Club restaurant Stromovka

PLACE OF REALIZATION
Czech Republic, Prague, Stromovka city park.
Sports area in Stromovka. The club is located on the upper floor of the tennis club building, accessible via an outdoor terrace, overlooking the tennis courts, near the Vltava River.

ASSIGNMENT
The client's brief was clear: to create an original, individual, and unmistakable design for the club that best represents the client and his company, to create a practical and multifunctional space where club visitors feel comfortable, with the possibility of holding various events, with music, dance, and watching music videos.

STUDY
(...original concept: work with volume, to construct the club's shell in the meadow, to equip, take and insert into the building…)
The concept is an organic shape made of natural materials, a mass inserted into the original building, the shape is understood as a new cell in the skeleton, respecting the given space, it's a motif of contact between the new and the old, open versus closed space.
The effort is to free the layouts, exposing down to the load-bearing skeleton, without unoriginal construction modifications.
…a lively, organic shape in contrast to the gray skeleton, spine.
The design of the furniture and most interior details is subordinated to the oval shape.
In the section oriented towards the tennis courts, an outdoor terrace with free seating is proposed, connected to the interior by large window areas, light enters here, animating and warming up the space.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CLUB
I came up with the concept of volume in the space, an oval that permeates the entire space of the club, from the main shape down to small details.
The main principle when working on the project was to logically and cleverly solve the floor plan.
I enjoy working not only with the surface but with the entire space, transforming it. I designed a soft, warm, wooden shape inside the square, cold space, an object, an animal, a living creature that will live its own life, independently of me.
The creature "breathes," has its own skeleton of individual ribs, (a kind of whale), inside it is the organism of the club itself with music, dance, and people…
... The wooden intruder creates its own space...
The club is highly multifunctional, combining several spaces, bar seating at a counter made of specially treated and backlit glass, boxes separated by panels of glass with printed black-and-white photographs.
Additionally, it is possible to use separated "lounges," intimate spaces for closed groups. They open up a view of the entire club space.

REALIZATION
The original space is defined by shades of gray, the material of the main shape is honey-colored plywood, complemented by black and polished steel seating furniture.
Glass plays a significant role, panels printed with a grid of photos create segments of boxes, the bar is a luminous body made of illuminated glass, darkened mirror strips were used for optical enlargement of the space.
...From the beginning, I wanted to avoid a mere showcase of designer furniture, I did not want to copy any style.
I succeeded in this; the complete design of the club (excluding the chairs which are from VITRA) is my own original design: tables, seating, boxes, bar counter, the wooden shape itself, everything was designed in the studio.
For example, the lights in the boxes are made from glass tubes illuminated by fluorescent lights (collaboration with designer Halina Keilová).
I like to design the space down to the last detail, resulting in an original design with a strong concept.
Our studio is based on the possibility of working with multiple designers and architects on one project, creating our own design and architecture.
I believe that people are already saturated with commerce and things they can buy anywhere in the world in galleries and design shops; they want to see original work, a concept, an idea, they want the ORIGINAL.
...And that is my job...