Poland

Candidate – Poland

Submission by: Green Areas Managing Authority of Capital of Warsaw

Project name: “Burza” Action Park with the Warsaw Uprising Mound

Short description

The “Burza” Action Park, along with the Warsaw Uprising Mound, has undergone a comprehensive revitalization. This project, built on land left over from the rubble of the capital after the war, is a unique combination of a historical memorial and a modern, sustainable, and environmentally friendly public space.

The architectural concept, created by topoScape and Archigrest studios, aimed to create a living monument, accessible to all residents. The project included the creation of new paths and avenues (including the “W” Hour Avenue), ravines made of concrete rubble (a recycled material made from rubble) that will eventually become overgrown with vegetation, and a modern, two-level viewing platform at the summit of the Mound. The park has become a multifunctional space, offering both spaces for reflection (historical exhibitions) and recreation (a children’s play area and a walkway among the trees).

The nomination for the Green Cities Europe Award 2025 is justified by an innovative and comprehensive approach to urban green infrastructure, which combines three key aspects:

1. Sustainable ecological solutions (climate and biodiversity).

2. Accessibility and social function.

3. History – skillfully weaving the difficult history of the place into a natural area that is alive and grows.

a) Social Cohesion

The park provides residents with opportunities for relaxation and recreation while communing with nature, ensuring access for all user groups, including people with disabilities. The park’s spatial arrangement, including the Mound, honors the site’s importance in the city’s identity and simultaneously provides a safe recreational space for local residents and visiting tourists. New spaces were created and adapted to reflect the site’s historical and natural significance. New pedestrian connections, footbridges, and artificial ravines were introduced, highlighting the landscape while minimizing disruption to the terrain and vegetation. Recreational functions were provided through the creation of numerous rest and walk areas, including a naturalistic playground. The aim of the activities was, among other things, to integrate various user groups, both daily and occasional users.

A children’s recreation area was created in the renovated park, nestled in a vast meadow. Climbing and zip-lining enthusiasts, as well as swing and slide enthusiasts, will find something to enjoy. Younger children can also run and crawl through the tunnels. Most of the play equipment is made of natural materials.

As part of the investment, the park has been adapted to the needs of people with disabilities and caregivers with children. These individuals can reach the summit of the Mound without using stairs. Park entrances, including an additional entrance from Grupa AK “Północ” Street, and walking paths with appropriate inclination allow them to freely move around the park and enjoy the new recreational areas. The existing perimeter road around the hill has also been routed through gently sloping ravines. The steep approach to the summit of the Mound was softened and equipped with ramps to facilitate access for people with limited mobility and their assistants.

A green mound has been created on the western side of the entrance plaza. Benches, chairs, and perches will provide a place to relax after exploring the park. The open area also features bicycle racks, trash cans, and lighting.

b) Biodiversity

Flora:

From the ravines, whose walls will eventually become overgrown with moss, you can smoothly transition to a nature trail. Benches and chairs are placed along the trail. Information boards in Polish and English are also placed along the trail, providing information about the unique features of the ruderal nature, pioneer plant species, and the fauna and flora of this area. The trail leads to a footbridge among the trees. This can also be accessed by wheelchair or from Grupa AK “Północ” Street.

As part of the redevelopment, over 450 young park trees and approximately 8,500 forest tree seedlings were planted in the Mound area, along with numerous native shrubs and perennials. Wildlife areas with limited access to humans were also preserved.

Walking along the nature trail, you can see how nature has adapted to changes, taking over degraded ground, and how it evolved on this. For over 50 years, the entire Mound has been an area where natural vegetation succession can be observed. Initially, meadows spontaneously formed on the hill. As recently as the 1970s, the Mound offered a panoramic view of all of Warsaw and the Vistula River. Today, it is covered with quite large groves. It is composed primarily of ash-leaf maples from North America, some 20-40 years old – trees of this species have colonized over 30% of the Mound.

A unique natural phenomenon is the riparian forest on the southern and eastern sides of Mound. These areas are linked to streams, rivers, and wetlands. They are the European equivalent of rainforests and constitute valuable habitats in terms of biodiversity. An example is the riparian forests on the wild banks of the Vistula River, protected under the NATURA 2000 program. The elm riparian forest with sweet pansy, which developed spontaneously on Mound, is unique. It grows on a steep slope and is fed by rainwater flowing down the escarpment. The presence of a riparian forest in such a location demonstrates the area’s valuable habitat. In addition to the white elm, it also contains common ash, common cherry, and lianas of creeping clematis and common hop.

