St. Bartholomew, Chodovice

Jakub Berdych and Maxim Velcovsky are Designer and not only share a design studio called Qubus, but also a love of special designs. That's great, but it wouldn't be enough to be mentioned on this page. If it weren't for another leading actor who gives this little story a Pantonian twist.

Sometime in 2006, the two Czechs left their beloved capital city and made their way to Chodovice, around 140 km away. The municipality in the north of the Czech Republic had a place of worship, St. Bartholomew's Church, the interior of which had become rather outdated and was crying out for renovation. Jakub and Maxim were exactly the right people to redesign the church. They took 48 Panton Chairs. In white, of course, the color of innocence. And milled a cross into the backrest.

The Designer: "The main nave has been stripped of its dull paint and left completely bare. In this way, visitors can follow the course of history on the masonry on the wall." Illuminated by the crystal of the chandeliers, the room is dominated by an "army" of legendary Panton chairs.

Designed by Verner Panton, a crucial detail was added - a Christian cross, milled into the back of the chair. This transformation and added religiosity is multiplied by placing it on Persian carpets, so typical of Muslim places of worship. This space is meant to be an eclectic cocktail. A place to ponder, which encourages cultural dialog. In doing so, they not only brought a piece of metropolitan culture to the place, but also gave the villagers the unique chair icon of the 20th century: the Panton Chair.