The Rasin embankment building is situated at the intersection of the River Vltava (Moldau) and a busy road link. The site itself, destroyed by a bomb in the Second World War, had long been the subject of intense architectural speculation due to its sensitive location in the vicinity of richly decorated nineteenth-century houses, the Prague Castle complex and the National Theatre. The present building, a speculative office development designed by Frank Gehry andVlado Milunic, has been surrounded by controversy since its inception. Andersen Consulting therefore took a brave decision when they decided to occupy three of the five available floors for their headquarters in the Czech capital. EJA were then invited to take part in a limited architectural competition - a daunting task since the proposal for the interiors was, by the nature of the building, very limited with regard to internal flexibility, particularly for a client whose requirements demanded a great deal in terms of office organisation and environmental qualities. It was debatable whether the conditions of quality that existed in their other offices globally could be achieved in a relatively new country such as the Czech Republic, and on a budget based to a great extent on local conditions. However, this challenge helped to generate the enthusiasm necessary for the competition entry, and EJA were eventually appointed in the autumn of 1995.
Being on a corner, the building has two party walls and two open elevations: one facing the embankment with its excellent views, the other overlooking an internal courtyard.The external walls take the form of an irregular curve that changes shape on individual levels. Glass panels were introduced at the end of each partition (roughly perpendicular to the external facade) to allow a view of the curved wall all the way along the perimeter. These panels give an impression of openness and underline the character of the initial design.
As well as setting out the requirements for staff work spaces, the brief called for various types of meeting rooms and training centres. The company was keen to have as much open work space as possible in order to create a closer collaboration between employees. However, certain offices and meeting rooms needed to be separated acoustically and this called for a complete