royal opera

The urban layout of Łazienki Królewskie is a space rich in historical references: a composition brimming with axes, stories about art, and reflections on its origins, which the Enlightenment traced back to Antiquity. In a sense, it is a manifesto of an era that, despite the passage of time, remains legible and present. In this context, the new opera building should, above all, respect the existing urban relationships, but also create new ones and restore those that have lost their importance over time and through numerous transformations of the city’s structure.

With this premise in mind, we decided to position the front and foyer of the new Polish Royal Opera building parallel to the axis of the Piaseczyński Canal, allowing the building to reflect itself in its waters. This gesture restores the significance of the historic composition, which once, in its scale, grandeur, and concept, alluded to the canal at Versailles. Unfortunately, over the centuries and decades, its time of splendor faded unnoticed, and the space suffered considerable degradation. There is, however, hope that through this new investment, the historic water axis will regain its brilliance and importance, while the modern architectural form of the opera will integrate softly and harmoniously into the constellation of axes and historical connections.

Another key urban decision was to set the building volume back in order to extend the linear park belt along Józef Noji Avenue. This is a spatially valuable pedestrian area that embraces the southern bank of the canal, all the way to its circular basin at Czerniakowska Street. Leaving this green ribbon unbuilt creates a spacious, representative opera square. Interwoven with low greenery: grass, meadows, and shrubs - the area in front of the building will serve as an urban breathing space, a place of symbiosis between music lovers, walkers, nature, and architecture. From this point, one can always see the dignified silhouette of Ujazdowski Castle and experience a multidimensional visual connection with the landscape spreading at the foot of Skarpa Warszawska.