Premium Insurance for Young Firm

ArchiCo-Projekt Ltd. - Warsaw, Poland

One of the competition entries of the PZU Tower rendered by ArchiCo-Projekt, Ltd.

The Warsaw, Poland, based architectural firm, ArchiCo-Projekt Ltd., assumed one of the greatest challenges of its short history when it decided to enter the PZU Tower competition in Warsaw. The design program called for 68,000 square meters (71,800 s.f.) of office space and ancillary spaces to house the headquarters of PZU, Polands largest insurance company. Entries to the design competition, held late last year, came in from firms throughout Europe. The 18 person firm, led by architects Piotr Szaroszyk and Konrad Tanasiewicz, had to be audacious to have a chance at victory.

Because we have such a young office and the competition was so strong, we needed to be faster with a more professional presentation, said Konrad Tanasiewicz. Although they only had a little time to prepare their submission, they chose to create a complete three-dimensional model of the proposed building so they could spin-off a large number of rendered, accurate views and and show their design in its true site context. Their choice of ArchiCAD made this strategy feasible because of the softwares efficiency as a building modeler and its integrated file structure, which would make 3D modeling, 2D drafting and tracking a bill of materials an almost simultaneous process.

Within 20 days of beginning the project, the design team had produced not one, but three building designs complete with models, renderings, photomontages and animations. To show their proposed designs in the context of the site in downtown Warsaw, the team produced several photomontages using ArchiCAD and Adobe Photoshop. Additional renderings, plans, sections, elevations and animations were also part of the submission package. All of the presentation materials were generated from the same 3D model, giving ArchiCo-Projekt Ltd. an edge over the competition in generating more information at a higher speed.

The jury is still out on the PZU Tower competition, but based on an overwhelming presentation of three designs and a clear explanation of how each proposed tower would really work in 3D, ArchiCo-Projekt Ltd. is in the running with firms twice its size.

ArchiCo-Projekt Ltd. has used ArchiCAD to create numerous projects ranging from simple dwellings to large shopping centers. According to Szaroszyk and Tanasiewicz, there is no better way to illustrate the value of 3D visualization than a design competition. This is one of the greatest benefits to clients. At last, they can see a building before it is built, said Tanasiewicz. They can suggest changes move walls and windows, and modify the facade and landscaping. They can even look out their windows to see the view.