The High Life

Helmut Jahn’s Cosmopolitan is the latest tower to add sparkle to the skyline – and what a pretty thing… 

By Alex Webber | Photographs by Kevin Demaria

No longer a stumpy adolescent, Warsaw has grown up – fast. Zipping to the 44th floor of Cosmopolitan, vertigo sets in as we press our noses to the floor-to-ceiling windows. It is as if we have entered the land of giants: on the horizon, the National Stadium could fit onto the palm of my hand. You feel you could almost blow it away: puff, and it’s gone.

Unlike the nearby Złota Tower, which has been nothing if not a lightning rod for negativity, Cosmopolitan has already met with widespread approval from the local population. Buyers, too, have been impressed. Completed in June, half the units have already gone. Of course, high living comes at a high price: costs average zł. 25,000 sq/m. But this is not a grot hole you’re getting. The finishes are extraordinary: oak wood floors, Italian marble bathrooms, Duravit toilets and kitchens by Miele. Thinking of a refit? Why bother.

And there’s technology: an electronic home management system that controls blinds, temperatures and even the tune on your morning alarm. For all this, it is above all the views one appreciates. Not for the faint of heart, the windows are like a gateway to heaven – sit in front of them long enough and you’ll see angels in the clouds. Should you do so, communication is easier than you think. Unlike other skyscrapers, hermetically sealed from the outside world, there are windows here that open – tall and narrow and 2.6 meters high, only a row of safety bars prevent you from falling to earth and landing with a thump. As we open one such window, a woozy rush drains the blood from the head. It’s thrilling.

Click here for a gallery of the Cosmopolitan building.