Places for an industrial-style event are an increasingly popular option for organizing an event away from hermetic conference rooms and hotels dripping with splendor. The harsh climate more and more often attracts event organizers as well as young couples looking for a place for their wedding.
I started my adventure with photography by photographing industrial and abandoned places and sessions in these places. Some of them no longer exist, bought and then demolished by developers have disappeared or are in danger of collapsing. However, there are still places in Warsaw that have gained their second youth and often serve as climatic places for the event.
A common motif that appears in these places are old are facades or walls covered with red-orange bricks and it is on them that I focused when creating this list of places for the event.
Industrial style event venues with a soul
Often as a photographer, and sometimes as a guest, I had the opportunity to visit many places that captivated me with their atmosphere. It will show which ones stuck in my memory the most and I consider it worth attention if we want to organize event in an atmospheric place with a soul. I think that despite the bad reputation, it is still Warsaw’s Praga is at the forefront of choosing places in an original style. It was here that my grandparents, my father grew up, and now I live here with my fiancée and we have nothing to complain about. Maybe sometimes only for loud night “parties” in the Prague gates, but such is the climate here. Concerts in the gates and fun until the morning.
List of industrial venues for the event
The order is completely random, because each place has its own climate and space. These are smaller or larger premises and it is worth bearing this in mind when planning your event. Often you can also rent only a part of a given space, but it is always worth making sure that our event will not be disturbed by another event or celebration. It’s hard to conduct conferences when dance parties are taking place behind a partition wall and participants instead of taking notes stamp their feet to the rhythm.
Some proposals may also apply to more general places, i.e. “Koneser“, where you can find several different places, so I will start with him.
Vodka bottling plant “Koneser”
- address: Plac Konesera, 03-736 Warsaw
- website: https://koneserdowynajecia.pl
Koneser is the area of an old historic vodka bottling plant located in the heart of Warsaw’s Praga district. It houses a lot of restaurants, shops, art galleries and other creative spaces, i.e. Google Campus.
The old bottling plant is located on ul. Ząbkowska, which in my opinion is the center of night and not only (there is the famous Różycki Bazaar here) life of this part of Prague. There are plenty of bars and restaurants here, and in the yards you can often find music for live and old Prague hits of Warsaw bands. Returning to Koneser…
Sam Koneser has 4 event spaces for rent:
- Bottle room – 2100m2
- Laboratory 2400m2
- Filtration 680m2
- Koneser Square 4000m2
It is also possible to rent a space in the Museum of Polish Vodka , where you can also organize an individual trip for participants.
When organizing longer events, you can use the services of the Moxy Warsaw Praga Hotel belonging to the Marriott International brand, which has really interesting and designer interiors.
Sirens Singing in the Koneser area
- address: Plac Konesera 4, 03-736 Warsaw
- website: https://www.facebook.com/syrenispiew/
An interesting place where I had the opportunity to photograph my birthday some time ago is Syreni Śpiew, which moved to the koneser area. It is located in a building in the central part of the square and has several floors, which can also be rented for a smaller company meeting or dinner. After the official part, you can party here during live concerts. A big plus is the dishes served there.
High Culture
- address: Szwedzka 2, 03-419 Warsaw
- website: kulturawysoka.com
Another place in Warsaw’s Praga district, which is located quite close to Koneser, is Kultura Wysoka at Szwedzka Street. These are the buildings of the Prague steel plant.
Previously, the place was in the hands of another owner, with whom there were problems. He took advances for rent from the bride and groom and wrapped up. Now the place has come into new better hands and it is worth coming back there.
New owner saves reputation
I had the opportunity to photograph XXXX conferences there and I was very captivated by the raw space of a high hall with a drawn roof, into which the morning sun falls through large windows from the very morning. You can find more about it here https://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,54420,25115734,zaplacili-78-tys-zl-za-wesele-organizator-zniknal-ta-sprawa.html
The size of High Culture
The area that can be used is 450m2 of the hall, in which there are no pillars and obstacles that can be annoying for spectators during speeches and conferences.
Inside there is also a green VIP space of 100m2. We also have at our disposal a 300m2 garden separated by a high brick wall, separating participants from outsiders, despite the fact that we are in the heart of Warsaw’s Praga district.
In my opinion, with the additions of greenery, the space gains a truly magical atmosphere.
In the same yard as The High Culture we will also find the Foodoo photo studio and the SteelWorks building, where numerous cultural events related to Prague take place.
