They were to be built in parallel: the white Museum of Modern Art, next to it the black TR Warszawa theater. The first building was opened last year, and construction of the second one is yet to begin. A tender has been announced for the implementation of the stage in which the basement of the building will be built.
A large plot of land between MSN and the Palace of Culture is waiting for builders. Last fall, preparatory work was completed, which included dismantling the remains of the concrete platform, preliminary excavation, archaeological work, and removal of the brick foundations of pre-war tenement houses.
Ownership problems with this area and then finances prevented the construction of TR and MSN at the same time.
Source: Marta Ejsmont / UM
Stage one – underground phase
The 2023 tender ended in failure; the cheaper of the two offers for the construction of a magnificent building amounted to almost PLN 643 million (Doraco), the more expensive one to over PLN 787 million (Mostostal Warszawa). Meanwhile, the city hall planned to allocate a maximum of PLN 281 million for this purpose. The proceedings were annulled. Now the topic is back, but officials have divided the investment into three stages. The announced tender concerns the first of them, it can be called the underground phase. Offers can be submitted until February 28.
As we read in the tender specifications, the order includes the construction of concrete structures on levels minus one and minus two, storm drainage and insulation. The underground will be connected to the ready-made access ramp leading to the museum's unloading docks (the designer wanted technical service to take place underground). The contractor will also have to obtain permission to use them.
An option in the tender is to commission the second stage to the same contractor, which will “cover the structure of the building from the ground level to the roof.” In this case, these include concrete columns, walls and ceilings, as well as steel roof trusses.
TR Theater Warszawa on visualizations
Source: Thomas Phifer and Partners
Source: Thomas Phifer and Partners
Source: Thomas Phifer and Partners
Source: Thomas Phifer and Partners
Theater room for 700 people with the option of opening
The design of the new headquarters of TR Warszawa, a theater that today occupies the basement of the tenement house at Marszałkowska 8, was created by the New York studio of Thomas Phifer and Partners in cooperation with the offices of APA Wojciechowski and Buro Happold. The same architects were responsible for the finished MSN building. In contrast, TR will have an almost black color and an elevation with clear vertical divisions. This division has a functional justification: a light facility for daytime activities (exhibitions), a dark one for evening attractions (performances and dinners).
There are two theater spaces inside: a large one, for 700 people, on the ground floor, with the possibility of opening to the so-called central square (under construction) on one side and Świętokrzyski Park (will change too) on the other hand. And a smaller one, with 150 seats, on the first floor. Also planned downstairs: a restaurant, a bistro, an information point with ticket offices and a cloakroom. There will be studios and rehearsal rooms above.
Author: mg/day
Source: tvnwarszawa.pl
Main photo source: Thomas Phifer and Partners