Fuzja opens up to the city

Anna's Gardens is the first open-access space to be opened in Fuzja, in the revitalized area of the former Karol Scheibler's textile factory. The new city courtyard commemorates a wife of the factory owner from Łódź, Anna née Werner, one of the most influential women in Łódź at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. The opening of the new square was honoured with the presence of the Mayor of Łódź Hanna Zdanowska, representatives of the Medusa Group architectural studio and the investor - Echo Investment. Throughout the summer, Anna's Gardens will host free events organized in cooperation with local cultural centers, such as the Summer Film Festival „Polówka”  and the Polesie Art Center.

Anna's Gardens is a square located in front of the historic Scheibler's powerhouse with an area of nearly 3,600 sqm. It is the first open-access green space in Fuzja. In the end, the area of the complex, open to all, will be more than 4 hectares.

“Projects such as Fuzja confirm that Łódź is a city worth investing in, a city friendly to business and life. Today, together we are opening the first publicly accessible open-access part of the complex, a new urban recreation space, which will be vibrant with life throughout the summer vacations. I am extremely pleased that the area, which for many years was inaccessible to people of Łódź, now opens up to people and returns to the city. Anna's Gardens will also commemorate an extremely important and meritorious figure of Anna Scheibler, an investor, factory owner and philanthropist, who became an embodiment of extraordinary power of women. The opening of the square coincides with the 100th anniversary of Anna's death which is being celebrated this year. I am glad that we can commemorate her by naming a place after her, which is inseparably connected with the factory tradition of Łódź,” says Hanna Zdanowska, the Mayor of Łódź.

Anna's Gardens located in the heart of Fuzja next to the historic Karol Scheibler's powerhouse is an example of a new perspective on creating urban spaces. It is not a standard square, but a stirring place divided into zones and developed with greenery. The square includes an area with a young tree stand, where 45 trees were planted, and the whole is complemented by low lawns, bushes, and a creative playground to stimulate the imagination of children.  

“In designing Anna's Gardens we were aimed to create a contemporary interpretation of a new urban courtyard, where greenery would coexist with surroundings in an unforced manner. We freed the square from classical flooring, creating instead a surface where nature breaks through and water seeps, flowing into retention tanks. Our experience shows that such spaces are nowadays a clear social need, to which we are responding with our project," says Przemo Łukasik of Medusa Group, which is responsible for the entire design of the complex.

The new courtyard perfectly corresponds to the historic Scheibler's powerhouse - a gem of Art Nouveau architecture. Guests can admire an already open part of this historical building - the former boilerhouse with a huge furnace, which used to generate energy for the entire plant. In this atmospheric place, on summer Sundays, movies will be shown as part of the Summer Film Festival „Polówka”.  On weekends, the boilerhouse also invites visitors to culinary journeys, including a breakfast fair and food truck dishes. Anna's Gardens will host yoga classes, meetings of dog lovers and their pets with the creators of the podcast "Psia Stacja", a bicycle service and a book swap action called „Książkobranie”. Every summer weekend there will also be family games and plays, including mini chess tournaments. There will also be an intergenerational dance party and a classical music concert. All events are held under the theme "Fuzja z latem" are free of charge. There will be a parking lot for Fuzja visitors located from the side of Milionowa Street. Details of the attractions at Anna's Gardens can be found on the website of Fuzja in the schedule of events.

“We are proud to be able to give back this historical area to the public for everyone to enjoy the renovated power plant and the newly planted green areas. Anna’s Gardens will become a unique meeting place for all Łódź residents, tourists and Fuzja users where there always will be something happening. It fits perfectly into Echo Investment's concept of co-creating cities and friendly living spaces for people to work live and entertain. Ahead of us there is the commissioning of two office buildings that will be ready in the first quarter of 2022 and the completion of works on the third residential project. In the area of Fuzja, restaurants and charming cafes will also successively appear. The northern part of the complex, on the side of Tymienieckiego Street, will be developed for commercial and service functions,” sums up Nicklas Lindberg, CEO of Echo Investment.

Fuzja is a multi-phase project that will combine office, retail, service and catering functions, as well as residential buildings, a city square (Anna's Gardens) and open, green common areas of nearly 4 hectares. Everything will be surrounded by historical buildings of former Karol Scheibler's textile plants, which are the heritage of Łódź Fabryczna. In total, 20 buildings will be located on 8 hectares, of which 14 are historical buildings.