area 420 m2
photographer : Norbert Tukaj
Reality is not real.
Are objects visible to our eyes indeed real? Can we trust our senses and first impressions? Are we possibly being misled by the visuals created in our conscience? Topics of illusion, surprise and first impression are the leading themes in the interior dedicated to an international marketing agency “Ogilvy”. The goal here is to create a misleading first impression, an illusion, and to distort the reality if only for a moment.
After opening ordinary looking office door, a visitor is greeted by an impressive entrance portal made up of puffed-out elements, which from a first impression must plastic or rubber. A person is led through into an entirely different space than expected after opening the ordinary looking door. The puffed-out elements appear to be temporary and soft. But as you touch them, you realize that they are solid and cold, made of shiny metal.
This is just a beginning. More items of surprise and unexpected impression follow. From outside, a cold-looking meeting room made of silvery-white metal is in fact soft and bright inside. Exterior of another meeting room is wooden, but it becomes burnt-down black from inside: the material used is the same, however its structure and colour changes drastically. Lounge area, which typically we expect to be soft and comfy, seems to have stainless steel furniture. This is a great contrast to the very idea of a lounge space. But once you touch and try out the furniture, you understand, stainless steel is an illusion.
This interior does not attempt to hinder the main purpose of the officem which is to facilitate productive work in a most traditional sense. The spaces with dominating, bright elements are isolated, thus do not interfere with productive work environment. Much attention was also given to work ergonomics.
Office plan is clearly structured and thought through. The whole office area facilitates fifty workplaces, five meeting rooms of varying sizes, and roomy lounge, kitchen areas. Convenient functional links interconnect these spaces.
Every functional area has its own fabric and colours, thus creating distinctive individual characters in each of them. Cold materials, such as concrete, stainless steel, galvanized tin are matched with soft and “warm” materials: felt, carpet or wood. Neutral colours of metal and concrete are contrasted with bright corporate colours of Ogilvy.