Walls come tumbling down

When investors are faced with deciding whether to knock down, modernise or convert a building, they have to consider many factors – not least, according to Anna Staniszewska, the associate director of strategic consultancy at CBRE, the financial considerations. “It might turn out that the value of the buildings that stand on an attractive plot is less than that of the site without the buildings. Nonetheless, any particular strategy that is adopted should be preceded by an in-depth study of the profitability, the opportunities and the risks of any particular scenario,” she argues. She also maintains that tenant interest is currently generally concentrated on modern buildings that fit into their ESG strategies and provide HR departments with an additional attraction for new workers. Because of this demand for older space is falling resulting in rising vacancies. Monika Dębska-Pastakia, a partner and associate for real estate deal advisory at KPMG, outlines this point further: “For an older retail building, it’s often impractical to convert it into an apartment building. The costs of such an operation might be too high and in many cases it’s even impossible to make such changes. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Solec 22, a 1960s Warsaw office building now converted into a student residence,” she says and goes on to add that most often such buildings are adapted for the needs of the PRS sector. Marcin Juszczyk, who heads the Urban Land Institute in Poland, nevertheless points to the growing popularity of such projects. “Of course, this has to do with the natural, legal and technical challenges, but the experience of foreign firms is that this is a profitable process. Not only does the developer benefit but so does society – by increasing the stock of accommodation and limiting urban sprawl. Furthermore, the environment also benefits since it is not burdened with additional emissions of pollutants,” he insists.

The older the building, the greater its operating costs are. The materials and technology used are normally less energy-efficient and with time more breakages occur, the efficiency decreases, and the need for regular inspections increases. Modernising such centres often seems to be an almost impossible task and moreover expensive. Anna Staniszewska points out that this doesn’t always have to be the case. “You can’t generalise and say that demolition will always be cheaper than renovation. It all depends on many factors. You need to look on a case-by-case basis with an in-depth feasibility study and a sensitivity study before you take a decision about what is going to be the most profitable course. Of course, you need to consider how quickly you expect returns and how high they should be,” points out the CBRE associate. “The advantage of renewing an old building is that changes can be made relatively quickly compared with preparing a site for construction and then building something – and also that it does less damage to the environment. Unfortunately, it might turn out that if a building is in an extremely run-down state and requires fundamental repairs, modernisation might not be enough,” she admits. When the decision is made to knock something down, the challenge also arises of managing the waste that is created.

Concrete on the wall

In July 2024, in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Heidelberg Materials Polska began a project to build the first plant not only in Poland but in the CEE region to process concrete waste on an industrial scale. The ReConcrete process, which combines closed economy concepts with decarbonisation, creates recycled concrete powder (RCP). “Already, in the first ReConcrete pilot programme we’ve shown that concrete can be fully recycled without any loss of quality. Our factory marks a milestone in the implementation of this technology,” claims Jon Morrish of Heidelberg Materials’ management board. The plant can process 100 tonnes of concrete waste an hour.

“The transport of demolition pollutants is governed by the law, and specifically by the Act of December 14th 2012,” points out CBRE’s Anna Staniszewska. “It specifies that construction waste must be deposited at a selected communal collection point,” she explains. The transportation of it is undertaken by specialist companies to ensure that it isn’t mixed with other waste. The vehicles have to bear specific markings and be sealed and secured to prevent possible leakage and material pollution. Next year, new regulations will come into force with even more stringent requirements for the disposal of construction waste. “Under the EU directive 2008/98/WE of November 19th 2008 regulating waste disposal, from January 1st 2025, developers and renovation firms will be required to segregate the waste created from developing their projects. Such waste will fall into six categories: wood, metal, glass, plastics, plaster as well as minerals and ceramics including stone. Investors can segregate these materials themselves or commission an external professional firm to do it. The directive introduces the key concepts of a hierarchy of waste, the prevention of its creation, and the principles of the circular economy,” explains Anna Staniszewska. The directive also sets specific targets on recycling with a mandatory 70 pct level of waste materials from construction and demolition work to be reused.

In Jeżyce district, near Poznań city centre, the Modena project to convert a former clothing factory into a residential complex was launched in 2022. This is being developed by Cordia and includes the conversion of two large buildings, but most of the structure still had to be demolished. As project director Joanna Kasperczyk of Cordia Polska explains: “Most of the waste produced by the demolition of the buildings was brick and concrete rubble, so during the work the waste was segregated and sorted. At the same time, rubble waste was recovered and cleaned so that it could be used again as a building material to create substructures under roads and infrastructure,” she reveals.

