In actual fact, Murat Özcelik is a trained geneticist and microbiologist. Later he worked as a consultant for an international consulting company. By chance he finally landed in architecture when in 2013 he took over as CEO of the architecture and construction firm Wunschhaus, which specialises in planning and building residential houses from one source. His bureau is in the heart of Vienna, with a view of Belvedere Palace. “I always wanted to work in a unique location, in an old building with its own history and identity,” says Murat, now forty years of age. “When I have to make long telephone calls I pack up and take a turn around Belvedere Palace Park, absolutely fantastic.” At present Özcelik is working on major private projects on Lake Maggiore and on Mallorca. Large villas for prominent people. The names are confidential. “This we don’t tell,” says Özcelik. “I value discretion and the private sphere; we want to convey this atmosphere of trust and well-being to our clients when they call by.” Instead of bright meeting rooms with modern conference furnishings, his office has cosy corners with lounge furniture, dark textiles and crazy wallpapers. You feel as though you’re taking a seat in a luxury hotel in the lobby and are waiting for your date. Özcelik: “That’s just what we want!”

1. To be honest I don’t like office furniture and hate swivel chairs. Sitting upright permanently gives me the feeling of having to be very conventional. This stresses me. I much rather work just as I am now – reclining, lying around, in a relaxed posture, like a hedonistic Roman emperor.
2. My co-workers chose the sofa. I wasn’t involved in an over-emotional way. The main thing for me was that I can lounge around and feel snug and cosy. I like the velvet!
3. Books are lying around everywhere: a source of inspiration for my clients. I myself get my inspiration most of all from garden books. You can find wonderful pictures in them.
4. I love this tailor-made wallpaper by Wall & Decò, an Italian producer. The two Renaissance figures radiate warmth into the room, something personal.
5. A table of Carrara marble. Crazy, what it weighs!
6. You can’t really call this bunch of tulips the crown of botany, can you? A bit pathetic, don’t you think? But in general I like plants. The older I get the more I delight in every new leaf that sprouts.
7. I have about fifty or sixty leather jackets. This red one is one of my special favourites.
8. Incredible, how long I had to scout around for a matching rucksack!
9. The helmet is a must on the building site. During the construction phase I make a gift to my clients of blue rubber boots and a helmet in our typical Wunschhaus blue.
10. Carpet is the best noise absorber in the home and at work. I find rooms with poor acoustics very unpleasant.
11. My daily turbo boost

Murat Özcelik