Unity Tower

Unity Tower (also known as Szkieletor, which means Skeletor) is a 102.5 metre high-rise building located in Kraków, Poland. Unity Tower is located near the Mogilskie Roundabout (Rondo Mogilskie) and Cracow University of Economics. It is the tallest building in Kraków. The construction work of Unity Centre was completed on September 30, 2020.

For Unity Tower in Missouri, see Unity Village, Missouri.

Unity Tower
Unity Tower, (2020)
Unity Tower
Location of Unity Tower in Poland
General information
StatusComplete
TypeHeadquarters of the Main Technical Organization
Address2 Lubomirskiego street
Town or cityKraków
CountryPoland
Coordinates50°04′05″N 19°57′28″E
Construction started30 March 2016[1]
CompletedJune 2019[2]
Height
Roof102.5 m (336 ft)
Technical details
Floor count27
Website
www.unitycentre.pl

History

Originally, it was intended to become the regional office of the Main Technical Organization (Naczelna Organizacja Techniczna, NOT) and be named the NOT Tower. The construction of the building was started in 1975, but stopped permanently in 1981 because of economic constraints and political unrest associated with the imposition of martial law in Poland in that year.[3]

Due to the unfinished building's resemblance to a skeleton, it was nicknamed after Skeletor, the arch-villain in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which was popular in Poland at the time construction began.[4]

Investors have expressed interest in renovating the building, but they have been discouraged by the complicated legal status of the land on which it stands and the high cost of its demolition or adaptation. In 2007, a new plan for the building was put forward, which postulated to increase its height from 92 to as high as 130 meters. German architect Hans Kollhoff was invited to take part in the reconstruction of the building, which was supposed to be completed by the time of UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. However, the project was rejected by the Provincial Conservation Council on the grounds that the new building was located within a historical urban landscape.[5]

The building was partially owned by TreiMorfa Project. The long debate about its possible future use based on brand new plans was cut short by the courts in December 2011 because of legal improprieties by its new design team.[6]

Austrian engineering company Strabag was given the commission to rebuild. The building's floors were removed and replaced, but the steel frame retained and reused. The exterior architecture is inspired by the Art Deco architecture of the 1920s and 30s. The use of grey stone and the architecture is partially inspired by the Maccabees Building.[7]

In 2018, before the full reconstruction of the building was completed, the ArchDaily architecture website, named Szkieletor as one of "History's Most Notorious Unfinished Buildings" alongside the Palace of the Soviets, Siena Cathedral and Ryugyong Hotel.[8]

  • The building in 2014 before reconstruction
  • Unity Tower in 2020
  • Unity Tower upon completion, 2020
  • View from the Mogilskie Roundabout

See also

References
  1. Ogórek, Piotr (30 March 2016). "Przebudowa "Szkieletora". To już oficjalnie plac budowy". Gazetakrakowska.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  2. Ogórek, Piotr (1 December 2017). "Kraków. Unity Centre ma być gotowe szybciej [NOWE ZDJĘCIA]". Gazetakrakowska.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. "Tak wypiękniał "Szkieletor". Wieżowiec jest już prawie gotowy!". Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  4. "Historia krakowskiego "Szkieletora", czyli impotencja po polsku". Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  5. "Szkieletor jednak nie urośnie". Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  6. Szkieletor: Decyzja o warunkach zabudowy uchylona! Gazeta.pl, Kraków. (in Polish)
  7. http://unitycentre.pl/en/history/#
  8. "History's Most Notorious Unfinished Buildings". Retrieved 27 August 2020.

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