Monika Dębska-Pastakia of KPMG also highlights the problem of storing the materials created by demolition. “Small building sites often don’t have enough room for this. It would be good if there was someone who could immediately remove it. Unfortunately, in Poland there is still no effective approach to reclaiming materials from demolition. As a result, this is often done by hand, which significantly increases costs. In addition to that, construction technology often complicates matters,” she explains. The majority of buildings are highly integrated and this complicates their dismantling and reuse. “It’s much easier to reclaim materials from light constructions, such as fittings from office buildings and shopping centres, but with large sections of buildings, particularly those outside, the process of salvaging materials is much more complicated. When materials are glued in or permanently mounted, it’s much harder to use them again in future building projects. For this reason, it’s crucial to bear in mind a building’s future demolition when designing it. Buildings that are assembled with, for example, screw mountings are easier to dismantle and recycle,” says Monika Dębska-Pastakia.

Demolishing a decade

At the end of 2023, Vantage Development was granted permission to demolish 27 buildings at the junction of ul. Krakowska and ul. Wilcza in Wrocław. Among the warehouses and industrial buildings that were to become a large residential complex was the Persan household chemicals factory. In the same year, VFM Real Estate began the construction of the Corso estate in Łódź which is to be built on the site of the Art Dom shopping centre. As well as 13 residential buildings, the complex includes service, retail and restaurant units as well as public space open to all. Michał Wrzosek, the investment and acquisitions director of VFM Real Estate, argues that knocking down all of the former buildings will give them the opportunity to construct a new place-making project.

In Warsaw in July 2023, the demolition was completed of Atrium International, a former office building owned by Strabag Real Estate, which is to be replaced by the Upper One complex. The work took half a year and comprised the demolition work itself and recycling all suitable elements of the finishing and construction. Strabag announced that by May it had gained 388 tonnes of iron and steel, 25 tonnes of cabling and 20 tonnes of wood, while of the 70 tonnes of insulation, 30 pct was to be recycled. “Atrium International had become outdated both in its operations and its state and no longer met the requirements of the employment market. The new complex will reflect quality for years to come in terms of its working conditions, its design and its low-emission construction,” claims Łukasz Ciesielski, the managing director of Strabag Real Estate. Anna Staniszewska of CBRE adds that the high emissions generated by the construction sector have made the circular economy for buildings at every stage of their lives a very important topic right now. “The argument that will speed up this process will be pressure from the institutions that finance projects, which will have to meet increasingly stringent criteria in regard to the circular economy and ESG,” she argues.

Galeria Malta in Poznań, which opened in 2009, was sold by Sierra Balmain in 2021, but it didn’t survive much longer. In December 2023, it closed down and not long afterwards it slowly started to be removed from the face of the earth. A residential estate is now to appear on the site. In the same year, Develia sold the Arkady Wrocławskie shopping centre in Wrocław to Vastint, which intends to knock it down and build a new mixed-use complex. A few years earlier, activists and architects in the same city were locked in a battle over the preservation of the Solpol building, but in 2021 the decision was made that the unconventional building, regarded as an icon of postmodern architecture, was to be demolished. Among its defenders were Wojciech Jarząbek, an architect from the A+R studio who argued in the book ‘Polish Postmodernism and Urban Planning’ by Alicja Gzowska and Lidia Klein that “since there is no other building like it, its greatness lies in its uniqueness.”

The Rutkowski Group has also taken on the challenge of preserving unique buildings through the development of the Giżycko Cultural Centre in the town in Warmia-Masuria. The pre-second world war building previously housed the Fala cinema, which closed down in 2009. Sections of the building are to be demolished, but the façade walls with their mosaics, which are listed as a historic monument, are to be preserved. Joanna Kasperczyk of Cordia also tells us that the Modena residential development will also incorporate some of the original construction. “The granite stairs within the building are to be retained and restored. The old columns will become an interesting decorative element,” she reveals.

Second-hand wiring

As well as rubble and scrap, electrical installations and even old furniture also form some of the waste created by demolition. Some materials are relatively easy to reuse, but others can be more problematic. “It’s very difficult to recycle plasterboard, for example, and attempts to reuse cabling can prove equally futile. Technologies and fillers that were employed years ago to strengthen a construction and increase its longevity, now make the demolition and the separation of materials more difficult,” admits Monika Dębska-Pastakia. Despite this, she is of the opinion that the closed economy is very effective in many European countries, such as the Netherlands, France and the UK, where environmentally friendly practices are not only implemented for large prestigious projects but also on a smaller scale. According to Monika Dębska-Pastakia, in many countries it is much more common to buy fittings second-hand (including bathroom taps). Could Poland benefit from such a change in thinking? And if you decide to travel abroad to look for inspiration, don’t forget your passport. “Under the Green Deal, the next step towards reducing the environmental impact of construction is to introduce digital product passports for the industry. These will involve collecting data on each product and marking them with a unique electronic identifier, such as a QR or barcode. The DPP passport will contain information about sustainable development, the closed circular economy, regeneration and recycling,” points out Anna Staniszewska of CBRE.

Decisions over the future of a building are not only choices between demolition and modernisation but can also involve conscientiously using the materials that we already have. This requires not just cold calculation, but also care for our heritage and surroundings. We could kiss goodbye to many modern buildings without any regrets and make space for new ones that are more friendly both to us and the planet. However, there are also buildings that should be allowed to grow old gracefully.