By design, the building's lobby is an open but rather empty space. It's difficult to bet on an unusual, richly detailed design here. But if the main fiddle in the design is entrusted to the duo: ceiling and floor, the effect is impressive. This is how the main lobby in the buildings of the Warsaw skyscraper Mennica Legacy Tower was designed.
For years, interior designers have been outdoing each other in the competition for sophisticated patterns, colors, material textures. The fashion for rich, unconventional interior design is succumbing not only to apartments, but also to office spaces, museums and hotel interiors. Not everywhere, however, architects can go wild. Main lobbies in public buildings, because of their function, must remain open and austere. So how to surprise users? In the Mennica Legacy Tower skyscraper in Warsaw, the designers and the investor will bet on harmony. The ceiling and floor, thanks to the fact that they harmonize perfectly with each other, create basically the entire decor.
Knauf brand products
© Knauf Ceiling
In one line
The building's massing, designed by the prestigious Chicago-based Goettsch Partners studio, defines the surface of both the floor and ceiling. A definite part of the lobby is formed by an arched space, finished on one side by a glass panel of panoramic windows, and on the other by a wall with smooth brown cladding. It is difficult to introduce decorative elements here. Therefore, the rounded character is emphasized by light-colored strips of stone flooring running along the curve.
Knauf brand products
© Knauf Ceiling
In tandem with these, above heads, also curving gently along the ceiling run acoustic suspended ceilings. The supporting structure of the ceiling was specially made to the investor's order. Knauf Bulkhead profiles were used. In turn, the panels themselves mounted on the ceiling are metal. The elongated Metal R-Clip panels have a special delicate perforation which helps to break up percussive sounds and reduce reverberation. In addition, there is a special acoustic interlining inside. These elevated elements contributing to friendly acoustics in the lobby are particularly important. The interior is formed by large areas of hard, reflective materials. To reduce reverberation, therefore, solutions are used to improve the acoustic comfort of users.
Knauf brand products
© Knauf Ceiling
The lamps are also politely lined up. The system of Bulkhead profiles in which the ceiling panels are embedded allowed at the same time for the proper routing of lighting points. The lighting strip linearly connects to the illuminated recesses in the stone cladding installed on the wall.
In the Mennica West building, which is part of the office complex, vertical acoustic panels were installed on the ceiling and on the wall above the reception area. Here the floor remains as if in the background. The main dynamics of the interior is given by the interlocking longitudinal lighting on the ceiling, the illuminated recesses in the wall cladding and the blending of glass panels on the facade. The pairing of the ceiling and floor creates color unity - both surfaces are a light, creamy color.
Knauf brand products
© Knauf Ceiling
The building, with 65,000 sqm of office space, has been awarded BREEAM certification at the Excellent level. Among other things, environmentally friendly solutions and the quality of materials were rated very highly. Not insignificant in the certification process was the fact that the ceilings are made of durable, quality material such as metal, contain a share of recycled material (30%), can be reused, and their possible repair or replacement, due to their modularity, does not require dismantling of the entire ceiling, but only of individual panels. And the investment itself, although handed over only a few months ago, already boasts one of the most important architectural awards - an honorable mention in the European Property Awards.
