Curated by Archirev Editorial | Feature Story | Published Dec 09, 2025
Source: UNStudio
PROJECT TYPOLOGY: COMMERCIAL (OFFICE TOWER)
Project name: The Bridge Tower
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Architect: UNStudio
Client: Ghelamco Poland
Height: 174 m
Building Surface: 62,000 m²
Status: Completed
Program: Office tower, shared lobby with historic Bellona building, terraces, parking, bike facilities
Sustainability Strategies: Energy-neutral operation powered by clean energy (including photovoltaic farms); advanced Building Energy Management System; vacuum sewer system reducing water use by up to 75%; Signal OS for intelligent monitoring of water, energy, and air quality; virucidal UV lamps in lifts and HVAC for health and safety.
Certifications targeted/achieved: SmartScore, WiredScore, BREEAM, WELL, Green Building Standard, and Building Without Barriers
Photography: © Piotr Krajewski
UNStudio has completed The Bridge Tower in Warsaw, Poland, a 174-metre office building that brings together contemporary design and architectural heritage. Commissioned by Ghelamco Poland, the tower directly connects to the historic Bellona building: a former printing house and protected monument, through a shared lobby that merges old and new spatial identities.
Designed in collaboration with local partner Projekt Polsko-Belgijska Pracownia Architektury (PPBPA), the development creates a new architectural composition that brings past and future together.
© Piotr Krajewski
A New Workplace Landmark Rooted in Heritage
The Bridge Tower introduces 47,000 m² of office space. It provides approximately 280 parking spaces, bicycle amenities, electric car chargers, a dedicated parking area for e-bikes and e-scooters, and a private 40th-floor terrace designed exclusively for tenants.
Its relationship with the Bellona building is central to the project’s identity. Rather than separating the old structure from the new high-rise, UNStudio developed a shared entrance sequence that positions both buildings within a unified architectural dialogue.
© Piotr Krajewski
A Bridge between Two Architectural Eras
UNStudio’s design leverages the geometry and rhythm of the historic Bellona building to shape the new tower’s urban presence. The two volumes are linked by a double-height glass lobby conceived as a “bridge” both metaphorically and spatially. This lightweight, transparent structure preserves the original lobby of the Bellona building. It maintains visibility of its protected colonnade, staircase, and three restored façades, all of which were refurbished under strict conservation requirements. The connector enables a seamless functional transition between the heritage structure and the contemporary tower while keeping the building’s architectural character intact.
© Piotr Krajewski
Within the historic volume, a new staircase, a panoramic elevator, and an internal atrium introduce updated circulation and daylight, preparing the building for contemporary use without compromising its identity.
The connective lobby combines industrial textures with natural materials. Graphite-tone concrete columns reference the Bellona building’s industrial past, while wood elements, planting, and green walls soften the spatial atmosphere. A mezzanine and wide, multifunctional stairway introduce opportunities for informal gatherings, working, or pausing, thereby enhancing the lobby as a dynamic social environment.
© Piotr Krajewski
Key interior features include: new panoramic elevator, reactivated internal atrium, layers of greenery, warm natural finishes that humanize the tall volumes. These elements contribute to a lobby that functions not only as a circulation node but also as a contemporary public setting.
© Piotr Krajewski
Technology and Sustainability
The Bridge Tower combines heritage conservation with forward-looking technological innovation and sustainability. Addressing poor-quality materials left from Bellona’s 1950s renovation required innovative construction and engineering solutions.
The tower incorporates a suite of sustainable technologies, including :
1. Clean-Energy Operation: The building is designed for energy neutrality, powered entirely by nearby photovoltaic farms.
2. Advanced Building Energy Management System: Monitors and optimizes energy usage in real time.
3. Vacuum Sewer Technology: Reduces water consumption in toilets by up to 75%, significantly lowering resource use.
4. In line with Ghelamco’s ESG strategy, the building incorporates the proprietary Signal OS, a smart operating system that manages water efficiency, energy use, air quality, and overall building health
5. Additional Health & Safety Features: Virucidal UV lamps in lifts, UV-based air handling, Smart systems to maintain indoor environmental quality
The Bridge Tower is the first commercial property in Central and Eastern Europe to achieve both SmartScore and WiredScore sustainability certifications. It is also set to be certified in BREEAM, WELL, Green Building Standard, and Building without Barriers.
© Piotr Krajewski
A Contemporary Tower Shaped by the Past
By connecting a restored historic structure with a newly completed high-rise, The Bridge Tower demonstrates how architectural heritage can drive, rather than limit, contemporary development.
UNStudio’s design offers a model where:
- Preservation is integrated into modern urban growth
- Old and new form a meaningful spatial relationship
- Sustainability and technology extend the building’s life far into the future
It is architecture that acknowledges its context, respects its history, and prepares its district for tomorrow.
Additional project images
Project Credits
Ben van Berkel, Arjan Dingsté with Juergen Heinzel and Stella Nikolakaki, Piotr Kluszczynski, Bogdan Chipara, Vladislava Parfjonova, Fabio Negozio, Ilaria Ronchi, Bart Bonenkamp’ Yinfei Gu, Thys Schreij, Robert Duffield, Daniel Cely
Advisors:
Structure and MEP: WSP Poland
Local Architect/Architect of record: PPBPA (Projekt Polsko Belgijska Pracownia Architektury)
Lighting design: Licht&Soehne
Green design: Moss