Studio Flesz
- address: Grochowska 301/305, 03-842 Warsaw
- website: studioflesz.com
As we are already in Praga, the next place will be Studio Flesz on ul. Grochowska. The studio is located on the premises of the Perun welding plant, which are one of the oldest and best preserved buildings of this type on the street. Grochowska.
Studio Flesz Space
The studio has an area of 180m2 and 5.4m high. It is a photo studio and a space for loft-style events.
I had the opportunity to photograph Intel’s Santa Claus party during which tournaments were played on old classic pinball machines and on state-of-the-art computers, but still in retro style games, using classic joysticks known from arcades.
A high ceiling and a large cyclorama in the main part, and a glazed mezzanine at the top can create an active space and a chillout zone. Under the mezzanine there is also a place for a bar, where during evening meetings you can, for example, serve drinks for guests.
Little Warsaw
- address: Otwocka 14, 03-759 Warsaw
- website: https://www.malawarszawa.pl/
These are other factory buildings in Praga, which have survived to this day and offer the organization of performances, concerts, galas or corporate events.
Little Warsaw is divided into many different spaces. Outside we have parking for approx. 80 car and patio with an area of 517m2, and inside:
- Theatre hall – 330m2
- Concert hall – 250m2
- Conference room – 250m2
- Training rooms – 45m2
- Club room “Piec” – 190m2
- Catering room – 70m2
- Restaurants – 200m2
- Galleries – 250m2
It is not such a large space as the Warsaw Connoisseur, but we have more more atmospheric rooms to choose from. Small Warsaw will work better for product premieres, galas or conferences than for large trade fairs with hundreds of stands. Despite this, it is not a problem for them to host even the premiere of cars, due to the very large entrance doors and rooms over 6 meters high.
A big plus deserves the Theatre Hall, which will accommodate 450-700 guests. As they say, music and theater like their space. From time to time you can also go to the performance and check it yourself. The hall has its own professional sound system and full facilities for actors.
Artbistro Stalowa 52
- address: Stalowa 52, 03-429 Warsaw
- website: artbistro.pl
Stalowa 52 is a space that combines art and cuisine in a modern urban style with the atmosphere of old Warsaw Praga. The glazed patio of the restaurant is located in the yard of a restored tenement house in Praga Północ. This is a treat for connoisseurs of good cuisine and lovers of brick interiors.
The restaurant consists of a restaurant with an area of 126m2, which is divided into two rooms:
- Room with an area of 64 m² designed for groups of up to 50 people
- Patio of the same surface, however, with a glass roof
The premises can be separated and rented only one half. The restaurant also has its own boutique hotel with 19 rooms and its own car park.
Brick places not only in Praga
If you are looking for places also outside of Prague, I will mention here two more forts that are located in Służewo and Żoliborz.
Fort 8
- address: Fort Służew 1b, 02-787 Warsaw
- website: http://fort8.pl/pl/lokale/k9/
- website: http://www.fortsluzew.pl
The first of them is the recently renovated Służew fort, otherwise known as Fort 8 with an area of 100m2, which houses boutiques, architectural offices or several bars and restaurants. There are also outdoor cinema screenings, which are worth visiting, ordering, for example, a burger, wine and enjoying a movie. It is easy to get there, because it is located on the edge of three districts – Wilanów, Ursynów and Mokotów. Unfortunately, the parking lot is not very good, so it is worth going there by taxi or public transport.
Not only bars and restaurants
In the fort, we can also rent a space prepared specifically for this purpose. We can rent there space from 72m2 and larger thanks to the modular combination of interiors. Everything is adapted to current standards, so there is no problem with electricity or sound system in these spaces.
Kreglic Fortress
- address: Zakroczymska 12, 00-225 Warsaw
- website: kregliccy.pl
Kregliccy Fortress is located in the historic Fort of the Legions built of bricks and surrounded by a deep moat. We can get inside through a bridge and a large gate that leads to a central hall with an area of 400m2, which can accommodate up to 600 people standing up. Around the main hall there are many additional rooms, chambers and underground rooms, which can also be used for an event, conference or wedding. The total area of the fortress is over 1200m2.
History of Fort Legions
The fortress was inscribed in 1965. to the Register of Monuments and in 2000 purchased by siblings of Warsaw restaurateurs Agnieszka and Marcin Kręglicki, who are also the owners of the Kubicki Arcades (there we will also find brick interiors) under the Royal Castle in Warsaw. They also have other restaurants that delight with their taste, so you can also rely on them for this issue when renting a Fortress for an event.
