Plans to turn Chmielna into a green, pedestrian artery took a step closer to being realized after the city’s conservator granted permission for works to take place.

First announced last year, the long-awaited renovation will follow a design by RS Architektura Krajobrazu.

Writing on Facebook, the studio said: “It is with undisguised joy that we inform you that the vision of a green, friendly Chmielna street is becoming more and more real. Once again it turned out that the substantive explanations, talks, and probably enormous support from the public and NGOs had a positive effect.”

Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski was similarly upbeat, announcing: “Chmielna will be green! We have a positive opinion of the Mazowieckie Provincial Conservator of Monuments regarding the changes we are planning. Tree lanes, lots of greenery and places to relax – that’s what the new Chmielna will be like.”

Already well-regarded for completed projects on the Wisla boulevards as well as Świętokrzyska street, RS Architektura Krajobrazu envision the creation of a green urban oasis outside the Atlantic Cinema building, an area that has traditionally been better known for its broken concrete and shouty, late-night atmosphere.

Humanizing it through the addition of trees, street furniture and ambient lighting, this approach will be extended up and down the street.

Moreover, with environmental concerns remaining a burning issue, so-called rain gardens will also be introduced to “strengthen the city’s resilience to climate change”. Careful not to “obliterate our perception” of the actual street, consideration will further be awarded to the height of the trees to ensure that the architectural merit of the tenements lining Chmielna is in no way diluted.