New Town Square

Building E is the fourth completed in the Nowy Rynek office complex. It was built on the site of a former bus station in Poznan. We took the winning idea from the tradition of Poznan's numerous city squares - markets that serve various roles, but most importantly are characteristic of the local community and well-functioning elements of the urban fabric. Initially, we planned a classic city square with predominantly hard pavement, but in the course of later design work it was transformed into a park with full-size trees as a special element.

The building's location at the intersection of two important arteries and at the close of significant street perspectives in Poznań defined its role in the urban planning of the complex as a dominant. In the competition design, it was the only one that was supposed to definitely surpass the other buildings on the New Market with its eighty-meter high mass. However, as a result of decisions made at a difficult time for the real estate market (at the beginning of the pandemic), it was decided to have a height within the parameters of a tall building. Despite this, it was important to consistently maintain the dominant function. This effect was achieved by accumulating the technical functions of the building above the office part in the center of its plan and enclosing them with a three-story high façade identical to the rest of the office building. This allowed for a free, sheltered space on the roof - a terrace was created from which one can admire the impressive panorama of the city. Despite its urban role, the building establishes a dialogue with its neighbors. This is due to the fan-shaped expansion of individual floors below the level determined by the roofs of neighboring buildings. The height of the office building increases gradually, making it softer when viewed from ground level. Additional elements breaking the verticality and introducing human scale and are two pergolas designed in an identical style to the building: a larger one at the street corner at the front of the building and a smaller one closing the perspective from the market towards Wierzbięcice Street.