Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the office market, Ghelamco is finishing the year with many achievements. The developer commissioned The Warsaw HUB skyscrapers complex and Foksal 13/15 luxury apartments, developed own operating system for buildings and equipped them with anti-epidemic solutions, and commenced the construction of a new office building in Katowice and single-family housing estate in Konstancin.
“This year has been full of both challenges and achievements. The challenges included the COVID-19 pandemic, which has put many businesses in Poland and across the world in a situation where coming out on top was quite an achievement. Throughout this difficult time, we have successfully delivered our flagship projects, including The Warsaw HUB with hotels on the commercial market and Foksal 13/15 on the residential one. We are finishing 2020 with a new office project in Katowice (Craft) and a single-family housing estate in Konstancin (Groen). At the same time, we are entering next year as a mature company, which has been operating on the Polish market for 30 years now, but we are still youthful enough to take up new and ambitious projects,” says Jeroen van der Toolen, Managing Director CEE, Ghelamco.
Four towers
This year saw the completion of The Warsaw HUB, one of the biggest commercial projects in Poland and the largest one in Ghelamco’s history. The complex includes three high-rise buildings: two 130-metre office buildings and an 86-metre hotel tower, connected by a joint podium and an underground convenience centre. The project was delivered in the fastest developing part of Warsaw, i.e. at Rondo Daszyńskiego in Wola district, at the junction of Towarowa and Prosta Streets. In addition to Warsaw Spire, it is Ghelamco’s yet another project which is shaping Warsaw’s new city centre.
Tenants are already moving in and a convenience centre in the underground part has been available since August. In December, the first Crowne Plaza hotel in Poland, as well as Holiday Inn Express, opened their doors to guests in the hotel tower. Apart from 400 comfortable rooms and suites, they offer modern conference rooms and unique food amenities, such as Nova Wola and The Roof skybar.
Ghelamco’s other flagship project, the construction of which is drawing to a close, is Warsaw UNIT at Rondo Daszyńskiego. The construction is going as planned: in the middle of the year, the skyscraper reached its projected height of 202 metres and the elevation in the podium part was covered by the so-called dragon skin, a type of kinetic facade which reacts to every puff of wind. The building is planned to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2021.
Expansion across regions
In November, Ghelamco commenced the construction of Craft, an office building in Katowice. The building is being delivered in the fast-developing part of Katowice, at the junction of Chorzowska and Ściegiennego Streets, right next to Silesia City Center.
Craft will offer 26,700 sqm of high-class office space. The 55-metre building will have 13 floors and a two-storey underground parking lot for 218 cars. Additional 28 places are envisaged in the above-ground part of the building, with electric car charging stations as well as 60 places for bicycles and amenities such as locker rooms and showers.
The building will include three overlapping cuboids, providing space for six terraces, one of which on the roof. The building’s facade will be covered with copper-coloured elements, giving it an industrial character referring to Katowice’s heritage.
The building is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.
Most luxurious project in Poland
After more than 4 years of intensive works, this year the revitalization of the two historical residences at Foksal 13 and 15 in Warsaw was completed. Built-in the late 19th century in the historical heart of Warsaw, the fine residences were a decor masterpiece and at the same time home to the wealthy bourgeoisie. In one of the courtyards, Jan Wedel built the city’s first exterior panoramic lift.
The buildings have been restored to their former splendour by a team of top Polish specialists. Many complicated works have been conducted using innovative, specialist techniques. Building an underground garage by using micropile towers to support the historical buildings’ foundations, moving whole parts of plaster covered with colourful polychromes, or restoring rich ornaments on the facade of Foksal 13 based on a single preserved picture — these are only some of the examples of a long list of successful activities. In both residences, there are only 55 apartments from 47 to 260 sqm.
Innovative building system
Ghelamco’s flagship projects stand out with state-of-the-art technology solutions. These include an advanced operating system for buildings, installed for the first time in The Warsaw HUB. Developed by Ghelamco’s internal innovation department, the solution allows for integrating all building systems at an unprecedented scale. All the data generated by the building is gathered and processed in the cloud. The solution gives us an unlimited ability to control, analyse and manage the building. It will be available both to building managers and tenants. A special application enables users to call the lift, go through the gates without a card, reserve premises in the office, invite guests using a digital access ticket, and take advantage of many other functionalities.
Technology to protect health
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of ensuring safety in the workplace. Ghelamco’s new projects are equipped with state-of-the-art solutions which ensure high comfort of the tenants and protect their health. In addition to standard procedures and safety measures, the developer has implemented a number of technology solutions to protect tenants and their employees against the spread of viruses. In the state of epidemic threat, The Warsaw HUB and Warsaw UNIT will switch to the so-called pandemic mode. In this mode, the air conditioning system operates using only fresh air in order to prevent mixing the air extracted from office spaces with the one blown into them, and virucidal UV lamps are activated in the lifts to effectively disinfect the space when there are no people inside. The UV technology has also been applied in the air conditioning systems.
A special application for smartphones, which enables contactless entry to the office buildings, will also allow for maintaining the sanitary regime. Ghelamco is the first developer in Poland to have enrolled to pursue the WELL Health-Safety Rating for its projects. The rating was designed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company has been recognised by the IWBI (International WELL Building Institute) certifying body as “early adopter” as a part of WELL Health-Safety Rating. Thus Ghelamco and its flagship projects – The Warsaw HUB and Warsaw UNIT – are now among the architectural icons from across the world, such as New York’s Empire State Building or London’s Royal Albert Hall, which have enrolled in the program as well.
New tenants and awards
Despite the pandemic, the year 2020 has attracted new tenants to Ghelamco’s office buildings. Nearly the entire office space in The Warsaw HUB is already leased, with OmniOffice, an operator of serviced offices (the company has leased 1,550 sqm), and GrECo Polska, one of the leading insurance brokers, among others, have joined the group of tenants. What is more, Ghelamco’s projects have attracted leading global real estate services companies: CBRE will be based in Warsaw UNIT, whereas Cushman & Wakefield has moved into The Warsaw HUB.
“The pandemic has prolonged some processes but has not halted the office market as such. Projects in good locations continue to enjoy tenants’ interest. This is why we are preparing new office buildings in regional cities as well as large projects in Warsaw,” says Jarosław Zagórski, Commercial and Business Development Director, Ghelamco Poland.
For Ghelamco, this year has also abounded in awards in industry contests. The Warsaw HUB and Foksal 13/15 have been most appreciated by Polish and international jurors, having received, among others, European Property Awards 2020/2021, Prime Property Prize 2020, Design dla Konesera 2020, HOF Awards 2020 or Europa Property CEE Investment Awards 2020.