Pągowski Studio is a studio run by Monika Pągowska and Tomasz Pągowski. The duo proves that bold designs can be both functional and aesthetically pleasing, and despite the use of expressive forms and colours, the whole can still remain coherent and subtle in perception. This is the case of the optician’s shop they designed in Warsaw’s Mokotów district. The Pągowskis told us about their latest project.
As the architects say, the investor spent a long time looking for suitable premises for his optical salon in Warsaw. “From the beginning he wanted us to design it, and we waited patiently. He found it in the frontage of the modernist pearls of Old Mokotow, in one of Wedel’s tenement houses on Pulawska Street. They are essentially functionalist twins of Zdzisław Mączyński’s 1938 design. “We knew the neighbourhood well and went into high gear from the get-go.” – say
A room with a display area of 25 m2 4 m2 of backroom is not much to feel the depth of space in the new glasses. Fortunately, two sizable display windows with deep sills enclosed by historic metal joinery provide plenty of light and a view of the greenery of the opposite Morskie Oko Park.
“We multiplied the depth of perspective with the appropriate arrangement of mirrors. The investor is an extremely vivacious person and the frames he produces are characterised by bold colours and shapes. We knew that it should be an interior with character, but sparing in colours. By means of selection, we determined that the dominant colour, which best reflects the owner’s emanation, is blue.” – add the authors from Pągowski Studio
The surroundings oblige… The rounded corners of townhouses, simple form, red marble, artistic reliefs and caryatids… The roundness is a characteristic element of the naval style, which took to the wide waters of architecture in the 1930s. The sea, the blue sky, the sandy beige, and that found red marble at the front. So much and so much…
The original divisions in the design of the shop windows set a horizontal cut-off line for the shades of blue inside. “We opted for maroon, which found its way into all the historic elements and the new window sills. With the same key, for better proportions, all the contours of the elements coming out of the wall planes got the same framing plus the corner shelf, and the clips of colour became the table design elements.” – explain the architects
“The investor’s initial pressure to quickly ’embrace’ the display forced us to look for quick solutions, but not at the expense of uniqueness. The acquired chests of drawers and hockers became a neutral complement to the displays designed for the occasion, and we are so proud of the tables that we plan to implement a collection based on several colour variants. What makes the effect in the detail is the new quality of the construction material we have developed, namely the MFP building board. We have been successfully testing and creating unique furniture from it in our programme for over two years now, and each time we are enchanted by the effect of the “wood-based terrazzo” – that’s what we called it. :)” – monika and Tomek conclude
Design: PĄGOWSKI STUDIO – Tomasz Pągowski, Monika Pągowska
Photos: Monika Pągowska
Set design: Martyna Tarka-Trafalska
Investor: Bodyych – Salon Optyczny / http://okularybodyych.com/
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