A form shaped like a seven. How the Twarda 7 tower was designed

Behind the Twarda 7 project lies one of the most interesting architectural challenges in central Warsaw: how to fit a 105-metre, mixed-use tower onto a plot of just around 416 square metres. The answer from the renowned Warsaw studio JSK Architekci is a slender tower shaped like the number seven — a building that deliberately breaks away from the monumental development of the capital's 'Manhattan'.

A project on a micro-plot

The concept was authored by architects Mariusz Rutz and Radosław Szafran of JSK Architekci. The building is designed on a trapezoidal footprint, and its proportions — compared in the media to a stiletto heel or a 'wasp waist' — make it one of the most structurally demanding developments in this part of the city. The tower is set to have 24 storeys above ground and three below; of more than 3,600 sq m of usable floor area, most — around 3,200 sq m — will go to apartments. The facade uses light GRC architectural concrete combined with glass, aimed at an elegant, contemporary effect. The load of the cantilevered upper section will be carried by diagonal struts — one of the building's most recognisable features. The whole structure sits on a 13.5-metre-high podium, from which the slender tower section rises.

A form that yields to its neighbours

The lower part of the building has been deliberately broken up. The first, retail-and-service storeys are dramatically undercut to let light into flats in the neighbouring building at ul. Emilii Plater 55 — and, in the process, provide a pretext for sculpting the monumental mass at ground level. The rhythm of setbacks follows a 1.5-metre module and 'sculpts' the form up to roughly the fourteenth storey; above that, the floor plan starts to repeat. The solution combines visual effect with a genuine gesture towards its surroundings — rare on such a tight plot and especially valuable in the dense fabric of the city centre.

Programme and technical solutions

Twarda 7 combines several functions within a single form, still a rarity on the Polish market. The ground floor will house retail — a unit of around 94 sq m — while floors two to six will be offices; almost 353 sq m of that falls within the building's characteristic narrowing. The upper floors are reserved for premium apartments; the project calls for 17 luxury units, one per floor, with ceiling heights exceeding three metres and direct entry from the lift lobby through an elegant reception accessible from ul. Twarda.

The top storeys are planned as two-level apartments with mezzanines, and every unit is intended to offer panoramic views in all four directions. Vertical circulation will be handled by two high-speed lifts linked to a central lobby. The underground car park is to be fully automated — with no human presence in the garage hall — offering 22 car spaces and an equal number of bicycle spaces.

A project that reaches beyond its plot

Twarda 7 also reaches beyond the boundaries of its own plot. Under an agreement with the City Roads Authority, the developer will fund part of the redevelopment of ul. Twarda and a section of ul. Mariańska, which is planned to become part of a woonerf at this location, along with new tree and shrub planting. Construction itself, once all permits are in place, is expected to take around 24 months. Twarda 7 is therefore not just a sculptural tower, but also an attempt to give the city a better piece of public space — on one of the most challenging plots remaining in the heart of Warsaw.