Plac Unii open but underwhelming

The Grand Opening attracted dense crowds - a week and a bit later, on a Tuesday lunchtime, the crowds were no longer there. Plac Unii, Warsaw's latest shopping mall, is now fully open for business, though I can't say I'm particularly impressed by the retail choice.

The mall itself is nice enough, and it's a mere two minutes' stroll from my office, but the shops are nought but the usual mall suspects - the retail outlets you can find in Arcadia, Promenada, Złote Tarasy, Galeria Mokotów, Blue City, Klif, Wileńska or any of the lesser Warsaw malls and indeed in malls across most of Poland's agglomerations. There's an H&M, Zara, Maximo Ponsi, Benetton, Deni Cler etc etc. Empik, Inmedio, iSpot etc. A Vistula for me should I run out of suits or shirts.

Food wise - poor. Wiking - overpriced home cooking with a Scandinavian twist, Thai Wok - overpriced stodge with a vaguely Asian twist, a Subway. No Scottish Restaurant, no burger monarchy or pizza outbuilding.

Has a quarter of a century of the free market made me too fussy, or has Warsaw shopping got a tad dull? Architecturally, however, I can't complain. It's a fine building from within (I commented on its external appearance recently), on a sunny day like today, a pleasant place to be. Some snaps then...

Plac Unii is airy and spacious. There are still some vacant retail units.

The interior is 'Y'-shaped with shops on the ground and first floors, a food court and supermarket in the basement. Left: looking west towards ul. Waryńskiego, Costa Coffee tables situated on a bridge linking two passages. Office windows line the upper floors, a glass roof lets the sunshine flood in. 

Maybe local office workers have not yet got used to it, but for a Tuesday lunchtime, the place was very quiet. Or maybe it will get busier as the weather gets worse... Warsaw's best malls are much busier.

There was still an air of 'just finished' about Plac Unii; men in hard-hats and hi-vis vests mingling with shoppers, architects talking on their iPhones while consulting plans. 

Right: I'm curious as to how the glass roof will cope with half a metre of snow that will settle upon this structure if not this winter than certainly some time this decade. The building was designed by the late Stefan Kurylowicz, who died in a plane crash in 2011.

Good to see the neon: Supersam was Poland's first supermarket (1962). It stood on Pl. Unii and was knocked down in 2006 to make way for the new retail and office development. The brand is back, as a supermarket down in the basement of Plac Unii, though I'm told the retail experience is even less exciting than a Carrefour Express.

This time two years ago:
Visceral and Permanent, Part II

This time three years ago:
Autumn colours, locally

This time four years ago:
Edinburgh

Ale, architecture and city politics: comments follow-ups

It's been an active week on the blog, with a record number of comments. Time, then, to reply to some in greater prominence.

Number one: Beer. The explosion of hipster bars serving craft ales from microbreweries in Warsaw has been noted - a big thanks to Bob for recommending Kufle i Kapsle [lit. 'Beer-mugs and Bottletops'] on ul. Nowogrodzka 25, a stone's throw from my old office (though this place was not around a year ago when we moved out). A 'multitap' bar, it has many goodies on offer, though for fellow-blogger Paddy and I the star attraction was King of Hop, from Ale Browar. According to the microbrewery's website, King of Hop is no longer being brewed, which is a shame, as this phenomenally hoppy ale is even hoppier than Atak Chmielu (from microbrewery Pinta, which I sampled at Cuda na Kiju). So down the little red lane went two half-litres of Kings of Hop. Below: the beer menu at Kufle i Kapsle.

Number two: Plac Unii. This new shopping centre opens tomorrow, topped by offices. As Neighbour commented "Please go to Łazienki park, exactly there: +52° 12' 48.12", +21° 1' 58.31" So I went. And there is is, changing a once classic vista (click here to see the same scene exactly six years ago, in daylight). Can you imagine something like this looking down over shoulder of the White House or Buckingham Palace? A gross error of judgment on the part of the city's architect, or an oversight? Or will Warsaw get over it and take Plac Unii to its heart, as Paris learned to love the Eiffel Tower, the Pompidou Centre and La Defence? Incidentally, Plac Unii opens tomorrow.

Number three: Sunday's mayoral referendum. Many voices on this one, the most convincing one belongs to fellow-blogger Student SGH... "After the last week of pre-referendum intensive campaign, I would lean towards staying at home. The civic initiative to oust a bad mayor turned out to be a purely political campaign from which several politicians try to benefit. Referring to what you wrote many times - this is coarse politics with no policy. Mr Kaczynski, Mr Guzial, Mr Wipler and several other politicians sling mud at Mrs Gronkiewicz-Waltz, while none of them comes up with constructive criticism - no one says how things could have been done better, no one offers any specific ideas in return. First step is depose the mayor and then... jakoś to będzie."

What are the 'depose HG-W' camp saying? Get rid of her, then we'll see. What will Jarosław Kaczyński do? Reduce the number of flights over Ursynów. How? Cut the cost of public transport. How will he cover the increased shortfall? No solutions offered - all (party) politics, no policy.

It doesn't look good for Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, with 39% declaring an intention to vote (29% being the threshold for a valid ballot), and the majority of that number wanting her out.

This time last year:
The pros and cons of roadside acoustic screens

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Moaning about trains again

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Warsaw streets - Dolna, Polna, Rolna, Smolna, Wolna. Lost?

This time five years ago:
Ditches, landscapes, autumn

This time six years ago:
Golden autumn in Łazienki park

Warsaw has a new landmark

Won't be long now until Our City gains yet another shopping and office complex. This one's right outside my office... Temptations by the score... due to open next month, in good time for Christ's Mass.

This is Plac Unii, located on Pl. Unii Lubelskiej (Plac = Platz = Place = Square but this one's more of a roundabout). Like Rondo ONZ 1, the development is named simply after its address.

Since moving here, I've been watching it grow and grow; controversially, its height looms large over the panorama of the Belvedere palace from Łazienki park. "Sacrilege!" shout traditionalists - they have a point.

But in the less rarified environs of the bottom end of ul. Marszałkowska (where it meets the top end of ul. Puławska), the new development is a) welcome and b) pulls the neighbourhood in an up-market direction. It is, however, a shame that Warsaw's first self-service supermarket, the modernist Supersam (1962), had to go to make way for it.

Anyway, today, for the first time, I noticed that shops are in place in the new complex. There's a Maximo Ponci on the corner. There's an ING logo on top of the office tower. And leaving work this evening... Hang on a second... That's wonderful! Just look at that lighting...

May I be the first to offer a popular name for the building... Kameleon?

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Tatra time (worth another watch and listen!)

This time two years ago:
The passing of Old Poland

This time three years ago:
A glorious week

This time four years ago:
Trampled underfoot: Sobieski and the Turks at Vienna

This time five years ago:
The first, spontaneous signs, of a Park + Ride at Jeziorki

This time six years ago:
Early autumn atmospheres, Jeziorki