Bank M2M Europe office | Vincents Arhitektūra

On the 15th of June, in Riga, Bank M2M Europe opens the doors of its reconstructed and modernized office to the bank’s customers. The project of reconstruction has been developed and its implementation was carried out by the company Vincents Arhitektūra. The design developed by the architects and by the interior designers, reflects the bank’s most important values and its philosophy which can be expressed by three key words - safety, stability and prosperity. The task of the architects was to ensure the interpreting and embodiment of these ideas into the spatial and material language, as well as to meet the requirements of the modern interior. The reconstruction concept is based on the idea to create the private bank which corresponds to the 21st century’s European "boutique" style, which architecturally is designed as a new indoor structure inside the historic building. 

Bank M2M Europe is located in Riga, 3 Antonijas Street, in the building which was built in 1892 as von Renner’s tenement house, designed according to the project of the architect Heinrich Carl Scheel. Scheel has designed more than 30 buildings of different types in Riga, as well as he participated in the project of the renovation and expansion of the old central train station, and supervised the rebuilding of the Great Guild. Heinrich Scheel’s projects are characterized by high professionalism, rational and balanced use of the architectural forms, combined with the fine artistic sense of taste. He designed both the buildings of the eclectic nature and the pearls of the art nouveau, also called Jugendstil, according to the requirements of the century, creating the ever-lasting values in the architectural history of Riga. 

During creation of the new interior of  Bank M2M Europe premises, the main source of inspiration for Vincents designers was the Italian Renaissance of the 16th century which embodies luxury, prosperity and intelligence, as well as the flowering of the science of art and literature. The research of the historical materials provided the evidence that the bank’s building has unique, rich, valuable and stylish unified architecture. Through the patina of the centuries everyone can see the shine of the architecture which is spatially rich, proportionate and interwoven with the architectural details - the original windows, their handles, doors, fireplace, etc. The modern and functional details of interior are combined with the classical values, reflecting the ever-lasting values and elegant luxury.

Taking into account the architecture of the building, in the bank's new interior, the modern replicas of Venice during the period of Renaissance have been chosen, combining them with the method, which is characteristic to eclecticism. The emphasis is laid on natural, expressive materials of decoration, on rich textiles, comfort and individuality, which is reflected in the furniture and design objects, created by well-known designers.

Project team: Guna Eglīte, Māris Grodums, Jurģis Vizulis, Laura Meija, Ojārs Šablovskis, Ingrīda Dreimane, Jūlija Kononova, Baiba Drengere