Złota 44 is a spectacular skyscraper in the centre of Warsaw and one of the landmarks of the Polish capital. This luxury tower at Złota street, located between the Palace of Culture and the Central Railway Station, is 192m tall and contains 251 apartments. This makes it one of Europe's tallest all-residential skyscrapers.  

Arup was responsible for structural, mechanical, electrical and public health engineering design works until tender stage, as well as taking on the verification of construction information and supervision. In particular, we contributed to the building’s sustainability features and to structural engineering that made possible the architects’ (Daniel Libeskind and Polish practice Architecture) unique vision for the project.  

With its Złota 44 is an icon of the Warsaw landscape, its curved façade giving each floor a unique geometry. This posed a significant challenge for our structural engineers, who used 3D analysis to run different options and create a more cost and time efficient solution to create a more streamlined foundation than thought possible, all while adding layers of sustainability into the building and its apartments.  

Arup’s professional experience and commitment was instrumental within the planning and building process of this ambitious project.

Matthias Reese

Architect, Daniel Libeskind AG

Providing comfort and maximising living space

In a break from the standard design applied to skyscrapers Zlota allows homeowners and tenants to manually open windows and manage the flow of air as well as the thermal comfort.

Arup’s team conducted an in-depth wind analysis to confirm that opening windows would be safe, allowing residents to balance comfort with safety. Our engineers designed an automated safety system which doesn’t allow windows to open, and immediately closes them, if it’s too cold, windy or in case of heavy rains.  

Maximising residential space was key for the investor, so our team designed a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system that would not require a dedicated technical floor, usually needed in such large buildings, to allow for an additional floor of apartments of approximately 800 m2.

As apartments vary from the 400-square-metre, three-floor penthouse to compact bedsits, an additional challenge for HVAC designers was the distinct layout of each floor. With kitchens and bathrooms in different places, the installations had to ensure acoustic comfort, so that occupants in one floor should not hear the water flowing from a kitchen above when sitting in the downstairs living room. 

Ensuring energy efficiency

Arup implemented a roster of sustainability measures to optimise the use of energy throughout the building’s lifetime. Some of the solutions include an efficient heat recovery system embedded in the ventilation and air side economisers for large air handling units. The building also reuses the heat waste from the chillers to provide heating for the swimming pool area and saves water through low-flow showerheads and water saving taps.

Smart solutions, such as turning on the heating remotely, are now common features of modern homes. In 2013, when Złota 44 was under construction such solutions were still new. Złota 44 was the first residential building in Poland to install a home management system (HMS) to let residents close the blinds on a summer day while being at work. The HMS also controls all heating and air conditioning systems as well as the lighting and kitchen hood systems.

Partners & collaborators

Daniel Libeskind / Denton Corker Marshall