Służewiec Przemysłowy

Służewiec Przemysłowy, originally known as the Industrial and Storage District of Służewiec, is a neighbourhood of the city of Warsaw, Poland, located within the district of Mokotów and Ursynów, within the City Information System areas of Służewiec, western Ksawerów, and northern Wyczółki. It mostly consists of office buildings.

Characteristics

Housing and business

The neighbourhood consists of residential apartments and office buildings. The neighbourhood contains one of the largest complexes of office buildings in Poland, with 83 office buildings within its boundaries in 2019.Marta Leśniakowska: ''Architektura w Warszawie 1989−2001''. Warsaw: Arkada Pracownia Historii Sztuki, 2002, p. 206. ISBN 83-908950-5-6. Many of them include headquarters of the branches of many multinational corporations. Among them are: Saatchi & Saatchi, Starcom, Filmweb, IQVIA, LuxMed, Abbott Laboratories, Polska Grupa Prasowa, Ringier Axel Springer, Plus, National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, National Appeals Chamber, Panasonic, Institute of National Remembrance, Groupe Renault, AstraZeneca, DNB ASA, T-Mobile Polska, Mondelez, and Toyota Bank Polska. The embassy of Cuba is also located in the neighbourhood.

According to estimates, commutes to the area of office buildings in Służewiec and the western portion of the nearby Ksawerów average between 80 and 100 thousand employees, with 87% of employees of these corporations aged between 20 and 39 years. The largest age group (39%) is between 26 and 30 years. The huge number of people commuting to and from the area every day, together with local road systems not designed for a such number of vehicles, causes massive traffic congestion, as well as lack of parking spaces. Many potential employees cite difficulties in commuting as the main reason for turning down offers to work in the area.

In Służewiec is located Westfield Mokotów, one of the biggest shopping centres in the city.Paweł Dunin-Wąsowicz. ''Mordor literacki w serpentynie głupstw''. In: ''Stolica'', p. 36, June 2019.

Area of "Mordor"

The area of the complex of the office buildings within Służewiec and the western portion of the nearby Ksawerów is colloquially referred to as ''Mordor'', and ''Mordor in Domaniewska''. Its boundaries are commonly accepted to be Cybernetyki, Domaniewska, Marynarska, and Wołoska Streets.

The name was given to the area, due to terrible traffic congestion present in the area, in reference to Mordor, a fictional location, and personification of evil, from the 1954–1955 fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' written by J. R. R. Tolkien. The name had been popularized by Facebook fan page titled ''Mordor na Domaniewskiej'' (translation from Polish: ''Mordor in Domaniewska''), established in 2013, by one of the employees from the area. In 2018, the fansite had gained 100 000 followers, and by February 2022, it has over 170 000. In the city is also published magazine ''Głos Mordoru'' (translation from Polish: ''The Voice of Mordor''), addressed to the employees of the corporations from the area.

There were several attempts to make ''Mordor'' the officially recognized name of the area. In 2015, its supporters hung a street sign with name ''Mordor'' in the area; however, authorities quickly removed the sign. In 2018, the local inhabitants had proposed via the participatory budgeting, the recognition of the name, which was not approved. Since 2015, the name is accepted in the search of Google Maps.

On 12 December 2020, following the petition of local inhabitants, two small streets in the neighbourhood of Służewiec were named in reference to Mordor. One of them is J. R. R. Tolkiena Street, named after J. R. R. Tolkien, and which goes perpendicularly to the south from Suwak Street. The other is Gandalfa Street, named after Gandalf, one of main characters from Tolkien's ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which goes perpendicularly to the north from Konstruktorska Street. Both roads meet in their middle, forming a crossing. They were originally intended to be named Pirytowa and Tytanowa Streets; however, the local council people decided to name them in reference to Tolkien, following the petitioning of the local population.

History

The oldest known mention of Służewiec in documentation comes from 1378. In said documents, it was listed as one of 17 villages of the landed property of Służewo. It was a village attached to the nearby village of Służewo (currently known as Służew), and was listed to have an area of 9 voloks (equivalent to 1.616 km² or 0.624 square miles), making it the biggest on the list.''Dzieje Mokotowa'', Polish Scientific Publishers PWN, 1972. In 1411, the village was given the Kulm law privileges by duke Janusz I of Warsaw, ruler of the Duchy of Warsaw.

On 27 September 1938, Służew and Służewiec were incorporated into the city of Warsaw. The area had been destroyed in 1944 by Nazi Germany, during the Second World War, as part of the destruction of Warsaw.

In 1951, the area of Służewiec and Zbarż, had been designated as the industrial area of the Industrial–Storage District of Służewiec (Polish: ''Dzielnica Przemysłowo-Składowa „Służewiec”''), later known as Służewiec Przemysłowy (''Industrial Służewiec'').Józef Kazimierski, Ryszard Kołodziejczyk, Żanna Kormanowa, Halina Rostowska: ''Dzieje Mokotowa''. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972, p. 269. It was planned to construct 60 factories and industrial plants in the area, as well as residential buildings for 26 thousand people. The buildings were constructed in the large panel system technique, marking it as one of the first instances of such system being used in Poland. The designated area covered around 2.6 km² (1 sq mi). The construction began in 1952. In the early 1970s, around 20 000 people worked in the industrial area. The corporations in the area were: the Tewa Semiconductors Factory (Polish: ''Fabryka Półprzewodników „Tewa”'', Lifting Devices Factories (Polish: ''Zakłady Urządzeń Dźwigowych''), Elwa Radio Components Factory (Polish: ''Fabryka Podzespołów Radiowych „Elwa”''), Radio Cenamics Plants (Polish: ''Zakłady Ceramiki Radiowej''), and Służewiec Meat-Packing Factories (Polish: ''Zakłady Mięsne „Służewiec”''.

In the 1990s, the industrial activity in the area of Służewiec Przemysłowy and nearby western part of Ksawerów, went to a hold. As such, it had caused the appearance on the Real estate market of huge and developed estates, located near the city centre and the Warsaw Chopin Airport. It had then contributed to the development of business industry in the area, and eventually leading to the creation of the biggest complex of office buildings in Poland. One of the first of new infestations in the area was the construction of Curtis Plaza office building in 1992, located at 18 Wołoska Street. From 1995 to 2001, in the area had been built the complex of office buildings known as Mokotów Business Park, located in the area of Domaniewska and Postępu Streets. In 2000, in the area had been opened Westfield Mokotów (originally known as ''Galeria Mokotów''), one of the biggest shopping centres in the city.Paweł Dunin-Wąsowicz. ''Mordor literacki w serpentynie głupstw''. In: ''Stolica'', p. 36, June 2019. By 2019, 83 office buildings had been built in the area.Adam Roguski. ''Mordor na nowo: dla jednych nakłady, dla innych okazje''. In: ''Rzeczpospolita'', p. A20, 19–20 June 2019. They were mostly built without city oversight and contributed to the development of the office monoculture. In 2019, the area began losing its status of office centre, to the district of Wola.

Notes

References

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Neighbourhoods of Mokotów
Neighbourhoods of Ursynów
1951 establishments in Poland
Populated places established in 1951
Planned communities in Poland
Financial districts
Industrial parks in Poland
Warehouse districts
Planned industrial developments