Locally based studio Marco Maio Architects has completed a new office design in Prague’s historic Palác Akropolis. Interiors originally shaped with distinctive cultural character by artist František Skála in the 1990s are reimagined as a calm, legible space suited for contemporary work that pays homage to the building’s enduring cultural spirit as well.
Totaling nearly 5,000 square feet, the project is oriented by a social core and circulation spine that unites visual and spatial continuity across the floors. Natural light penetrates both facades lending a sense of depth to the interior and illuminating the inviting palette of materials. Softly curved passages wrapped in red ceramic tiles define the project, offset by natural oak floors, furniture, and window frames that imbue warmth. Custom walnut meeting tables add subtle tactility as well. Workrooms and meeting spaces vary in openness to promote individualized and communal work, with glass partitions ensuring both acoustic comfort and visual continuity. The result is a productive environment complete with all the warmth and comfort of home. “People should feel welcomed and those spending daily time in the offices should feel the same comfort as at home, or even more,” lead architect Marco Maio says of the design. “It should be a place from which you don’t want to run away, a place of social environment and relation with others.”
