The history of modern Europe is palpable here on Europe Square, at the very heart of Warsaw. Here, the Warsaw Spire, this iconic office complex, reaches high. The central tower is going to be 220 meters high in total when it is completed at the end of 2015. The outside facade – a tapered, two-part glass shell – spirals its way up to the sky.
Powerful landmark
The architects from the Belgian company Jaspers-Eyers did not just want to come up with another top-class office complex for their clients Ghelamco. They wanted to create a new, metropolitan living area – a unique architecture that would harmoniously combine effective working, business, communication, technical innovations and urban life. The chosen method of construction was energy-saving and climate-friendly. The building technology is to fulfill the highest environmental protection criteria of the BREEAM assessment and rating system, complying with the investors’ aims.
Ghelamco and a group of four Polish banks are investing around EUR 250 million in the project – the largest investment volume known on the Polish real estate market.
The result: a powerful landmark for modern Poland and the dynamic economic region of East-Central Europe. The central tower with its glass shell will be 220 meters tall and have 49 floors. The two adjacent buildings are 55 meters high and have 15 floors. Overall the complex offers 100 000 square meters of space for offices, restaurants, shops, engineering rooms and lots more. The Warsaw Spire is thus one of the largest office complexes currently under construction in Europe.
The terrace between the buildings with its green areas and fountain has been planned as a public space to be enjoyed by Warsaw residents – something else that is new for an office complex of this size.
Headquarters of Europe’s Border Security
The complex includes the two 55-meter high adjoining buildings B and C which, as segments of a circle, correspond to the oval tower in the middle. The first tenant in building B is Frontex, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (EU). It localized its new headquarters and data center here in the fall of 2014.
The Frontex network
The network in the headquarters of the European border security agency Frontex is based on the latest copper and FO portfolio from R&M. The high-density products as well as the MPO, LC duplex and Cat. 6A connection solutions in particular make a contribution to secure operations. The aim was to build a network that would work without any interruption for ten years and that would provide smooth support for the multifarious tasks of the agency. Every day there is an incredible number of messages, data, images and videos to be processed.
Frontex was looking for a multi-functional cabling solution for the infrastructure of its 14 600 square-meter office area spread over ten floors – a solution that would satisfy the high-security requirements of the border security agency. The data center had to have plenty of space for servers which is why Frontex was looking for high-density, top-quality, parallel-optical interface technology.
And the agency found just what it was looking for in the current R&M portfolio. R&M had fitted out the previous headquarters which also meant Frontex was familiar with the products. The team worked like clockwork to professionally and punctually integrate the installation into the new building. The Warsawbased R&M installation partner Techlab was once again able to demonstrate its expertise.
The team worked like clockwork to professionally and punctually integrate the installation into the new building.
The reason for the special requirements of the data network: Frontex coordinates highly sensitive control and surveillance operations round the clock at the EU’s external borders, particularly in southern and eastern Europe. While fulfilling its mandate, the agency provides training sessions and works closely with the customs authorities of the EU states. It is responsible for crisis prevention, database-aided risk analyses and particularly security research – with the aim of automating border control and protecting Europe more effectively against illegal immigration.