Brick, glass and vintage accessories is how the interior of the new VZROK optical store in Wroclaw's Nadodrze district can be described in a nutshell. Established in a recently renovated tenement, it was designed by the Madde studio, which is responsible not only for the interiors of the premises, but also the name and visual identity.
The salon was created in the tenement, and in its interiors the architects decided to expose the brick and leave the arches
© Madde
The interiors of tenement buildings are often a big challenge, bringing them to a usable state requires a lot of work. However, the advantage is the original, preserved structural or decorative elements. In this case, it was the brick, arched vaults in the back and in the lintels of doors and windows, which partly needed to be restored to their original state, say the architects from the Madde studio.
natural brick reigns in the interiors
© Madde
The designers, together with the salon's owner Aleksandra Chumikowska, decided that the brick in the premises is so expressive and dominant that they will make the other elements of the interior only complement it. The salon was divided into a display area and a back room for research and frame work. In the interior, the architects used white finishes, natural veneers, gray microcement flooring and minimalist black lighting. Attention is drawn to the proprietary forms of mirrors and displays made of rust-colored brick steel. A flavor is the glasses presented on the glass bricks.
The name and visual identity were also part of the project. From a number of ideas, Vzrok emerged with a minimalist logo in the form of a crossed-out "O," which in a double version forms the sign of the glasses, the authors add.
The showroom consists of a display area and eye examination facilities
© Madde
interview with Maja Górowska of Madde studio
Dobrawa Bies: Today we are talking about the optical salon VZROK, where, in addition to the interior design, you made the entire visual identity. How do you work on such "total" projects? Where did you start your work?
Maja Górowska: We are very fond of such projects, where we get, in a sense, a "clean slate". A holistic approach to the subject is of course a challenge, but this is the kind of work we like the most. Going beyond the interiors themselves, where we have an impact on the name and the overall concept of the brand's operation, is very developmental for us, and we always get heavily involved in such projects. We then start our work just by laying out a moodboard and a mind map, which form a picture for us of the main design ideas and what we ultimately want to achieve.
VZROK Optical Salon
© Madde
Dobrawa: Optical salons are often associated with sterile, super white and lit up (almost like pharmacies), often styleless interiors, and in this case we have a pleasant surprise. You decided to show structural elements, original brick and arched vaults - the rest of the introduced elements seem to subordinate to them. Was the investor not afraid of such a radical solution? Please tell us about the materials used.
Maja: I think that Ola, the owner of the salon, decided on such an interior with full consciousness, seeing its advantages and the potential to create a place for her brand here. From the beginning, the plans were to emphasize the character of the original brick and create a friendly, warm atmosphere. We were far from sterile interior concepts. Indeed, the brick dictated much of our subsequent material solutions. We also escaped from the atmosphere of a typical loft and steel structures in black. We opted for a simple microcement floor, which creates a uniform plane in all rooms. In the main room, we also have furniture finished with natural veneers and steel, but in a brick color. Our idea for displaying the fixtures was also glass bricks, and we are very happy to have implemented this element into the design.
architects are also responsible for the visual identity of the showroom
© Madde
Dobrawa: The biggest source of pride, and the biggest challenge in this implementation was?
Maja: The biggest challenge was definitely choosing the name and creating the entire visual identity. It was around this topic that there was probably the most discussion, decisions were hard to make. At the same time, what makes us proud is that the result pleases both us and the investor. It was a successful cooperation for us and we keep our fingers firmly crossed for the further development of VZROK.
