VOX OSTRAVA
Beyond the Facade—The Evolution of Ostrava’s New Icon from Steven Holl’s Vision to Urban Resonance
2025–2026
BRAND / MOTION PRINCIPLES / ART DIRECTION / TOOLS
The VOX identity goes beyond branding — it's a visual interpretation of music and architecture, fused into one. We engineered a complex ecosystem, built to grow and adapt over the decades ahead. Our mission was to create a visual language that breathes in unison with the site's history, Steven Holl's progressive architecture, and the very soul of musical composition.
STORY
The new Ostrava Concert Hall is a breathtaking dialogue between the weight of history and the ethereal future of sound. Conceived by the legendary Steven Holl as a “perfect acoustic instrument in its case,” the architecture creates an electric tension between the heritage of the existing 1950s cultural house and a fluid, organic silhouette that levitates like a living organism.
More than just a building, it is a sustainable masterpiece designed to breathe with the city, harnessing geothermal energy and natural light to create a space that is as ecologically conscious as it is aesthetically radical. From the iconic zinc-clad “violin case” exterior to the world-class acoustics engineered by Nagata, this is a place where architecture ceases to be a still backdrop and becomes a resonant partner to the music itself.
The building was designed as the perfect acoustic instrument in its case
ERIC BALDWIN / Architizer
Movement etched into the DNA of the project
A living, breathing identity — This system extends naturally into the physical space of the cultural centre through digital screens or augmented reality, presenting the current programme, individual performances, operational changes and other visitor information.
The grid modules appear gradually, assembling the image or transitioning between photographs. The result is a sustainable, high-performance system that carries the same weight and emotional impact on a printed poster as it does in a dynamic, immersive digital installation.
CONCEPT
At the heart of VOX lies Leoš Janáček’s Theory of Sčasování (Musical Events in Time) — the primal principles of Sounding, Counting, and Summing. We translated this rhythmic logic into a rigorous yet fluid mathematical grid.
1
Sounding
The basic module, standing alone as a solitary, pure tone.
2
Counting
The rhythmic pulse of the module as it moves through space.
3
Summing
The final crescendo — a complex visual composition born of simple elements.
Physical applications capture the final visual composition — the completed form, held still in a single frame. Motion design shows its genesis: the entire process through which this musical-visual composition comes into being, unfolding element by element toward its final shape.
The identity captures the electric tension between the site’s historical heritage and the organic, avant-garde addition by Steven Holl.
We took the sharp, disciplined lines of the original historic building and infused them with the liquid character of the new architecture. Mimicking the building's iconic skylights, the openings within the shapes play with shifting light and negative space, creating a brand that feels as atmospheric as the concert hall itself.
The color palette is built around a black-and-off-white core. Typography seamlessly layers the communication: the sans-serif Jokker highlights performers, while the serif Tobias presents musical compositions and composers — structuring every detail within a unified system.
The two typefaces are deliberately contrasting, set in dialogue much like VOX’s historic and new buildings — two distinct voices held together within one identity.
Built on a refined 4×4 grid system, the logotype plays a powerful role across the visual identity, often presented at a bold, oversized scale. Its proportions balance legibility with restraint, letting the letterforms retain a pure simplicity and distinct rhythm.
The geometric “X” operates independently across physical and digital touchpoints, as an app icon for ticket reservations, a social avatar, or staff identification — forming a cohesive visual anchor everywhere it appears. Reduced from the full VOX wordmark to this single mark, the “X” functions almost like a pin on a map: a simple, unmistakable point that says — right here, this is the cultural centre.
To make the identity system practical to use across countless applications, we developed a custom shape generator — a digital tool that bridges musical theory and generative design.
Building on our core concept, Janáček’s Theory of Sčasování, the generator transforms the basic module — a rectangle with a 2:1 side ratio — into a fluid, ever-changing visual language. By manipulating parameters such as grid density and its integrity (the number of openings within it), the tool automates the creation of complex compositions that remain mathematically precise yet organically fluid.
The overall design particularly impressed us from the start with its highly systematic approach, exceptionally thoughtful structure, and complete readiness for daily operations. It is indeed a very functional tool that is fully capable of growing and evolving alongside the institution in the very long term.
JAN ZEMLA
CEO VOX Ostrava
CREDITS
CREATIVE DIRECTION
Markéta Steinert
DESIGN
Markéta Steinert
Martin Egrt
MOTION DESIGN
Martin Egrt
LOGO TYPOGRAPHY
Jan Buble
TYPEFACES
Displaay
MUSIC
Michal Šupák / Signals
ARCHITECTURE
Steven Holl Architects, New York
Architecture Acts, Prague
WORK WITH US
business@gradual.works
GMT+1 Prague
gradual.works s.r.o.
Limited Liability Company
Company ID: 22224513
Svetova 523/1
180 00 Prague
Czech Republic
Date of Incorporation and Registration:
November 4, 2024, C 412855
Registered with the Municipal Court in Prague
