Resembling a home interior, Graffiti Films' Warsaw office is filled with a relaxed atmosphere. Here you'll find everything a good corporate headquarters should have - a comfortable work space, an equipped kitchen and a pleasant relaxation area. There is also no shortage of interior elements characteristic of old tenement houses - among other things, this is what creates the unique atmosphere of this place.
Old wooden floors, very well-preserved woodwork with history, wooden shutters, plus furniture we know well from our dining rooms, living rooms or home studios - this was not meant to be a typical office. We are in a historic tenement in the center of Warsaw, and at first glance it's hard to guess that this is where ideas for projects for the biggest Polish and global brands are created.
Star Wars in the tenement
Their neighbors are the Sejm building, the editorial office of "Przekroj", the beautiful Powiśle district and a green park. This is how the team of the Warsaw-based company Graffiti located itself. The team of talented film production specialists, headed by Szymon Gruszecki, Franek Rogala and Kacper Wantola, carries out projects for brands such as LOT, Nèstle, Pepsi, Media Expert, VOX and PZU.
With the acquisition of the company by the three of us, we decided to move the office from a 400+ square meter house with a garden on the outskirts of Warsaw to a fantastic, atmospheric townhouse in the center of the city , recalls Kacper Wantoła. - We wanted a communal, professional space, but without corporate bloat, in which there would be a bit of each of us. That's why the interior will feature skateboards, Star Wars posters and books with maps of tattoo parlors in London , he adds.
They invited designer Aleksandra Gerlach (who is also a food stylist, set designer and graphic designer) to create the new office. Working on the concept was a challenge also because the room for design modifications was severely limited.
Five rooms were arranged - a conference room, a production studio, a chefs' office, an accessible kitchen with a chill-room, and a reception area
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The Graffiti office is located in a historic building. So there was no way to modify the layout of the rooms, replace the woodwork or floors. So we had to arrange ourselves in this "new" house in such a way as to accept and take advantage of its character ," recalls Aleksandra Gerlach.
Five rooms were arranged on about 140 square meters - a conference room, a production studio, a bosses' office, an accessible kitchen with a chill-room and a reception area. The historic elements proved to be an excellent backdrop for the furnishings selected by the designer.
table in the center
The furniture chosen for the arrangement allowed the designer to use the full potential of the space and to develop seemingly difficult to use parts of the rooms. Thanks to modular furniture, it was possible, for example, to fill niches or gaps that would normally remain unused. Various structures could be built and adapted even to difficult room layouts. This solution also worked perfectly in the production section - here a rack was built against the wall. Thanks to it, each of the four production teams has its own place to store the documentation necessary while working on the project. Ola also used modular solutions in the entrance part - the corridor space was turned into a reception area. A handy bookcase and a counter-reception desk were created.
Our company is such a small family. We collaborate on daily duties, but we also like to have lunch together in the chillout-room or the conference room at a large table under the flowers. Ola understood our needs perfectly and highlighted them perfectly with her wand ," admits Kacper.
The center of every home is the table. It's no different here either, although in this case the tables are four. In the conference room, the tables were set together, with side drawers and an alcove running through its center to make it easier to keep things tidy, while the whole thing is complemented by a flower bed suspended from the ceiling.
The antique elements turned out to be an excellent background for the furnishings selected by the designer
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This is definitely one of our favorite places in the office. The large tables work well for larger pre-production meetings with up to 25 people. But in day-to-day use for teams, or for independent work, they also do a great job. We like to have meals at this table, during which we watch various tidbits from the world of film, music or advertising and analyze them from a production angle," says Kacper.
The whole arrangement is complemented by chairs and a bookcase set against the wall. The form of the latter perfectly suits the interior - the modules are set on subtle ladders, whose wooden form blends into the background of the old floor and whitewashed walls.
