Office Schlee

Prague, Czech Republic, 1998

The office for Fidelis Schlée, a prominent Czech entrepreneur, was built into the attic space of a historic building in the centre of Prague. To be informal and radiate a friendly atmosphere, the office is designed more as an apartment than a conventional office. The entrance area comprises a lobby with a reception desk, guest toilets, guest cloakroom and a kitchen. The lobby leads to the study, which is connected to the meeting room and the private area containing bedrooms, bathrooms and dressing rooms. The dominant feature of the study is a book cabinet gilt with 24-carat gold. The golden wall makes a backdrop for the black patinated bronze statue of Minotaur with a golden crayfish by Salvador Dalí, whose works Mr. Schlée collects passionately. The Minotaur is endorsed by Dalí’s watercolour trilogy, situated on a black-brown wenge wall opposite the glass facade, which connects to a roofed terrace with a splendid view of the city. Thanks to the westerly orientation, afternoon sunlight penetrates the interior and kindles the golden wall to produce iridescent colours. All the other walls are lined with lacquer panels in grey tones or upholstered panels made of anthracite alcantara. Only the plastic ceilings and the floors remain creamy white.