BOTAS 66 – The Interior

The interior of the official BOTAS 66 store in Prague’s Žižkov was designed by young designers Václav Mlynář and Jakub Pollág of studio deFORM, which we have written about in a previous article. The design responded to a number of specific requests, and in addition to this, came up with a several unexpected original inventions.

The instructions were clear. We wanted the designers to use the significant visual style of BOTAS 66 and to implement the storage function into the representative sales area. The basic element of the store then became the regular grid of the hundreds of boxes that are “weightlessly” set in a simple wooden grate lining the irregular ground plan of the store. The characteristic yellow color of the boxes dominates the otherwise sensitively desaturated space.

Photo: archive deFORM

The facility of the sales assistant visually refers to a “Czech factory” where the shoes are made. It consists of a construction with a stylized distinctive ridge of a factory roof with a cold lighting and a raised wooden floor. Inside, the visitors can view samples of leather, soles and laces, vintage, out-of-production models of trainers, and also new prototypes, which are still waiting for their time to come.

The space is fitted with a table inspired by the DIY collection Autoprogettazione by the legendary Italian deigner Enzo Mari. The author published a book with production plans for 19 simple pieces of furniture in 1974. His interest was to offer the general public the opportunity to create quality furniture with minimal resources.

Jakub Pollág (deFORM) about the interior:
“When designing the interior of BOTAS 66 we were sticking to several essential points. The disposition of the space, the low budget for the realization and the great visual style that Jan Kloss and Jakub Korouš designed for Botas. The latter was the most significant for us because we knew that if we show the product of their work in the best light, it will be more than enough. Our work in this case was based on curating activity to create a pleasant and functional environment than a mono-functional space that would only attract attention to itself. Therefore, we hope that each visitor will be attracted mainly by the shoe itself and appreciate our work after the selection of the proper footwear.”

Photo: Jan Kloss, Matěj Činčera

BOTAS 66 store
Křížkovského 18, Praha 3 – Žižkov
Architecture: Václav Mlynář, Jakub Pollág / deFORM / www.studiodeform.com
Realization: Ondřej Čech, Jakub Jonáš / studio Griff / www.studiogriff.cz