After 16 years of waiting, construction starts on Sinfonia Varsovia's new 650 million zloty home

The Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra will get a new home in Kamionek, on the right bank of the Vistula, in the Praga-Południe district. On Monday, a contract for the key stage of the investment was signed in the historic pavilion at 272 Grochowska Street. The document was signed by the orchestra's director Janusz Marynowski and the head of the construction company Warbud, Nicolas Dépret.

The contract, worth over 650 million zloty, covers the construction of a new building and the modernisation of two historic buildings from the turn of the 20th century, which once housed the veterinary faculty of SGGW. Builders have 42 months to erect the structure. The first formal concerts in the new complex are expected in 2030.

The main hall will seat 1,877 and will be the largest concert hall in Poland. The complex will also include a chamber hall for 400, recording studios, a library and dressing rooms for visiting musicians. The structure will be suspended 3.5 metres above the ground; beneath it a garden will open as a foyer without fences. The design is by the Austrian studio Atelier Thomas Pucher; acoustics were checked by Müller-BBM and Kahle Acoustics.