The Textile Headquarters building is Lodz's first "skyscraper." The competition for the office building was announced in 1948. The project of the Cracow architect, engineer Jan Krug, was recognized as the best. During construction, however, the winning design was re-evaluated and it was decided to impose a stylized, socialist-realist costume on the modern, modernist, glazed form, which unfortunately significantly changed the appearance of the building. Lodz residents used to say that it was a kind of Lodz Palace of Culture. In the meantime, the Textile Headquarters was liquidated, which halted the construction process and created the need to find new users for the emerging spaces. in 1956, the broadcasting equipment of the Lodz Television Center was installed on the top two floors, and a 15-meter antenna mast on top of the edifice.

 

 

 

Paradoks

dir. Greg Zgliński, Igor Brejdygant, Borys Lankosz, 2012

 

The former Textile Headquarters building played host to one of the capital's police stations in the series Paradox. Seen only from the outside, usually filmed from below, the skyscraper makes an overwhelming impression, perfectly reflecting the suffocating atmosphere of the crime series. The building appears on screen several times, each time bringing the action to the police station. In one episode, Inspector Marek Kaszowski (Bogusław Linda), his boss Inspector Talak (Przemysław Bluszcz) and aspirant Jacek ‘Młody’ Czerwiński (Cezary Łukaszewicz) meet on the roof of a high-rise building. They choose this place for a reason - they discuss a plan of action against drug dealers and want to avoid eavesdropping. It is interesting to note that the view of the city from this rooftop also appears in the opening credits of several episodes of the 1970s TV series ‘Far from the Road’.

 

You can read more about the film here.