A professional and modern bicycle room with an area of approximately 240 sqm for more than 100 unicycles has been created in Renoma in Wrocław. The project was carried out by the Workplaces department at Globalworth Poland and is a response to the growing demand of tenants for bicycle infrastructure.
Buildings of the future should provide cyclists with everything they need. Moving by unicycle is the most environmentally friendly way of getting around. Not only does it generate trace amounts of greenhouse gases, but above all it has a positive effect on health, including significantly reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The bicycle should therefore be the first choice as a means of transport.
The bicycle room in Renoma, opened on 15 May this year, is one of the largest in the capital of Lower Silesia. Located on level -1, it is divided into two modules. In total, there are nearly 330 bicycle racks on the property. The first is a warehouse with over 100 places for single-track bicycles, modern bicycle racks: BikeUP, for Velopa Up and OutDoor mountain bikes, as well as traditional ones. The second module is a professional changing room fully adapted to the needs of users.
In the interest of their comfort, a bicycle repair area with changing rooms, showers or hair dryers has been separated here. Another asset of the bike room, and an unusual solution for this type of space, is a clothes drying room with hangers and ironing accessories. The newly created space is equipped with monitoring, and cyclists can access it by lift or staircase.
“Renown combines tradition, modernity and unique design. Thanks to the efforts of the owner and manager, Globalworth, the building has been brought up to modern usage standards. As a result, it has been equipped with a range of services, modern technology and operational solutions. Noteworthy features include electric car charging stations, a car wash and the GW App, which is currently being implemented, which allows, among other things, access to the building, management of the parking system and organisation of work in the office by phone. Now users of the app can also use it to operate the bike room. ‘Our remarkable property meets the standards of an A+ office building with a long list of modern amenities, complemented by a fully equipped bicycle room with all the functionalities,” says Joanna Kaczanowska, Asset Management & Leasing Manager at Globalworth Poland.
“Wrocław is a city full of cyclists, and using a unicycle as a means of transport to work has become one of the easiest and often fastest ways to get around. Thanks to the opening of a comprehensive facility for cyclists, we can boast another amenity in an A+ class office building located in an almost 100-year-old building. The bicycle room fits in with our universal values, such as environmental protection and a healthy lifestyle. With projects like this, we are once again proving that our buildings are modern and comfortable places to work. All the more so because Renoma is also environmentally friendly, it has a WELL Health & Safety 2023 rating and a ‘Barrier-free facility’ certificate awarded by the Integration Foundation,” comments Julie Archambault, Asset Management & Leasing Director, Globalworth Poland.
Renoma is one of Wrocław’s most recognisable buildings and an icon of modernist architecture. The building opened in 1930 under its original name of Dom Towarowy Wertheim and was designed by Berlin architect Hermann Dernburg. The facades of the building were decorated with sculptures of heads of people from different regions of the world, which still exist today and are intended to symbolise not only the international origin of the goods on offer, but above all cultural diversity and openness towards others. Destroyed as a result of the war, the Wertheim Department Store was partially rebuilt and opened in 1948 as the General Department Store, and all its floors were opened only in 1985. It was then that the building took its current name, chosen in a competition by the inhabitants of Wrocław.
In 2009, Renoma was rebuilt and extended according to a design by Wrocław architect Zbigniew Maćkow. The lower floors housed more than 120 shops and service outlets, while the upper floors were occupied by offices and a restaurant area. In 2023, another metamorphosis was completed, which restored the pre-war architecture of the courtyards, enriched the offer and gave the building new functions and amenities. Renoma is one of three office and retail projects in Globalworth Poland’s portfolio, alongside Warsaw’s Hala Koszyki and Katowice’s Supersam.
