Our office is actually like a small family business. The studio's philosophy is simple. We only do things that are interesting to us and that we know we will enjoy. Money is, of course, necessary, but it is only the third factor when selecting commissions, after the client and the brief itself. If we accept a commission, it means something to us. That is why meetings with clients who share a similar view are valuable to us: they want to build something more than just a profit-generating company.
A few years ago, we started collaborating with Jirka Vávra and Katka Jiroutová. They took over the management of the successful family business VAVI, founded by Věra Vávrová, who, after gaining experience at the Šumavan factory in Vimperk, began producing shirts on a small scale together with her husband. Under Jirka and Katka's leadership, VAVI grew into a respected Czech manufacturer of corporate clothing and men's and women's shirts. It designs, develops, and produces its own collections, and also custom-sews for large companies and individuals. It dresses entire corporate teams, including international ones, from management to operations. Production remains largely concentrated in Vimperk, supplemented by additional operations and facilities in Prague and elsewhere. The emphasis is long-term on quality and craftsmanship.
The dynamic growth of the company gradually outgrew the capacity of the existing premises, creating the need for a new building that would unite production, administration, and brand presentation under one roof. At the same time, the new complex responds to the company's transformation from a local workshop into a confident brand. The hall was built on the outskirts of Vimperk, near the main route from Prague to Šumava. The building is designed as an open showcase of production, offering passers-by and visitors an unusual insight into the process of creating a shirt – a product that the company manufactures from individual pieces to series of thousands. Customers can have a shirt custom-made and watch the production from the cafe in the showroom. The entire operation is thus naturally connected: production, sales, and brand presentation become one continuous experience.
One of the basic requirements of the brief was to create a high-quality, modern, and welcoming working environment for seamstresses and other employees. The company has long relied on a stable team of people from the region and on the continuity of the craft, which has been maintained in Vimperk for generations. Therefore, we placed great emphasis on daylight, visual contact with the surrounding landscape, and overall clarity of the operation. The layout is designed to support the logical flow of production – from the cutting room through the sewing workshops to inspection and shipping, while not being rigid, allowing for future changes and further growth of the company.
The key motif of the design became the button. The new production hall represents a compact, clearly legible volume, which, through its form and detail, refers to the basic element of every shirt. This archetype is present in the design both in the overall mass of the building and in the work with the facade, the rhythm of the openings, and the structural logic. "The Button" thus becomes not only a name, but a supporting principle of the entire project, a symbol of the connection between craft, detail, and brand identity.
