Internal Reserves: Courtyard spaces of inner Warsaw

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Courtyard spaces of inner Warsaw - 1

This post and the next few are reflections on a few days in Warsaw, during which I had cause to contemplate (historical - largely) European attitudes to common semi-private space, and to observe approaches to such space which to my mind give opportunity for major new innovations in the 21st century elsewhere in the world. These ideas find resonance in (for instance) the internal reserves of Tel Aviv, discussed elsewhere on this blog - I'm thinking particularly of the development of small commercial enterprises within such spaces - and also in the development of small passive recreation areas in otherwise functional spaces.

In mid-August I had the pleasure of spending some days in an AirBnB apartment on the fifth floor of a building in Chmelnia, three blocks from Warsaw's Central railway station. The vintage of the block itself is difficult to gauge, though if the walls could talk they would no doubt have some stories about replacement, remaking and so on, perhaps over more than a century. The buildings of which the apartment is one small component are grouped around a courtyard accessed through an archway into the primarily pedestrian space of Chmielna - close to but not absolutely at this address.

During weekdays, there are a range of businesses - retail, consultancy - operating in the space. These are accessed through the archway below, presumably only via pedestrian traffic (I'm not absolutely sure about that). I am also not entirely sure of the distinction between residences and businesses at ground level. This for instance could be either.

This little treed patch is not accessible per se and is only for viewing (as far as I can tell) taking up probably about a quarter of the space overall.

The view of the path below goes from north to south on the eastern side of the space, accessing the various businesses/residences and the bike storage shed.