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Author: Witold Zatoński, Founder of Syrena Real Estate

In the heart of Warsaw's Mokotów district (where the monotony of office giants once dominated), Diuna was born - a modernization that goes beyond the boundaries of conventional office architecture, combining a vision of the future with ecological awareness. Dune, reflecting the spirit of the famous novel and film, transforms a business desert into a green oasis for employees and city residents.

A breakthrough investment in a key location

Diuna is the new name of the modernized Marynarska Business Park complex, which was put into use 16 years ago. At that time, it stood out from the background of Warsaw real estate thanks to the visionary approach of the developer - Ghelamco. It was one of the largest office buildings in the city, offering an impressive 46,000 m2 of space.

In an era when standard office buildings occupied an area of only 10-15 thousand m2, the discussed facility was a breakthrough in the perception of scale, office buildings and their functions. Some were aware of the market risk associated with implementing such a large project, fearing that the newly constructed facility would not be commercialized effectively.
Ghelamco has proven that designing smaller facilities is not profitable and that achieving a larger scale is a great business decision. Later it became a model for other developers, and now no one is thinking about building smaller ones.

The building itself offered employees everything they needed, including access to a variety of restaurants - from Italian to a sushi bar. Moreover, it also had a great location - right in the center of the office part of the city. This made the facility rent very well. However, as with almost every beautiful story, complications arose over time.

Twilight of the business district of Warsaw

The change in Mokotów's position as the key office district in Warsaw and the evolution of tenants' needs and expectations meant that the building no longer met current market standards. Once considered a symbol of modernity, it required major changes to become attractive again.

The district itself (jokingly called "Mordor") has become a relic of the past. Its cramped office development did not favor positive reception at that time, and new, multi-functional facilities began to be built in the center of Warsaw. Additionally, the needs of employees have changed. Tenants began to choose old buildings only because of the lower rental costs. And they still lost out to multifunctional facilities - due to the standard of work space, office surroundings, and compliance with environmental requirements.

In 2015, working in cooperation with PineBridge Benson Elliot, we had to analyze whether it was worth purchasing this type of building at all. Due to the lower price, it was a more attractive option than a facility built from scratch. We decided that it was worth investing in this property, although we knew that we had to have an idea for it, because standard solutions seem to be insufficient.

Transformation of Marynarska Business Park into Diuna

It used to be enough that a building was energy efficient, easy to use and not too expensive. At the time of taking over the facility located at ul. The above-mentioned criteria no longer applied to Taśmowa. The old facility, which consisted only of halls and work spaces, had to take on a new function, meet the requirements of the ESG policy and refer to contemporary design.
Bearing in mind the need for change, we started cooperation with Maciej Zawadzki from the MJZ studio, who became the main designer of the modernization of the complex, and Anna Łoskiewicz, who took on the transformation of all entrance halls. The dominant motif is sculpture, with each hall having its own unique theme. For example, one of them is designed in the spirit of the work of Jan Dziaczkowski, who was famous for his collages, while another was colored by the works of Nikodem Szpunar - a very renowned young painter.

Another unmet need of tenants was the building's surroundings. The previous version of the facility was surrounded by a huge parking lot, far exceeding the needs of employees and additionally hindering pedestrian movement within the complex. It was known from the beginning that this accent should be gotten rid of.

Suddenly it turned out that the greatest advantage of the facility was not a huge parking lot that could accommodate a large car fleet, but the fact that it was located in an excellent location - very close to an important transport hub, which consists of a tram depot and a suburban railway station.

In place of the parking lot, wonderful green areas could be created, allowing tired employees to catch their breath. A park with 50 trees, 96 species of shrubs, a stream and an educational pavilion was created on an area of over 6,000 m2. Thanks to this procedure, the so-called the heat island was eliminated, the temperature naturally decreased (by about 15 degrees!) and the air became more humid. This fits perfectly into the new concept of Służewiec, which becomes a place where you can spend your free time after work with your family.

The complex also gained space for collaborative work, a spacious conference center for organizing events and an exercise room. Its users are also pleased with the availability of a new bicycle zone with full infrastructure.

The metamorphosis that Diuna underwent and which lasted about 12 months was a response to the requirements of company management boards and employees themselves, which have changed slightly (also due to the pandemic).

Remote work and the next evolution of office spaces

Remote work has, to some extent, reorganized the office reality. Currently, it seems impossible to return to the times before the pandemic status quo. Contrary to popular opinion, offices are and will be needed, but their quality and function are changing again.

In practice, home office turns out to be difficult for many employees, and even impossible for others. People appreciate working from home due to its significant convenience, and now they expect the same convenience from an office space.

Therefore, offices will continue to function in a slightly changed reality. A good example illustrating this relationship are the tenants of Diuna - only one tenant left the facility in favor of even more attractive spaces. Most companies remained. The only thing that may have changed is that people spend less time in the office. Working from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is no longer the norm. They work more efficiently in spaces tailored to their needs and a place where they can fulfill themselves, as is the case in other iconic places, such as Koneser or Fabryka Norblin. This was the principle that guided the HOP building and the modernization of today's Diuna.

The importance of experience

Knowledge and experience are built step by step and as a result of conscious action. Hence, when modernizing Diuna, the design team was supported by experience from the revitalization project of the HOP building. While working on the first object, the vision of Dune crystallized and later took the form that we can all observe today.

However, these are two different facilities and when modernizing them, we focused on different places. The character of HOP is more based on design, functions, accessibility and openness. There is still an ESG element missing, but it will be there soon. Diuna, on the other hand, is a facility 100% focused on the environment and sustainable development.

This is proven by certificates such as WELL Health & Safety Rating and WIREDSCORE at the Silver level. It also received the Breeam In-Use certificate in the new v6 system at the Excellent level.

Freshness in a new name

All these changes helped to change the character of the entire facility. The new name also became an important aspect. Rebranding is never easy, and in the case of buildings it seems even more difficult because people get so used to old terms. Syrena Real Estate is famous for its unique names that refer to what is familiar. This was also the case with Dune. A simple, characteristic name is remembered much faster, as if erasing the previous one from memories.

It brings to mind a popular movie and book, because that's what we intended. However, few people know that this connection is much deeper than it seems. Dune in the literary version becomes a green planet at the end. Strategically sticking to this idea, we approached the construction of the square where today there are green hills. And this is how, conceptually, the Warsaw Diuna was created.

Source: https://obiekty.org/articles/zielone-pagorki-diuny/