OFFICE SPACE >
Dynamic community
Written by: Štěpánka Strouhalová
Photo by: Věroslav Sixt

To get to the office of graphic design firm Marvil you have to pass through a dimly-lit entryway and then an ordinary courtyard. So the orange and pure white interiors, created by young Prague designer Radim Babák, are a welcome surprise. "All we knew at the beginning was that we wanted a place where we could spend most of our time. We therefore requested something not very formal but vivid and fresh,“ explains Marvil director Pavel Zelenka.

01> "Radim Babák designed the receptionist's desk and the sofa, which is his famous project, although it was not designed for our office. It was a copy of his diploma work.“

02> "The tables and drawers are Radim's work. The transparent chairs are the low-cost La Marie design by Philippe Starck, and the swivel chairs are by Vitra.“

03> "This sloping corridor serves as storage for archive material. We knew that we didn't want to store the archives in someone's room because it's distracting, so we put them in the corridor. At the same time, it's a clever use of space.“

04> "I appreciate the fact that the reception looks nice but is also functional. I don't like those very empty receptions with only glass, because it's not good for people who have to work there. Radim had a different opinion, but in the end we have an area with lots of storage and shelf space.“

05> "We didn't want to have an open-plan office, so Radim came up with this compromise: glass walls to divide the rooms. They work like a barrier, but we can see each other. We are working together and yet we have privacy.“

06> "The glass doors and the solid white walls provide an interesting contrast. Radim's first idea was to have every front wall in glass but because it was expensive we had to compromise. So we built the wall from brick, and only part of the wall is completely glass.“

07> "Radim followed the spirit of this building because it was built in the 1930s, and although it's not 'big architecture' it has some spirit and a sort of functionalist design“.