The stream of tourists visiting Krakow continues unabated, with the result that the largest hotel chains are taking to adapting more buildings for residential functions. The Main Post Office building (designed by Frierdrich Setz and Friedrich Tadanier) and the PKO building on Wielopole Street (designed by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz) have already been allocated for exclusive rooms for tourists. This time the boundary of the middle of the last century will be crossed - the historic Socialist-Realist edifice of Miastoprojekt at 36 Kraszewskiego Street has been designated for hotel functions, and it will house the Nobu Krakow hotel, owned by a chain whose shareholder is Robert de Niro . However, these are not all the plans the famous actor has for the plot at the back of Cracovia stadium.
It will be an unusual project for a hotel chain - in addition to rooms for rent, there will be residences and accompanying infrastructure. All of this, however, will not be housed in a Socialist Realist office building from the 1950s. A new building will be erected at its rear, and everything is to be the responsibility of Krakow's SAO Investments, which is responsible for the design of numerous Krakow buildings, including the corner townhouses on Rajska and Piłsudskiego streets, as well as the "wooden" office building on Królowej Jadwigi street. What will they do with Miastoprojekt?
Miastoprojekt office building in Krakow - This is where Robert de Niro's Nobu Krakow hotel will be built.
photo: editors of Architektura&Biznes
first demolition
The first signs of change at the Miastoprojekt in Krakow could be seen as early as last year, when an application for a demolition permit at Kraszewskiego 36 landed in the Warsaw magistrate's office. However, it wasn't about the plot occupied by the historic Socialist-Realist edifice, but the plot just behind it, where a small service building, built much later, was located, connected to the office building by a connector. Work is already underway, as this is where the new volume, designed by the Cracow-based SAO Investment studio, is to be built. The connector will no longer be there, as there will be no need for it - Robert de Niro's new hotel will "stick" to the historic building.
© Nobu Hotels
The visualization released by the developer shows the view from Julian Falat Street, where the shorter side of the Socialist Realist office building is located. According to the illustration, the new Nobu Krakow hotel building will rise right next to the Miastoprojekt, leaving only a narrow clearance between them. Nobu Hotel will not directly refer to the facade of the building already standing here, but it will not do without historicizing elements and adapting the concept to the body of the earlier office building. The first floor will therefore feature arcades preceded by arc ades (the bright color and form derived from historical architecture is probably the only thing that connects these arcades to the facade of Miastoprojekt), cut off from the rest of the building by a cornice, set at a height consistent with the lower cornice of the Socialist Realist building.
Above, a stepped structure will appear, overgrown with greenery in places, narrowing with successive floors, similar to that of the office building standing next door. On the upper floors, on the other hand, the elevations will take on a decidedly distinct expression - although, as in the case of Miastoprojekt, they will be divided into rectangular fields, the wall covering is planned in black.
Miastoprojekt office building in Krakow - This is where Robert de Niro's Nobu Krakow hotel will be built.
photo: editors of Architektura&Biznes
Exclusive culture under Cracovia
The vicinity of Krakow's Blonia is an extremely prestigious location for a hotel, one might even be tempted to assume that it is one of the best in the city. It, and the name of the famous actor and the reputation of the world-famous hotel chain, had to be followed by the appropriate amenities that the Nobu Hotel and Residences will offer. The hotel part, located in the historic building, will have 100 rooms, while the new facility, located behind the Miastoprojekt, is planned to have 80 "exclusive residences," as the operator calls them. In addition to a restaurant featuring Nobu Matsuhisa cuisine, the hotel will provide a fitness area and a rooftop pool. A hallmark of the Nobu Krakow project is to be the offer of spaces for cultural activities.
The cultural district, "a real city within a city," as the operator calls it, will consist of an art gallery, theater stage, cinema hall, recording studio or coworking space. It is unclear how these spaces will be animated and for whom they will be made available, but Nobu Krakow is intended to attract not only tourists, but also locals. Will they feel at ease in a heavily gentrified space, close to publicly accessible green areas and one of the most interesting academic campuses in Poland?
Miastoprojekt office building in Krakow - This is where Robert de Niro's Nobu Krakow hotel will be built.
photo: editors of Architektura&Biznes
Miastoprojekt in Krakow
The Socialist Realist gamch at 36 Kraszewskiego Street in Cracow was designed by Jozef Golab, and its reinforced concrete structure, whose erection began as early as 1949, was developed by Stanislaw Zydron. When it was made available to employees in 1955, the Socialist Realist aesthetic was already at the end of its popularity, but the role of this office building for Krakow architecture remained crucial - it was here that one of theof the most important architectural studios in People's Poland, the Miastoprojekt, where concepts for Kraków's most important housing estates and public edifices were developed, initially mainly in Nowa Huta, later throughout Kraków. The Miastoprojekt produced the design of the Rydygier Hospital, the buildings of the Academy of Physical Education, and even a master plan for Baghdad.
Miastoprojekt office building in Krakow - This is where Robert de Niro's Nobu Krakow hotel will be built.
photo: editors of Architektura&Biznes
The premises of Miastoprojekt could accommodate 360 people, the studios were located on four floors of the building with a sculpted, monumental facade, whose axiality was emphasized by two massive risalits in the corners and a portico leading to the entrance, supported by four cuboid pillars. The top floor is slightly set back. Despite its long history, the Miastorpojekt looks great today - its stone facades are shining brightly as a result of a renovation that was carried out in 2016
Miastorpojekt office building in Krakow - This is where Robert de Niro's Nobu Krakow will be built.
photo: editors of Architektura&Biznes
the return of socreal?
After the change of the political system, however, the role of the Miastoprojekt office building definitely diminished - the studio was transformed into a private company in 1991, which shared the building's spaces with other entities in the design industry, as well as city institutions. The Miastoprojekt has been standing empty for some time - will the transformation into a hotel be a second chance for it? Or will a luxury building on the other side worsen the perception of the monumental, social-realist edifice? Time will tell, but in order to carry out any construction work in the surroundings and in the Miastoprojekt itself, it will be necessary to obtain a permit from the conservator, as the office building of Józef Gołąb is included in the municipal register of monuments. At the moment, nothing is known about such a permit, and the search engine for building permit applications is also silent on the new SAO Investments project.
