Customer Service Centre of Východoslovenská energetika Company

Representational interiors where special emphasis is placed on architectural detail can be found in cultural, social, and governmental institutions as well as in other kinds of buildings including administrative buildings. The interior of the Customer Service Centre of the Východoslovenská energetika Company in Prešov, which is a visual interpretation of the creative trends emerging in the late 1980s and especially in the early 1990s, can serve as one of many examples. The benefits of technological innovation and the advent of digitalisation encouraged many architects and designers to experiment whereas their experimenting was accompanied by the creation of organic and various other forms. The expansion of creativity, continued craftsmanship of detail, specific morphology, and attempts to make full use of daylight are just some of the many typical features embodied in this interior and many other interiors from same period. 

“In the central space of the hall there is a unique staircase and elevator which represent the main vertical circulation lines in the building. Together with the railings, columns, floor, and ceiling, they are designed in a mutual artistic and compositional symbiosis. The space above the main vertical circulation area is covered by a glass dome which is a source of natural light that lights up the entire interior. Materials such as glass and steel were chosen in order to enhance the quality of natural light and to give the space some added value. Glass step boards enable the light to penetrate the space and its reflections from the perimetric structures create a great variety of light expression. The efforts to achieve a suitable, optimal static condition greatly influenced the design of the staircase itself, which is characterised by an organic morphology. The specific shape of the staircase resembles the winding spine of a living creature. Other interrelated parts of the staircase include the railings with handrails, vertical supporting elements, and subtle horizontal tubes which look like electricity pylons. Granite pieces of contrasting black colour having the shape of a wedge are embedded in the stone floor. They look like rays heading from the footings of the vertical reinforces of the railings and are mirrored in the ceiling. The connecting motifs of the whole composition are the semi-circular floor lines and vertical elements arranged in an arc – the railings posts and the verticals of the supporting columns with a stainless-steel surface.” [1, 2]

The character of interior work places it into the category of so-called “total interiors” characterised by the predominance of atypical, custom-designed construction details, furniture and lights. Its style is a combination of organic morphology with implemented features of postmodernism, manifested mainly in the application of symmetry, triangular motifs and in the design of the railings. The central space of the hall was designed as a homogeneous space starting from the compositional relations to architectural details. The adjacent rooms are dominated by unique and distinctive solitaires. Despite the fact that the interior of the building has undergone some renovation the interior of the hall and some furniture have been preserved to this day. Period artefacts which remind us of the author’s work include, for example, the customer service counters on the ground floor. The essence of the original attributes, combined with an unexpected, distinctive atmosphere, continue to appeal to incoming visitors and remind them of the visual experience and atmosphere of interiors from many years ago.