LOT Building

The LOT Building (Polish: Budynek LOT-u), originally known as the Furniture House (Polish: Dom Meblowy), is a modernist pavilion and office building in Gdańsk, Poland, located at 2 and 4 Wały Jagiellońskie Street, within the Śródmieście district. It was first built as a furniture store, later being owned by LOT Polish Airlines. It is on the heritage list of the gmina of Gdańsk.^[1]

LOT Building
Budynek LOT-u
The LOT Building, 2011
Interactive map of LOT Building
General information
Architectural style	Modern
Location	ul. Wały Jagiellońskie 2/4 Śródmieście, Gdańsk
Coordinates	54.3503°N 18.6466°E / 54.3503; 18.6466
Year built	1959–1961
Completed	1961
Owner	Elfeko S.A.
Technical details
Floor count	2
Floor area	1,480 m2 (15,900 ft2)
Design and construction
Architect	Lech Kadłubowski (pl)

History

The building was built on the grounds of Danziger Hof (pl), a hotel built in the 19th century. It was designed by architect Lech Kadłubowski (pl). Construction began in 1959 and concluded in 1961, officially being opened on 27 November 1961 and nicknamed the "glass palace" (Polish: szklany pałac) by the media.^[2] The store inside the building was known for selling modern and comfortable furniture. In 1979, it was rebuilt for the purposes of LOT Polish Airlines, which set up its local offices inside of it. It has since undergone various stylistically controversial changes.^[3]

Since the start of the 21st century, suggestions have been put forward to replace the pavilion with a new building,^[4] including a proposal to rebuild the old Danziger Hof hotel.^[5] In 2012, the company Elfeko S.A. bought the building for 12.5 million zł to construct a hotel which would be completed by 2017.^[6] An architectural design competition was held to determine a new design for said hotel; however, ultimately, no winner was chosen^[7] and the proposed design resulted in the voivodeship heritage conservator protecting from demolition it on account of its architectural distinctiveness in January 2020.^[8]

Architecture

The building is located between the Jagiellonian Walls (pl) and Targ Węglowy, close to the Brama Wyżynna (pl). Most of its exterior is covered by glass.^[3] It has a floor area of 1,480 m² (15,900 ft²).^[9]