Łódź Turns on a 200-Year Wheel: A New City Hall for Łódź

Łódź turns on a 200-year wheel. Work is beginning on the new City Hall in Łódź—after almost two hundred years. The first was built in 1827 and is inseparably associated with the beginnings of industrial Łódź.

The story of the new City Hall began in 2007 with Rob Krier. Invited to Łódź by the Foundation, he placed the City Hall at the very centre of Kobro Square. He made it the principal landmark and was convinced of its role in stimulating the development of the New Centre of Łódź. Krier did not believe that Łódź Fabryczna station would be sunk below ground and hidden beneath the square. How remarkably the history of this strategic site in the city centre has unfolded. It is worth recalling in connection with the new City Hall. More than worth it—we must. This history reveals the road the city had to travel from idea to implementation, a road we shall travel many times again.

The winning design was prepared by a Łódź practice comprising Michał Karpiński, Łukasz Chodorowski, Piotr Cegielski and Michał Piech.