In Warsaw they demolished, in Poznan - they are starting. The first Multikino in Poland and the first such multiplex in the city is disappearing. The memento of the 1990s was not an outstanding architectural specimen, but it became a permanent part of Poznań's history. It will be replaced by a residential building. This is another such replacement.
Demolition of buildings from two and three decades ago is gaining momentum in Poznań. Earlier this year we wrote aboutthe liquidation of a neat pavilion built for the McDonald's chain in 1994 on the outskirts of the Fair. Earlier, we reported on the intentions to partially demolish and transform the Dębiec shopping mall 10 years ago. For more than a year, the demolition of the large 2009 Malta shopping mall has been underway and nearing completion . The latter fell victim to the competing, even larger Posnania shopping center(we wrote about it extensively last February). Residential buildings are to be built on the site left by CH Malta.
Demolition of Galeria Malta in Poznań - as of March 19, 2025, with Lake Malta in the foreground
photo: Jakub Głaz
More than a month ago, on the other hand, the eight-screen Multikino 51 in the very center, right next to the iconic Stary Browar, was closed. The last screening was held on March 9. After a few days, the building was surrounded by a fence and demolition began. It was announced as early as the summer of 2023. The Poznan building thus follows in the footsteps of the Multikino in Warsaw's Ursynów district, which was demolished this year, and a tabernacle under the same banner in the Malta shopping mall, which has already been demolished almost in its entirety. Only the Multikino in Stary Browar is currently operating in Poznan.
A little cinema, a little supermarket
So ends a story that began in the summer of 1998, when this first complex in the country opened under the Multikino banner(Warsaw's was established a year later). In principle, it was a purely utilitarian building : a sizable cuboid with windowless walls, sprinkled at the front with an entrance made of reflective glass in the typical style of the time. The curved façade was decorated with a dynamic openwork structure supported by tendons. The coffered Multikino inscription was placed against a background of steel scaffolding - also of expressive form. Parts of the facade were also lined with square ceramics, characteristic of the decade of the 1990s.
Multikino, Poznan, Królowej Jadwigi Street - as of March 10, the day after closing, view from the square at the corner of Królowej Jadwigi and Górna Wilda streets
photo: Jakub Głaz
After the opening, Poznań residents had mixed feelings. They gained a cinema of unprecedented "American" standard (comfortable seats with drink holders, perfect sound and picture quality, great comfort), but the supermarket-like form disappointed them a bit. Especially since it stood in a prominent location - on Królowej Jadwigi Street, at the junction of the inner city and the Wilda district, at the edge of the so-called southern wedge of greenery. The Old Brewery, which opened in the neighborhood five years later, and the office buildings of the Andersia complex - also younger than the cinema - made the architectural blandness of the multiplex even more apparent . Its value lay primarily in its film offerings - primarily of an entertainment nature. Mainly in this way (in combination with the intense smell of popcorn) Multikino made its mark in the collective memory.
location of Multikino on the map of Poznan
source: openstreetmap.org
unknown front
The place of the cinema will now be taken by a residential complex consisting of six five-story buildings being developed by Develia. They will be spread over the entire plot, unlike before, when roughly half of the site was occupied by the Multikino block and the other by a parking lot. All in accordance with the local zoning plan of 2017. It allows development of 30 percent of the plot. The buildings cannot be more than six stories, but their maximum height is 30 meters. The developer has made eager use of this provision, offering two-story apartments with a mezzanine on the top floor, which - de facto - corresponds to two floors. Plans call for the development of 108 apartments ranging in size from 30 to 120 sqm.
"Overview" visualization of the development complex at 51 Królowej Jadwigi Street in Poznań - design: paka.archi
source: develia.pl, design: paka.archi
As much greenery and recreation areas as possible are to appear between the houses. The investor boasts 50 percent biologically active area (thus meeting the minimum requirement of the local plan). Residents of the buildings on the west side of the complex will have a view of the attractive urban square of the Righteous Among the Nations, which in a few years will be extended by a green avenue on the site of the former "Bema" market(we wrote about it in autumn).
The complex of buildings at 51 Królowej Jadwigi St. in Poznan, graphic from the investor's website - the site of the former Multikino cinema with the marked plan of the investment (view from the south, from above the former stadium), on the left - the square of the Righteous Among the Nations, on the right - Maratonska St. with the parking lot planned for the site. Maratonska with a parking lot planned for narrow commercial development, next to the street - Maraton Gardens housing estate and Maraton Business Center office building, at the top of the graphic: Królowej Jadwigi Street.
source: develia.pl
The paka.archi studio, which specializes in multi-family housing complexes, is responsible for the design of the entire complex. The forms of architecture shown in the visualizations ("illustrative " - as the investor stipulates) look correct. Also the apartment floor plans are decent: quite functional and - in part - with a separable bright kitchen. Unfortunately, the illustrations mainly show the inner space of the estate. It is therefore unclear how the building will look like on the side of Królowej Jadwigi Street - the most prominent in the surrounding space. Perhaps its target form is not yet defined. After all, the construction of the complex will start from the other, southern end of the plot (building No. IV).
plan of the entire residential project on Królowa jadwigi street
source: develia.pl, design: paka.archi
frontage and quiet park
When the investment is completed, we will know almost the target shape of the southern frontage of Królowej Jadwigi Street between Droga Dębińska and Górna Wilda. Currently, it is formed by a long and low building of the Academy of Physical Education designed by the famous Marek Leykam, and contrasted with it in scale (rather unfortunate) by a large mass of the Marathon Businness Center office building (designed by CDF Architects). Between the office building and the new development is the wide and tree-lined Marathon Street, which used to lead from downtown to the long-defunct Szyc Stadium. On the long narrow strip between the two carriageways that today serves as a parking lot, planners allowed the construction of a service building. If ever built, its short northern elevation will be the last addition to the frontage of Królowej Jadwigi Street.
Multikino, Poznan, Królowej Jadwigi St. - as of March 10, the day after closing, view from under the entrance to the northern frontage of Królowej Jadwigi St.
photo: Jakub Glaz
The just-mentioned stadium and its adjacencies, on the other hand, are waiting for their eventual transformation into an extensive recreational area compatible with the function of the southern green wedge. Two years ago the City settled a conceptual competition for the transformation of this space. It was won by Studio Fikus from Gliwice. The interior of the stadium, already overrun by nature, is to become the city's first "park of silence." The surroundings are also to take on a park-like character - including the green avenue mentioned here earlier. The creation of the latter is taking real shape (not without further controversy, which we will describe shortly). The timing of the stadium's redevelopment remains unknown for now .
