Chałubińskiego 8

Chałubińskiego 8
Chałubińskiego 8 in 2022.
General information
Type	Office building
Architectural style	International Style
Location	Warsaw, Poland
Address	8 Chałubińskiego Street
Coordinates	52°13′34″N 21°00′15″E
Construction started	1975
Completed	1978
Height
Tip	150 m
Roof	140 m
Technical details
Floor count	46 (+2 underground)
Floor area	70,000 m²
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Wojciech Grzybowski Jerzy Janczak Jerzy Skrzypczak Halina Świergocka-Kaim Jan Zdanowicz
Main contractor	BPA Byggproduktion AB

Chałubińskiego 8 (Ch8), formerly known as Intraco II, and Oxford Tower, is a skyscraper office building in Warsaw, Poland, within the Downtown district, at 8 Chałubińskiego Street. It was opened in 1978, its height to the roof is 140 m, and its total architecural height is 150 m.

History

Chałubińskiego 8 (originally known as Intraco II) was designed in the International Style by Wojciech Grzybowski, Jerzy Janczak, Jerzy Skrzypczak, Halina Świergocka-Kaim, and Jan Zdanowicz. It was constructed between 1975 and 1978, by a Sweden-based BPA Byggproduktion AB, in the location of the former Warsaw Pomological Garden, that was destroyed in the World War II.^[1][2] The building was envisioned as the headquarters of the Bank Handlowy, and the international trade hub, as well as a part of the Western Wall, an architectural complex, that also includes the LIM Center.^[3][4] Upon its opening, it was the most technologically advanced, and second tallest building in the city.^[1]

In 2022, the building owner petitioned in the Warsaw City Hall for the permission to build additional seven storeys, extending its total height to 180 m, and another tower, located 20 m to the south.^[5][6]

Characteristics

Chałubińskiego 8 is an International Style skyscraper office building, located in the Downtown district, at 8 Chałubińskiego Street. It has 46 storyes, and additional two underground, and the total usable area of 70,000 m². Its height to the roof is 140 m, and its total architectural height is 150 m.^[1][7] The building has 12 high-speed lifts.^[4]

Together with LIM Centre, it forms the Western Wall architectural complex.^[3]

References

1. Marta Leśniakowska: Architektura w Warszawie 1965–1989. Warsaw: Arkada Pracownia Historii Sztuki, 2005, p. 26. ISBN 83-908950-7-2. (in Polish)
2. Stanisław Niewiadowski: Warszawa jakiej nie ma. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1988, p. 182. ISBN 83-06-01615-7. (in Polish)
3. Tadeusz Przemysław Szafer: Nowa architektura polska. Diariusz lat 1971–1975. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Arkady, 1979, p. 227, 232–233. ISBN 83-213-2921-7. (in Polish)
4. Tadeusz Przemysław Szafer: Nowa architektura polska. Diariusz lat 1976–1980. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Arkady, 1981, p. 194. ISBN 83-213-3065-7. (in Polish)
5. Kacper Kępiński (20 July 2022). "Zabytkowy wieżowiec urośnie – ikona warszawskiego modernizmu zagrożona?". architekturaibiznes.pl (in Polish).
6. Michał Wojtczuk: "Chcą nadbudować znany wieżowiec", Gazeta Stołeczna, p. 1. Warsaw: 14 July 2022. (in Polish)
7. "Oxford Tower. Warszawa, Chałubińskiego 8". urbanity.pl (in Polish).

External links

• Chałubińskiego 8 at Wikimedia Commons