The Warsaw HUB Receives the “Building without Barriers” Certificate

The Warsaw HUB complex without barriers — the buildings received certificates of accessibility for people with disabilities, granted by the Integracja Foundation.

The “Building without Barriers” certificate confirms full architectural accessibility of The Warsaw HUB buildings for all users, among others for people with different types of disabilities, parents with children, elderly people, and people with temporary disability.

“The Warsaw HUB fundamentally changes the landscape of Warsaw’s Wola district, taking into account the needs of people with various disabilities. I am pleased that the developer has taken care to ensure accessibility for future employees and customers, and we were able to support them in these efforts. The Integracja Foundation’s certificate confirms that the building and the space around it will not be a barrier for various users,” says Ewa Pawłowska, president of Integracja Foundation.

“We decided to cooperate with the Integracja Foundation because they have unique knowledge and experience to increase architectural accessibility of buildings for people with disabilities. The remarks that the foundation provided us with during the whole process of construction of The Warsaw HUB allowed us to design and construct buildings which are truly friendly for all people,” says Jarosław Zagórski, Commercial and Business Development Director, Ghelamco Poland. “We thank the Foundation for its involvement in the certification process,” he adds.

The certification was a complex and lengthy process. It began with the Foundation reviewing the tender process for the buildings. The in-building audit addressed publicly accessible spaces. The study was conducted based on the documentation provided and information obtained from the investor.

The Foundation’s comments were implemented in the tender process. At the detailed design stage, the Foundation prepared another report to check whether the comments from the tender design stage had been implemented and to review the designs that were still unavailable at the earlier stage (land development plan, visual navigation, interior design etc.). Here again, the comments were implemented into the detailed design.

Finally, after the occupancy permit was obtained, the status of the implementation of the comments was checked and the final recommendations were provided for implementation, which completed the certification process.

Integracja’s representatives emphasize the crucial importance of starting cooperation with the investor.

“We started our cooperation with Ghelamco on Warsaw HUB already at the design stage,” points out Kamil Kowalski, Director of Integracja LAB responsible for accessibility evaluation of buildings and products. “It was a special challenge for us, because the investor from the beginning assumed that the building, and especially the interior, should look futuristic. Implementing accessibility at such an early stage of the building allowed us to propose solutions that would have been difficult, or even impossible, to implement at the execution stage.

Among such solutions, Kamil Kowalski lists a lift management system equipped with additional solutions for people with disabilities, electronic plans of the building with a mode of operation for people in wheelchairs or short persons, a large number of parking spaces intended for people with disabilities, and access to all floors by means of lifts. In the auditing process, the Foundation also pays attention to the location of the building so that it is not a lonely, yet internally accessible island. Thanks to the proximity of public transport stops, the connection to the metro station, and friendliness to cyclists, Warsaw HUB is very well connected to the transport infrastructure — which is extremely important in case of a building fulfilling such diverse functions.

About The Warsaw HUB

The Warsaw HUB is a multifunctional skyscrapers complex built in the fastest developing part of Warsaw, i.e. at Rondo Daszyńskiego in Wola district. The project includes three high-rise buildings: two 130-metre office buildings and an 86-metre hotel tower, connected by a joint podium. The building’s modern architecture was designed by a renowned architectural studio AMC of Andrzej Chołdzyński.

The Warsaw HUB has been Ghelamco’s most innovative project so far, which goes well beyond the traditional concept of an office building. The complex combines all functions which are necessary for modern business to operate. The 113,000 m2 of space offer state-of-the-art office and co-working premises, a conference centre, hotels, a convenience centre, a fitness centre.

The Warsaw HUB also has numerous state-of-the-art solutions which significantly improve the comfort and safety of users. In addition, a mobile application developed by Ghelamco’s internal innovation department is provided to the tenants. The application enables access to the office, booking of rooms, and many other features. In the state of epidemic threat, the application will inform users whether the building operates in the so-called pandemic mode. UV lamps are installed in the lifts to effectively disinfect the space by killing viruses. The building has also been equipped with a car recognition system and a charging station for electric vehicles in the underground parking lot.