OnOffice

Poznań, Poland

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Other Projects by Muszyńska Waszak Design Studio

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Ukrop. A contemporary vision of the Finnish sauna tradition in urban space.

OnOffice

Poznań, Poland

Firm

Muszyńska Waszak Design Studio

Type

Commercial › Office

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2023

SIZE

3000 sqft - 5000 sqft

BUDGET

Unknown

This office space project assumed the reintroducing of the building, previously also performing an office function, but not used for several years. The existing architecture defined many guidelines, but its technical condition proved to be
a challenge. Dampness of the building caused accelerated destruction of structural elements. As a result of negligence, many elements and finishing materials were destroyed, and equipment left in the office. Inefficient plumbing, heating, cooling, lack of ventilation are just some of the problems that the investor also faced.
Our task was to transform the image and functionality of the existing solid figure in order to respond to the needs of users.The project assumed the adaptation of the necessary functions to existing interiors. We were looking for the opportunities of reconstruction. It means that we had to pay attention to numerous limitations.
A small number of windows in the building and the height of the rooms on the ground floor oscillating around 230 cm, heightened the impression of low, dark interiors. In addition, the ceiling separating the storeys, with a combined construction, had low acoustic parameters.The dismantling of its enclosure
and revelation of its supporting structure turned out to be the solution. Thanks to this, it was possible to use layers of acoustic vibration isolation on ground floor and first floor of the building, which reduced impact and air sounds. The resulting ceiling has become an important element of the interior composition of the representative reception coupled with the conference hall. The steel-wooden supporting structure has been exposed, and the spaces between the beams carefully finished with a burnt pine board, coloristically consistent with other structural elements.
The main goal was to introduce divisions into the interiors which include walls, ceilings and the floor which distorts the orthogonal geometry of the existing architecture. Plotted in space lines created areas filled with contrasting materials. The divisions that were made in the interiors, they were symbolically combined, emphasizing the common nature of the interior. We also thought about reusing some office equipment, for instance steel racks seeked out in the records that served as new structural frames for stillages displaying products and catalogs.
The result of design collaboration is also the collection of wall covering titled Lico. Lico responds to reflections related to the quality of materials functioning in the human environment. The seed of the geometric idea was the rhythms of steel sections in industrial architecture. The characteristic structure of the H-beam was reflected in the prefabricated wall covering system.
Looking for durable, noble materials, we turned our attention to copper, which is the oldest metal mined already in antiquity and used to create roofing. Copper is fully recyclable. Another characteristic building material of contemporary architectural details is titanium-zinc sheet. It is characterized by lightness and plasticity. Titanium-zinc is available in several color variants depending on the degree of patina - from metallic gloss to graphite, brushed surface.
Lico is made with cooper and titanium-zinc. The elementary assumption of the project was the integrity of the material and light. It exposes the properties of sheet metal through the varying degree of reflection and absorption of their surface and the emission of colors to the environment.
The lightening of workplaces in daily offices turned out to be significant. The introduction of skylights brightened the interiors. The compositions of the shapes covered the sloping geometry of ceilings and walls that optically lost the height differences. The chili out space has been illuminated by a ceiling surface which sheens in the Barrisol® system.
The monochromatic color palette has been enriched with terracotta, olive and cobalt colors. Warming of the subdued image was achieved through the use of copper. The designed, three-dimensional wall cladding, referring to the construction of the ceiling along with linear lighting, emphasized copper reflections.