A crystal box to welcome customers and visitors
M12 AD encloses the headquarters of a food company in an evanescent container
In addition to being characterized by breathtaking landscapes, imperial culture and tourism, Puglia has in recent years seen the flourishing of internationally competitive business ventures.
This is the case of Menoventi, a company specialized in the distribution of high quality frozen foods in the pastry, bar and bakery field.
The company needed to turn a large industrial warehouse into its headquarters, a place to welcome customers and suppliers, but, at the same time, reflecting excellence quality standards, the core business of the company. For this purpose, the owners have entrusted m12 AD.
The new design of Menoventi, developed by architect Michelangelo Olivieri, has been inspired by the ice element, from its purity and transparency.
The architect has redefined the interior spaces of the industrial building by imagining a sort of "box in the box": leaving the original building unchanged, he has chosen to place a selfsupporting steel structure that would grow in height. This transparent box holds meeting rooms, offices and reception. The entire surface, based on an elegant oak floor, is divided by plasterboard walls with highly reflective surfaces, while the perimeter of the same office, as well as the doors, is completely transparent. The view is completely open, free to wander between internal and external spaces. Through the glass element, Michelangelo Olivieri has cleverly met technical needs, but with a great aesthetic impact choice. The industrial building in fact, did not provide the right lighting for the office area, without any openings to the outside. The glass, combined with the walls brightness, gives immense light and freshness to the environments, and brings visual contact to the different areas, giving the possibility to constantly monitor production processes.
It is possible to access to the glass box through the zero level of the building, where there is an entrance that acts as a front office. On the same level there are also the toilets and the staff changing rooms. A resin floor contrasts with the white walls and the teak coatings of the boiseries.
The staircase, in sheet metal folded and subsequently covered with oak, relates the two levels of the structure, and acts as a connection element with the flooring.
The choice of the wood is the oxymoronic element of the project: the warmth of teak and oak is in contrast with the rigor and cleanliness of the glass and the white colour, as well as with the function of the company: to provide frozen products. The glazed surfaces, together with the white and the gloss of the metal, completes the picture of the site, offering the same type of visible reflections on a glacier surface.
The project has been designed following eco-sustainability requirements: LED lighting solutions with strong visual impact have been installed, but they are characterized by minimal energy costs.
The recurring element in the m12 AD projects is the high care for the details and the use of sophisticated cabinetry solutions that transforms otherwise unusable niches, recesses and spaces into containers or furnishing items. The lighting fixtures and furnishings were commissioned on design and handcrafted.
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