Until recently, there was a lawn here. Today, the Royal Axis in the Town of Wilanów is a space that, depending on the perspective taken, meets the needs of the residents of the neighborhood created on the bare trunk and "grows up" to be adjacent to one of the most important palace grounds in the country. See how {tag:pracownie} managed to combine these two completely different worlds into a coherent concept.
The Royal Axis complements what was intended to be a contemporary response not only to the needs of a growing Warsaw, but also to the surroundings of the Wilanów palace establishment. "Palace-like" is the key word in this case - the Royal Axis, as a linear space dividing Wilanów Town into two parts, and a scenic axis facing the Wilanów palace, was already planned when Guy Perry developed the master plan in the 1990s. Until recently, however, it had been an unused space, a low, barren lawn where a canal once flowed. That all changed in 2024, when that lawn was transformed into a park worthy of Wilanów's royal lineage.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów
© XYstudio
palace genes
The Royal Axis is two different worlds enclosed in one establishment. Viewing it from a bird's-eye perspective, from a drone or from the floor of one of the nearby blocks of flats, it appears as a symmetrical, almost geometric establishment, which, in a nutshell, can be considered a modern variation on theon the theme of the French-type garden developed in the 17th century, known from the historic park and palace assumptions at Versailles, Schönbrunn Palace in Austria or Branicki Palace in Bialystok. In the case of the park in Miasteczko Wilanów, the axiality is emphasized not only by the longitudinal layout, but also by the three ponds stretching along its entire length, which are enclosed in a framework resembling the shape of a DNA helix.
The whole has a strictly sequential layout:
The park is topped by a small open square, in the middle of which a large magnolia will be planted - a symbolic reference to the phenomenal magnolia in the courtyard of the Wilanów palace. The last part of the park is Wilanów's little lungs with a large number of trees, decorative flowerbeds and a meadow with clover. The whole is crowned by a large tulip tree officially closing the Royal Axis.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów©
XYstudio
walk along the helis
The Royal Axis looks completely different from a pedestrian perspective. It lacks the exposition so characteristic of axial park layouts. Instead, the architects designed an organic space that allows residents to enjoy the park intimately, with a sense of privacy, "next door." Paths do not lead straight ahead, but wind around ponds and intersect them, leading through small piers. Individual sections of the park are sheltered by vegetation and small architecture. There is quite a lot of this in the Wilanów park:
There are "Warsaw" benches with backs, without backs and for standing rest, bicycle racks and other park furniture dedicated to this space. Low lighting has been designed along the paths, two "Wilanow" lanterns will be added to the end plaza, and in the large plazas lighting will be integrated with pergolas.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów
© XYstudio
The design team also took care of accessibility and safety issues. The walls separating the water reservoirs have been illuminated, so that when walking around after dark we won't bruise our ankles or - worse - fall into the water. As the architects assure, all spaces have been adapted for people with disabilities and seniors.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów
© XYstudio
participatory project
However, the Royal Axis is a space that supports not only urban and landscape issues, but also the residents of Miasteczko Wilanów. These were included in the design process itself, because as the architects point out:
Throughout the process, the participation of local youth was very important, consisting in co-creating the space intended for them. It was all about their initiative and decisions made in partnership with adults.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów
© XYstudio
park in seven ways
As a result, seven "park interiors" were created, i.e. individual spaces spread alternately on the sides of the main water axis. Each of them performs a different function in the Park, and the whole establishment is dominated by three main spaces, which were distinguished by means of circular metal structures. The first of these is the senior citizens' square, with a small rose garden at its center. Spending time together there is to be fostered by a large circular bench and triangular sails suspended above them, which will provide protection from the sun. A little farther away is a neighborhood meeting area centered around a round table, while at the end is one of two youth squares, equipped with a structure on which rocking benches hang and allowing temporary exhibitions to be hung.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów © XYstudio 
The main "park interiors" are complemented by four additional, smaller circles - a second youth square, a co-working space with special swivel chairs with a laptop stand, and a social games square with chessboards and tables. At the very end of the premise there is room for a final, seventh square, the importance of which is emphasized by a tall, solitary tree.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów © XYstudio 
blue in tandem with greenery
In large urban assumptions, poured to the brim with concrete, the issue of retention and permeability of water to the ground is crucial. As the architects calculate, in the case of the Royal Axis, the numbers are on the side of water. Not surprisingly, in the case of the park establishment, as much as 80% of the area is green, which is, as a rule, a surface that optimally permeates and collects water. However, in addition to this, 8% of the park's surface is made up of water-permeable mineral surfaces, and 7% is covered by paths and plazas covered with gravel, which is also not a significant barrier to rainwater. Altogether, this gives as much as 95% of the surface through which water can penetrate the soil with greater or lesser freedom.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów
© XYstudio
The remnant of the canal is highlighted by three ponds in the form of retention ponds, where one bank is regulated and the other is wild, overgrown with hydrophytic plants - aquatic and flooded. The ponds receive excess rainwater, and in the event of a large storm, it will be discharged through inspection holes into absorption wells and returned directly to the ground.
- emphasize the architects.
Royal Axis Park in the Town of Wilanów
© XYstudio
In less than thirty years, Miasteczko Wilanów has grown and turned from an area covered with fields into a new, vibrant district of Warsaw. Although still not everything is perfect here(vide the issue of the streetcar to Wilanów), the concept that was created back in the 1990s is becoming more and more "closed". The best symptom of this state is precisely the transformation that the central space of this establishment has undergone. The Royal Axis Park is a place where one can relax, think and feel that the outskirts of Warsaw are not only growing, but also maturing.
