How to use color and material to unify an increasing amount of junk in the contemporary office landscape? An office interior for three companies is structured by a neutral background of white walls, white exposed ceilings, and a poured black floor. Everything connected to the floor is black. Everything connected to the ceiling is white. The three companies, while different and to a certain degree independent, are unified through this common material framework.
Islands of colors and materials (stone, felt, wood, mirror, glass) punctuate the otherwise monochromatic workspace, creating activation and interest. The islands consist of tonal and visually related combinations of surface and furniture like couches, chairs, rugs, and custom furniture.
The organization of the plan provides a variety of different qualities and settings for both collaborative and focused work. The project combines the advantages of the open plan (flexibility, informality, interaction) with the advantages of enclosed and semi-enclosed spaces (definition, structure, and concentration). Rejecting the signifiers of the so-called contemporary creative office environment (ping-pong tables, sharing pods, juice bars, etc.), the project supports creativity through a balanced proportion of interaction and focus.
The showroom is populated with four rolling modules. The modules partition the space and accommodate product display and storage on the inside. An “X” configuration of the modules divides the showroom into four intimate meeting and presentation spaces. At the same time, the mirror finish maintains a feeling of expansiveness. Other plan positions of the modules allow larger and more contiguous configurations.