Foster + Partners has completed the 52-story Varso Tower in Warsaw at a final height of 310 meters, which is Warsaw—as well as Poland’s—tallest building. Financed by the international developer HB Reavis, the 70,000-square-meter office scheme sits in the center of the Polish capital at the corner of Jana Pawla II and Chmielna Street.
The Varso tower is now the sixth-highest building anywhere in Europe. The other five are all in Russia, including the current title-holder, the 462-meter-tall Lakhta Center in St Petersburg. In the center of the project lies a plaza enclosed with a glazed screen, filled with trees and benches, and described as an “urban room” by the architects. The tower’s lobby features a 10-meter-high ceramic artwork by local artist Krystyna Kaszuba-Wacławek.
Public space continues at the top of the tower, accessed directly from the ground via two panoramic lifts, with a viewing platform at level 52. This is among the highest inhabited floors in Poland, and features panoramic views of the city.
For more on this story, go to Architects’ Journal.