POLE Architekci designed the offices of software and coding company Railsware, located in Kraków, Poland. Railsware new office project was created on the basis of our company core values including transparency, collaboration, creativity and eco design. The space we built is a perfect representation of how we work, keeping the right balance between collaborative open plan areas and focus enhancing meeting rooms with an addition of quiet, relaxing spots. Our goal was to create the best office we’ve ever had therefore we chose twenty architectural agencies and worked through the whole list of them. We contacted each supplier and discussed our requirements. We decided to go ahead with Warsaw based company Pole Architekci and closely collaborated with them during both design and the implementation phase.

We’re a team of product developers and we love to create things through prototyping. It was a great experience for us to be able to prototype on a smaller scale while building our new office space. We wanted the walls to look light and avoid the heavy feeling of diving surfaces. We therefore created 30/30 cm prototype wall where we could combine wood, polycarbonate panels and led lights to see how they cooperate. The result of our miniature wall was a success and a prototype became reality. Our idea was to have a lot of light in the main coworking space and use natural, timeless materials like wood and glass.

Those are combined with eco friendly Hera soundproof panels creating calm yet focused space. Office floors are covered with high quality carpets to keep the noise levels to a minimum. The main office area is divided by only one glass wall to avoid the feeling of separating the team, as we feel strongly about the transparency which is within our company culture. We provided each Railswarian with super comfortable chairs and adjustable standing desks. Each desk can express their own style and create comfortable surroundings. The main coworking space and the kitchen are equipped with remote window monitors. The reason behind it is simple.

We have another office based in Kiev, Ukraine and it was really important for us to create a collaborative channel between both locations. We decided to instal remote portals with an interactive software built in by our company. You’re able to see what is going on real-time in each office and you can easily start live chat which is great in our daily communication. Our meeting rooms are designed to enhance creativity and collaboration, using whiteboards, pinboards and in addition, the walls are partially covered with magnetic IDEA paints. We wanted to encourage this innovation not only in the meeting rooms but also in our kitchen area.

Some great ideas are born when people gather together over food and we didn’t want to stop those hungry brainstorms from happening. This is why we decided to cover the walls there with the magnetic paints as well. The kitchen is fully equipped and everyone can help themselves to fresh food and drinks, making this space yet another great discussion spot. In addition to our collaborative, open spaces we created quiet corners where our employees can take time out to switch off and recharge on comfortable bean sofas. There is also one chill out room with a power nap sofa and cosy lighting. Across the whole office, we wanted to use high standard air conditioning system to make sure the quality of air is just right.

The office is located in the beautiful area of Kraków city centre with good public transport links so everyone can easily commute. The district is vibrant and full of life with many great cafes and restaurants around. We’re a walking distance away from the main square and we feel lucky to say that the are based right at the city’s cultural doorstep. Through our innovation and modern, eco approach we managed to deliver an office that has a feel-good factor and encourages collaboration, transparency and positive and welcoming energy. We combined the best of both worlds, providing our team with acoustically-treated focus enhancing rooms with collaborative and transparent, light open spaces. We created a working environment which empowers our team to work effectively in a creative and open way.

Design: POLE Architekci
Photography: Vlad Shagov

https://officesnapshots.com/2017/06/23/railsware-offices-krakow/