Fauna:

The Mound area is inhabited by over 20 species of birds, including: blackcap, chaffinch, blackbird, wood pigeon, fieldfare, blue tit, great tit, robin, hooded crow, magpie, chiffchaff, marsh warbler, sparrowhawk, pheasant, garden treecreeper, goldfinch, song thrush, common jay, starling, great spotted woodpecker, common swift.

Mammals living on the Mound include bats (common pipistrelle, common noctule, serotine bat), hedgehogs and foxes.

c) Economic Factors

Cost of park modernization: over PLN 24 million

Cost of building the entrance square: PLN 9,408,516

The investment was carried out as part of EU project no. POIS.02.05.00-00-0116/16 titled Creation of green areas with historical symbolism in the area of the Capital City of Warsaw, co-financed by the Cohesion Fund under the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment 2014-2020.

d) Climate

The impact of the “Burza” Action Park together with the Warsaw Uprising Mound on the climate is definitely positive and consists primarily in improving the urban microclimate and providing key ecosystem services.

The revitalization project aimed to maximize the area’s potential as green infrastructure, which directly translates into mitigating the effects of climate change in the city:

Mitigating the Urban Island Heat Effect – cooling the air, increasing the biologically active surface.
Improving air quality – the park acts as a natural filter in the polluted urban environment (dust removal, carbon dioxide absorption).
Water retention and drought prevention – by supporting the natural water cycle (rain gardens, replacing some paved surfaces with green areas).
Strengthening the ecosystem’s resilience by increasing its biodiversity: creating wilderness zones, planting native species,
Circular economy – the use of concrete rubble in the park’s structures minimizes the negative impact of construction/concrete production on the environment (minimizing CO2 emissions).

e) Wellbeing of Visitors/Users

The “Burza” Action Park together with the Warsaw Uprising Mound has a multidimensional and strongly positive impact on the well-being of visitors, combining the benefits of contact with nature, physical activity and historical reflection.

– Mental benefits and stress reduction: rest and peace, calm and relaxation, escape from the noise and pace of the city, improvement of overall well-being and mood

– Reflection and memory: the park is also a place for reflection and contemplation on the history of the city and its inhabitants.

f) Selection, Origin, and Quality of Used Products and Materials

Species planted:

– Ulmus laevis (referring to the riparian forest historically found in this area)

– Fraxinus excelsior

– Prunus avium

– Acer platanoides (introduced to gradually replace the invasive ash-leaf maple).

Moreover, the entrance square to the Warsaw Uprising Mound from Bartycka Street has undergone a major transformation: we’ve planted the Miyawaki microforest here. This represents over 2,000 native plant species, including 800 perennials, 1,350 trees and shrubs: maples (other than ash-leafed), hornbeams, wild apples, elms, limes, rowans, and numerous shrubs valuable for birds: dogwoods, hawthorns, spindle trees, and viburnums.

g) Overall Design

As part of the park’s modernization, the following projects were built:

New stairs leading to the top of the Mound
Historical exhibition about the reconstruction of Warsaw
A two-level viewing platform with a renovated symbol of Fighting Poland on the top of the Mound
Ravines made of concrete rubble

h) Impact on the Environment

The park’s design incorporates numerous solutions in the spirit of circular architecture and sustainable development. The rubble found on site was utilized and transformed into various creative transformations, creating highly distinctive and unconventional landscape elements that stimulate thought and reflection, such as retaining walls and objects found on the paths and in the lapidarium. The rubble was also used as aggregate for concrete, creating multi-layered structures with fragments of architectural and building details, thus referencing the layers and complexity of Warsaw’s history and the passage of time.

i) Innovation Value of the Project

The project’s innovation lies in breaking away from the traditional, static model of commemoration in favor of a dynamic, multifunctional public space. The “Burza” Action Park and the Warsaw Uprising Mound function together as:

A monument in motion: a place where memory is an active part of life, not just a point to visit.
Outdoor history lesson: allows you to experience history through recreation, greenery and architecture.
Revitalization model: shows how, while respecting history, modern, ecological and functional urban areas can be created on the ruins of the past.

Vegetation management in the “Burza” Action Park and Warsaw Uprising Mound is based on the innovative concept of “fourth nature” and the idea of preserving and supplementing the species composition with native plants. A key element of the park is the existing and preserved ruderal forest, which is a key element of the site’s identity.