Beneath the ridge of the White Carpathians, where dense forests give way to meadows, the new headquarters and showroom of Janošík has been carefully integrated into its setting. Janošík, a family-run company specializing in windows and doors for contemporary architecture, envisioned a building that not only presents its products but also embodies the very philosophy of openness, transparency, and connection to the landscape. The resulting project is called Spoj—The Link, a title that encapsulates its role as both an architectural statement and a lived experience.
The building is a reconstruction of a 1950s cooperative hall, originally built as a grain warehouse. Once closed and introverted, the structure has been radically transformed. What was a barrier has now become a point of connection, mediating between architecture, meadow, and distant views. For architect Jakub Janošík, who leads the design direction of the family company, the project was both professional and personal: “We wanted to create a pleasant space for work. Also, a place where we can present our products—windows, doors, sliding walls—where people can not only see them but also experience them.”
Windows as Product and Atmosphere
Windows and doors are not treated here as mere functional elements, but as shapers of space and atmosphere. The building integrates an array of experimental solutions, showcasing the company’s innovation: large-format sliding glass walls, pivot doors, seating windows that retract to merge interior and garden, and even sliding panes that float on electromagnetic fields, enabling unprecedented dimensions. Finishes in brass, corten, and unconventional detailing elevate these elements into both design experiments and sensory experiences.
By embedding these prototypes into the architecture, the building becomes a living catalog, where visitors can directly engage with the possibilities of light, view, and materiality.
Form and Material Expression
The architectural language reflects the philosophy of connection and merging. The composition intertwines two primary volumes: the restored gabled hall and a new concrete extension that embraces the landscape. From three sides, the building retains a monumental presence, recalling its industrial origins. Toward the meadow, however, it dissolves into the terrain, appearing as a light horizontal line that draws nature up to the very threshold of the offices.
Clad in black-painted larch, the hall preserves its essential form while highlighting the exposed steel structure within. Four precise cut-outs punctuate the wooden mass: large windows on the gable ends and recessed loggias along the sides. The main façade features a vast 9 × 3.2-meter window that serves as both a visual beacon and exhibition surface, revealing activity within. By contrast, the opposite gable is marked by the smallest, most picturesque opening—an intimate counterpoint to the grand gesture.
The restrained palette further reinforces the building’s dialogue with nature. Blackened timber, sandstone-tinted concrete, white walls, bleached spruce, oak, and linen are combined with care, creating an interior that is both calm and gallery-like, allowing the surrounding landscape to dominate.
Environmental Strategy
Sustainability was central to the design process. Rather than demolishing the existing hall, the architects opted for adaptive reuse, preserving embodied energy and reducing waste. The building envelope was insulated externally, improving thermal performance while maintaining the exposed interior structure.
Passive design strategies minimize energy demand: southern solar gains provide warmth in winter, while deep loggias and overhangs prevent overheating in summer. Cooling is achieved primarily through natural ventilation, with underfloor systems available on the hottest days. Solar panels are integrated seamlessly into the roof surface, maintaining the black silhouette of the building while supplying renewable energy.
Interior Atmosphere
Inside, spatial organization balances enclosed focus and communal openness. Offices and meeting rooms line the perimeter, ensuring quiet conditions for concentrated work. A central open space functions as a communal square, flowing directly into the meadow through a sliding glass wall. This generosity of space allows nature to continuously animate the interior, shifting with seasons and weather.
Custom-designed furniture, much of it crafted in Janošík’s own workshops, reinforces the architectural coherence. Tables, shelving, and kitchens are integrated into the spatial design, while select chairs and fittings come from regional manufacturers. The interiors are spare and undecorated, relying on proportion, rhythm, and natural light to shape atmosphere rather than ornamental distraction.
Artistic Collaborations
To further enrich the experience, the building incorporates three major artistic interventions that extend the dialogue between nature, culture, and craftsmanship.
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“Hills” by Maxim Velčovský – A monumental staircase-sculpture crafted from 40 cubic meters of pine, its form echoes the silhouettes of the surrounding Carpathian hills. It functions simultaneously as circulation, amphitheater, and viewing platform, embodying the unity of landscape and craftsmanship.
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“Through Landscape” by Lukáš Musil (Musa) – A series of 15 paintings, tailored to the building’s empty walls, animate the interiors with subtle gestures of pigment and movement. They are a meditation on humanity’s presence within landscape, whispering connections between inside and out.
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“Holt” by DECHEM Studio – A collection of pendant lights, lamps, and vases, each unique in its hand-blown glass texture. Their raw materiality resonates with the building’s architectural honesty, while their spherical forms diffuse light softly through workspaces.
A Garden of Continuity
The project extends beyond the walls into a simple yet regionally rooted garden. Native species—oak, birch, linden, and fir—are planted alongside orchards of apple, plum, and cherry. On the concrete terraces, low pines and wild strawberries merge with hawthorn and dog rose, blurring the transition between cultivated garden and wild meadow. This landscape strategy ensures that the building feels not imposed but absorbed into the ecology of the Carpathians.
Conclusion
The Janošík Headquarters and Showroom stands as more than a corporate facility; it is a manifesto of the company’s ethos. By transforming a utilitarian grain hall into a cultural and architectural landmark, the project demonstrates how adaptive reuse, craftsmanship, and sensitivity to landscape can converge in a building that is both functional and poetic.
At once headquarters, showroom, and cultural space, Spoj is a living link—between interior and exterior, product and atmosphere, heritage and innovation, nature and architecture.
Photography: Filip Beránek
- Adaptive reuse architecture Czech Republic
- Architecture and craftsmanship integration
- Artistic collaborations in architecture
- Blackened larch cladding
- Czech contemporary architecture
- Eco-conscious office design
- Family-run architectural company
- Hills staircase sculpture Maxim Velčovský
- Holt lighting DECHEM Studio
- Industrial hall transformation
- Jakub Janošík Architect
- Janošík Headquarters and Showroom
- Landscape-integrated architecture
- Large-format sliding glass walls
- Spoj The Link architecture
- Sustainable corporate architecture
- Through Landscape paintings Lukáš Musil
- Timber and concrete architecture
- White Carpathians architecture
- Window and door showroom design
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