowski was to return the city a place where already the third generation of Warsaw citizens meet; not without a reason, the phrase "Let's meet at the Rotunda” has entered everyday language. The design provides for covering a square in front of the bank’s seat with glass panels, which will ensure protection against rain or snow. The attractiveness of the place will be, undoubtedly, increased by the first automatic bike rental shop in Warsaw to be located on the premises belonging to PKO BP.
