BioBazar


Conversion authors:

Jakub Szczęsny

Ewelina Andrecka

Karolina Potębska

Damian Lachtara


T3 stool authors:

Jakub Szczęsny

Hubert Albertusiak


Location:

Warsaw, Wołoska 3 str.


Time:

09-11.2017

An adaptation of Mercury office building into organic food market.

BioBazar is a organic food market where farmers and producers from all over Poland and other EU countries present and sell their products. BioBazar’s main location at Norblin Factory in Warsaw’s downtown was closed for planned development encouraging the owners to look for a temporary placement of almost two thousand square meters of stalls accompanied by a foodcourt and a workshop space. The new placement in Mercury building (an ex-factory-turned-into an office building to be precise) had a surprising context of one of Warsaw’s „office hubs” nicknamed quite ironically as „Mordor” and of the adjacent mega shopping mall „Galeria Mokotów” linked above a wide street of Wołoska by a footbridge. BioBazar owner’s idea was to treat their venue as a revitalizing element for the office monoculture providing not only a space to buy organic food during the entire week, but also becoming an intresting lunch place for office workers tired with Galeria Mokotów’s offer. Apart from that, the zone of Służew, where building is located, has become an important space for new residential developments lacking leisure alternatives apart from the very shopping center.

We were asked to convert almost ahlf of building’s groundfloor in just three months, including proposing a way to standarize the stalls and develop a cut-to-measure furniture for the foodcourt, especially the polyethylene stool (T3). With a set of simple gestures like destroying all cardboard add-ons from building’s previous life, whitewahing and installing cable + bulb lighting we’ve developed a consistent and easy to maintain a space. The opening was a success!

The next step will be a set of external developments, including a large terrace and a space for kids to be started in April 2018