696 OFFICE | Marcin Kaniewski

PROCONCEPT ARCHITEKCI

architects:

Monika Butowska

Hubert Szneider

Marcin Kaniewski

The building was designed in late 2019 and constructed in 2020. Situated in Sopot, Poland,
it is adjacent to the city's main road, blending in with the urban area. It houses both the
headquarters of an upmarket developer as well as the architecture firm behind its design.
A big challenge was establishing a form that would compliment its surroundings while
remaining simple and unostentatious. A way to achieve this was using a wooden panel
pattern on the facade, effortless and organic in its form. Although to juxtapose that lightness,
the rest of the elements were left raw, with exposed concrete in sight. The outside is highly
polished, yet has an unfinished feel to it.
The decision to unveil the ground floor has its roots in the main principles of modernist
architecture, giving the building a sense of serendipitous weightlessness.
The final touch is situated on the premises’ atrium; standing at over 10 meters tall, is a
platanus tree. The greenery created a serene and secluded nook in the heart of the hustle
and bustle around it. On top of that, windows on all floors overlook the tree, bringing
soothness to the work space.