The investors were looking for a bold concept, which is why we decided to wink at the customers visiting the place, says Karol Pasternak, architect and partner at NOKE Architects. He refers to the latest NOKE Architect project – the unusual interior of the TAKE A LOOK optician salon in the modernized part of Warsaw's Wola district. The project was inspired by the brand's humorous name.
TAKE A LOOK is an optician salon with select ranges of brand-name eyeglass frames. As it has two glass storefronts on the street side, the goal of the NOKE designers was to create an interior that would tempt passers-by and entice them to step inside. It needed to feel welcoming – ensuring a satisfying environment for the time-consuming eye examinations and for selecting eyeglasses.
The center of the salon houses two custom-made tables, as the 'eyes' of the place, as Karol Pasternak puts it. While one serves as a customer service point, the other serves as a place to measure frames. The NOKE designers focused on combining functionality and decorative elements to form the unusual combination of the tables. The pedestals are finished in a microcement and are shaped like large eyes; the table lamps are the pupils, and the graphic elements on the floor resemble the eyelashes. While the interior is delicate and subdued, we have introduced a touch of humor and extravagance. This is our wink to the clients and a direct reference to the name of the shop, says Piotr Maciaszek, architect and partner at NOKE Architects.
The large storefront windows let in a lot of daylight, to be dispersed by the fabrics, walls and glass elements in the design. One of the challenges was to diffuse the light as much as possible to reduce the shadows on the faces of the people trying on the frames, says Karol Pasternak. The curtains have a flesh-colored shade, an ideal background for the faces of customers; they are arranged in a waveform which enamors a sense of calm rhythm to the wall textures and the room's space in general. Natural colors are present throughout the design, from the walls to the furniture to the concrete floor. Wavy fabrics and a sound-absorbing decorative ceiling ensure the acoustic comfort of the customers and employees.
Each of the furniture and displays are original designs from skilled craftsmen. The tinted glass shelves of the bookcases are the work of a talented glassblower; they are arranged in a gradient, from the darkest color at floor level to the brightest at eye level. The tabletops and pedestals have been made from intense green marble. The motif of natural stone and tinted glass repeats in several places around the boutique – the lower displays in the storefronts and the 2-meter tall mirror-totem are in a similar style.
In addition to the main space, the designs of the eye examination rooms, waiting rooms, and back rooms harmonize with the main character of the salon interior.
We cordially extend an invitation to take an appreciative look at TAKE A LOOK in Warsaw's Wola district.
