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Varso
Varso
	Varso in May 2022
Former names	Chmielna Business Center
Record height
	Tallest in European Union since 2021[I]
Preceded by	Commerzbank Tower
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Office
Architectural style	Neomodern
Location	Warsaw, Poland
Address	ul. Chmielna 69/71
Coordinates	52°13′43.05464″N 20°59′57.03022″E / 52.2286262889°N 20.9991750611°E
Construction started	December 2016
Topped-out	February 2021
Completed	September 2022
Cost	€500 million
Height
Architectural	310 m (1,017 ft)
Roof	236 m (774 ft)
Observatory	230 m (755 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	53
Floor area	140,000 m2 (1,506,900 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	47
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Foster + Partners; HRA Architekci
Developer	HB Reavis
Structural engineer	Buro Happold
Website
	varso.com

Varso or Varso Place is a neomodern office complex in Warsaw, Poland. It was designed by Foster + Partners and developed by HB Reavis. The complex features three buildings; the main one, Varso Tower, is the tallest building in Poland, the tallest building in the European Union, and the sixth-tallest building in Europe at 310 m (1,020 ft) in height.^[4] It was topped out in February 2021 and completed in September 2022, with the opening of the observation deck planned for summer 2025.^[5]

Design

Varso Place is located in Wola, on the corner of Chmielna Street and John Paul II Avenue (pl). Construction takes place on a plot of 1.72 ha (4.3 acres), purchased in 2011 from PKP by the Slovak company HB Reavis for approximately 171 million złoty.^[6]

The estimated cost of construction was approximately €500 million (2.27 billion zł in 2021). Initially, the project was named Chmielna Business Center, being later changed to Varso, which references the Latin name for Warsaw—Varsovia.

The original plan was to build a 130-metre (430 ft) tall skyscraper. The project was later revised and the total height of Varso Tower was increased to 310 m (1,020 ft) including a spire surmounting the building.^[1]

Varso Place is a complex of three buildings: a 310 m (1,020 ft) main tower (roof height reaching 230 m (750 ft) with an 80-metre (260 ft) spire on top) and two buildings with a height of 81 and 90 m (266 and 295 ft), respectively called Varso 1 and Varso 2. The total area of Varso Place is 140,000 m² (1,500,000 sq ft), with 10,300 m² (111,000 sq ft) dedicated to commercial services. British-based architecture studio Foster + Partners designed the main tower and HRA Architekci was responsible for designing the Varso 1 and Varso 2 buildings.^[7]

At a height of 230 m (750 ft) on the main tower, Vista Terrace will become a public observation deck offering panoramic views of the city. A restaurant and a bar called Skytop Restaurant & Bar will occupy the 46th and 48th floors. All three buildings will be connected to each other on the ground floor level and the entire complex will be connected to the Warsaw Central Station.

A four-storey underground car park will accommodate approximately 1,100 cars, 80 motorbikes and 750 bicycles. The modernisation of the surroundings around Chmielna Street is a part of the investment and it will include new pavements, street lamps, benches, bike stands and signage, as well as planting shrubs and trees.^[8]

Construction

The general contractor is HB Reavis Construction, a company from the HB Reavis Group. The building permit for Varso was obtained in December 2016, with construction work commencing the same month.^[9]

In early 2017, the construction team had to move a transformer that was powering the Warsaw Central Station, as it was located exactly where the Varso Tower would be built.^[10] In October 2017, at a depth of 10 m (33 ft), a 60 tonne glacial erratic was excavated at the construction site. It was pulled out using a specialized crane and then transported to Mokotów Field, where it stood next to the National Library. In the future, it will be moved back and displayed next to the entrance of Varso Tower.^[11]

On 20 February 2021, the final piece of the spire was lifted to the top of Varso Tower, bringing the skyscraper to its full height of 310 metres (1,017 ft).^[12]^[13] The tower was completed in September 2022.^[14]^[15]

Varso Tower became the tallest building in the European Union by surpassing the Commerzbank Tower, in Frankfurt, Germany, which previously held the record at 259 m (850 ft).^[16]

Gallery

May 2019
December 2019
May 2020
July 2020
June 2021
May 2022
July 2024, as seen from Rondo 1

References

^ ^a ^b "2017 Vinci annual report" (PDF). vinci.com. Vinci SA. 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
^ "Varso Tower / Chmielna Business Center" (in Polish). urbanity.pl. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
^ "Varso Tower". The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
^ Parkes, James (26 October 2022). "Foster + Partners completes EU's tallest building in Warsaw". Dezeen. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
^ "Magnicity to operate the top of Varso Tower in Warsaw, the tallest skyscraper in the European Union". Varso. HB Reavis Poland. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
^ "PKP sprzedały grunty przy Dworcu Centralnym". tvn24.pl (in Polish). 16 November 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^ Gibson, Eleanor (11 January 2017). "Construction begins on Poland's tallest tower by Foster + Partners". Dezeen. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
^ Dowell, Stuart (14 September 2022). "Tallest building in EU officially opens to become 'new symbol of Warsaw'". The First News. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
^ Smisek, Peter (24 April 2019). "EU's Tallest Tower under Construction in Poland". The B1M. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
^ Hayes, Mike (18 March 2020). "Varso Tower: The challenges of high-rise". khl.com. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
^ "HB Reavis lifts rock". EurobuildCEE. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
^ Bretan, Juliette (22 February 2021). "Warsaw skyscraper becomes EU's tallest building". Notes from Poland. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
^ North, Nathan (22 February 2021). "Varso Tower now the EU's tallest". EurobuildCEE. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
^ "Varso Tower completed". EurobuildCEE. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022. HB Reavis has completed the construction of the tallest skyscraper in the EU – Varso Tower.
^ "Ruszył montaż iglicy na Varso Tower". NowaWarszawa.pl (in Polish). 21 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^ McLaughlin, Katherine (26 October 2022). "The Tallest Building in the EU Was Just Completed in an Unexpected City". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 20 January 2023.