This is the interior of a law firm that has moved its headquarters here. The historic Wertheim Department Store, or Renoma in Wrocław, became the place where the office space was designed by architect Kinga Łukaszyńska. The designer breathed an art-deco aesthetic into the Renoma office and created it in the spirit of upcycling – a lot of old furniture was used here, which had previously been refurbished.
In total, the office has 1,800 sq m of space and 150 people work here. The office premises are located on the second floor in the historic part of the building, with windows along Podwale and Świdnicka Streets. Due to the wide tracts, workspaces have been located along the façade and the two skylights, and the space in between has been used to accommodate conference rooms, smaller call rooms and social and technical areas. Due to the large office space and to facilitate orientation in the space, dominant features and a consistent colour scheme were introduced for the various functions and zones.
The designer used calm greys in the work areas. These were complemented by pleasant and warm wood details. The multi-purpose rooms inside the tracts are beige with plywood quarter ceilings in the same colour, and the dominant features located in the three wings of the office, which are min. the sanitary block, are highlighted by the corrugated metal wall cladding in green. This is an accent that gives the interior a modern feel.
Olesiński i Wspólnicy, together with the designers, took care to use secondary elements that were part of the furnishings and finishes of the office in the previous location. It was decided to relocate, among other things, wooden wall cladding, acoustic concrete slabs, movable furniture, workstations, and even some of the built-in niche, which required coordination, at a very early stage of the concept.
We designed from the resources available to us and only completed the office with the missing elements. Unfortunately, it was not possible to relocate the ironwork, but the investor donated it to the foundation, which will use it in another interior design project, explains the designer.
All reclaimed materials and furniture were recomposed as new, refreshed or repainted to fit in with the new interior.
The office is located in a building with a recognisable art déco style, so references to the original 1930s interiors were the leading inspiration for the design. Small ceramic tiles on the walls, soffit curtains, a ceiling with geometric divisions and glass light fittings are all elements that have been introduced into the space in reference to those from before the war. There is no shortage of plastic surfaces, with divisions and textures, in art déco interiors.
We tried to achieve this through materials such as wood wool, which is also a sound-absorbing material, which increases comfort and improves acoustics; ceilings with plywood panels, painted with a thin layer of paint so as to preserve the delicate grain pattern; corrugated sheet metal finishing of the walls, on which the light creates a variable composition of colours; oak veneer panels from dismantling have been arranged in such a way as to emphasise the grain and varied colours of the wood,” adds the architect.
design: Kinga Łukaszyńska
photos: Natalia Kapsa
source: kingalukaszynska.com
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