However, Rudnev also visited several Polish heritage sites in Krakow and Zamosc to study the Polish Renaissance architecture of the houses and palaces there. Rudnev attempted to create an eclectic mix of a steel-framed structure with Russian baroque and gothic details. The main architect for the building was Lev Rudnev, who followed the architecture of the ‘Seven Sisters’ high-rises in Moscow, which are often likened to shorter and more squat versions of the American art deco skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building. The urbanist writer Owen Hatherley praised the building, describing it as architecturally superior to the ‘Seven Sisters’ upon which it was modelled. Today, the PKiN has gained more acceptance among Poles, particularly younger generations. Stalin’s name was removed from the building in the wake of the ‘De-Stalinisation’ process that took place after the leader’s death through to Polish independence in the early-1990s. Indeed, it is often referred to as the ‘Eighth Sister’. The negativity felt by Poles towards the building was also due to the design following that of the ‘Seven Sisters’ high-rises in Moscow, leading to many seeing the PKiN as an ‘oppressive outpost’ of the USSR in the centre of Warsaw. At 237 m (778 ft) tall, including a 43 m-high spire, it is the tallest building in Poland, and one of the most visible and recognisable landmarks in Warsaw.Ĭompleted in 1955, PKiN has long provoked controversy as it was intended as a ‘gift’ from the Soviet Union to Poland, but many considered it to be a symbol of Soviet domination indeed its original name was the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science. The Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN), is a modernist high-rise building in Warsaw, Poland. 4 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.