Gone are the days when Warsaw's urban landscape garnered the aesthetic appeal of a shot of vodka on a bare plastic table. Following the war-time annihilation, where nearly 90 per cent of the capital's western part was reduce to rubble, the city was rebuilt on a central Soviet scheme, so there's still a vast panoply of somber block-shaped housing structures and the monolithic cake-shaped Palace of Culture and Science nonetheless serves as the city's centerpiece. But rapid economic growth, technical progress and increasing demand for debonair design over the past decade has triggered an explosion of new-age structures and an exciting period in spatial expression. With state of architecture and interior design characterized by dramatic change and transition, Warsaw's ever-expanding cityscape now boasts a slew of sleek skyscrapers, several high-rise commercial buildings, a forest of visually pleasing commerce sites and culinary establishments.

 

 

The change in Warsaw's urban fabric began a few years into the new millennium with the completion of several sky-piercing structures such as the 164-meter-high InterContinental Warsaw hotel, the 20-floor pink brick and glass Westin Warsaw and Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre, a glazed 50-million euro complex finished in 2007 which comprises of 314 lavishly-appointed rooms, a dozen conference facilities, a casino and the city's largest fitness and spa centre. This progressive period also saw the mushrooming of several state-of-the-art shopping centres and high-concept business buildings with less cloud-reaching ambitions but equally architectural mojo. Złote Tarasy (Golden Terraces) is the latest cathedral of commerce, developed by ING Real Estate and the Los Angeles-based The Jerde Partnership in 2007. Located right next to the transport hub of Warsaw's central railway station, the mega mall's impressive wave-shaped glass dome acts as a homing beacon to new-to-market retailers like The Body Shop, Zara and Stradivarius clothing chains and the American music-themed Hard Rock Café.

 

"The greatest architectural challenge was the design of the undulating glass roof, which was inspired by the tree canopies in Warsaw’s historic parks and is one of the largest in the world with more than 4,700 individual panes of glass," explained David Rogers, senior designer and partner at The Jerde Partnership, who led the design team on this spacious conglomerate. "Our architectural approach of creating places that become part of the area’s urban fabric and help rejuvenate city centers by appealing to the public and creating an emotional experience is embraced here at Złote Tarasy."

 

"When I arrived in Warsaw in the middle of the 1990’s, the restaurant and bar scene was very underdeveloped as far as design and function was concerned. People didn't put a lot of value on interior and the finishing touches of a particular establishment," says Richard Winkler, a 50 year-old British entrepreneur who founded Poland's popular Paparazzi bar network and Porto Praga, a gourmet haunt housed in a 300-year-old flour mill. The décor, swimming in rich maroon, cream and pumpkin hues, fuses the evocatively weathered remnants of the red-brick building with art nouveau flourishes and periodic avant-garde art to create an air of comfort and classy appeal. "Every location I open is like a new-born child, it has to be nourished and developed constantly, but I focus on finishing them to the smallest details, with even the little hooks under the bar where ladies can put their handbags," he continues.

 

Over the past few years, the urge to splurge and venture into artistic and eye-catching interiors ascended into new realms in Warsaw's restaurant industry. Some aim for gleam and glitz by incorporating haute drapery and furnishings from foreign lands while others take a more sophisticated spin on signature Polish materials and motifs. The leading representatives of the former group include Moonsfera, a roof-top restaurant outfitted with lush romantic textures and textiles; Galeria Bali and Buddha Bar, a lustrous Balinese-inspired venue fitted with gold statues, paintings and hard wood furniture and Lemongrass Oriental Restaurant & Bar, a cool Zen-like space highlighted by green and blue back-lit glass, dark wood trimmings and a colossal aquarium with exotic fishes beneath the bar.

 

The rustic-meets-modern trend is best illustrated at U Kucharzy, an open-kitchen locale with updated fixings from its former incarnation as the kitchen of the Europejski Hotel; the flower-festooned Papu restaurant and in the fairytale-like dining havens of Magda Gessler, Poland's star restaurateur and interior designer, in places like Gar, Polka and Ale Gloria.

           

 

Warsaw's penchant for vibrant late-night entertainment, coupled with an expanding stratum of luxury-loving professionals and visitors, has put extra polish on the city's party scene. The main entertaining spaces of pure refinement in Warsaw include oriental-themed NoBo, the glamorously fashionable Platinum Club and Nine Club and Restaurant. Beyond these, one of the most exclusive spots for throwing some shapes is Opera Club, so named because the site rests beneath the stately National Opera House, which features a labyrinth of subterranean arched corridors and chambers decked out in oriental style statues, fabrics and furniture, with seating on colourful cushions and silk-covered mattress. It is this over-the-top opulence and perhaps some of the high-octane cocktails that draws discerning city slickers for some high-flying revelry.

 

Ornamentation and frippery also became the style du jour in Warsaw's bars and the newly-opened hotel lounges. A seductive, finely-tuned sense of design emanates from all corners of the Polonia Palace Hotel's Bojangles Bar and Lounge, the Westin Warsaw's The Tube bar as well as Panorama Bar, perched on the 40th floor of the Marriott Hotel. But it’s the Hilton's Pistachio Bar & Lounge that takes the design crown with its brown and pistachio-coloured sofas, dark wood tables and mirrored arches all set against a bombastic floor-to-ceiling window backdrop.

 

"Interior design in Warsaw comes in short ‘waves’ of popular places, like sushi bars and restaurants at the moment. There are so many of them right now in the city that designers have to think outside the box, and go further than competitors in creating a captivating interior," muses Krzysztof Miruć, a 32-year-old architect and interior designer whose creative touch can be seen in venues such as You and Me Bar, HotL Club, and Browarnia restaurant in Warsaw. "These stunning interiors are a by-product of financially-motivated, highly-competitive investors, by its a real pity that common use spaces like hospitals, schools and public offices are not taken seriously in terms of good design."

 

 

While Warsaw possesses a potpourri of retail emporiums and small-business boutiques, the shopping landscape is still in its infancy when it comes to design-savvy outlets. The streamlined premises of Gal i Lu Neoperfumeria perfumery, Le Chocolate fudge emporium and the cool, new-generation design of Nike Warszawa all create a uniquely personalised shopping arena where aesthetics rule. Standing at the vanguard of exquisitely styled shopping spots is Likus Concept Store, established last year by the affluent Likus brothers. This multi-functional store took a 19th century public bathhouse stationed in the heart of the historic Royal Route, took out the skimpy bathers but left the original tiling and styling which were jazzed up with smart and snazzy twenty-first-century flair. It unites two fashion boutiques; Diesel and LFC, a multi-faceted delicatessen and a forward-looking fusion restaurant under one roof.

 

"The vibrant colors and sassy shapes in crazy 1970’s design augments our creative energy," says Przemo Krupa, designer of the high-end Spinky Hair Salon and a self-proclaimed 'mood creator' in his mid-twenties. Bejeweled with furry lamps, plastic neon accessories and an all-important glitter ball dangling from the ceiling, Spinky etched a new benchmark for high-style beautification. "We wanted to create not only a hair-styling spot but a meeting place with an intimate atmosphere where people can come relax, have a cup of coffee and be themselves."