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London firm dMFK Architects has transformed a mid-century medical laboratory into a flexible office space with smoked oak joinery and a restored concrete staircase. More
Sculptural furniture and French oak panelling define this plush family office in Amsterdam, which has been renovated by local studio Framework. More
Interior design practice Universal Design Studio has incorporated seating areas and terrazzo tracks into the lobby of an office building on the former site of a railway station at 100 Liverpool Street in the City of London. More
Architecture practice Sam Jacob Studio has built an office, bar and events space for the ArtReview magazine in London that includes a pair of revamped Mies van der Rohe armchairs. More
Swedish music streaming brand Spotify is to improve the cosiness and acoustics of its offices to appeal to employees used to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. More
London studio SODA based the bold interiors of The Office Group’s Liberty House offices on Regent Street on the colourful prints of the adjacent Liberty London department store.The studio created the interiors for two separate, flexible workspaces in the same building, called Liberty House and Liberty Rooms.
While the designs vary in the two areas, both were informed by the classic fabric Liberty prints produced by the department store next door.
Above: warm terracotta hues were used for the interiors. Top image: arched doorways decorate the rooms
The larger workspaces of Liberty House features a calmer, more neutral palette of colours and materials than the bold event spaces and meeting rooms in Liberty Rooms.
The department store originally traded out of Liberty House, before moving one door down.
“The relationship with the Liberty’s department store was the starting point for the graphic identity and the interior concept,” SODA architect Parvathy Vipulendran told Dezeen.
“The iconic Liberty prints inspired the colour palette of the design, while the mock-Tudor building inspired the high-end retail aesthetic and crafted objects positioned throughout the scheme.”
The building hosts two contemporary workspaces, Liberty House and Liberty Rooms
The studio wanted to ensure that the interior had a coherent design language, something it thought especially important for “a building of this grandeur.” Liberty House is a Grade II-listed building.
In order to keep the interior design coherent, the studio chose to remove a number of non-load bearing walls to open the space up and create an “appropriate” sense of scale for the rooms, which include meeting rooms, focus booths, breakout spaces, lounges, private offices and a kitchen and dining area.
Cold and warm colours are mixed in the kitchen and dining area
SODA used a colour palette of neutral warm beiges for the office spaces and bolder colours, such as dark petrol blue hues, bright yellow and warm terracotta, for the more public spaces, the meeting rooms and the bathrooms.
The material use and form language inside the building was also informed by its well-known neighbour as well as by the Liberty House building itself.
The colour palette was inspired by the building and by Liberty London fabrics
“We built a core material palette that was inspired by Liberty House and the Liberty fabrics, which comprised of scalloped panelling, tiling, oak joinery and floors, reeded glass, and more functional materials such as vinyl,” Vipulendran said.
“The scalloped surfaces can be seen in the facade of Liberty House, so it was a really nice way to bring the language of the exterior internally and apply it on key joinery elements.”
Terrazzo adds pattern interest to a kitchen in warm neutral colours
The scalloped design of the house’s facade was also referenced on some of the doors inside Liberty House.
“The routing on the upper floor tea points and doors has the same rhythm as the scallop and elevate these doors above a standard office door,” Vipulendran said.
“The rhythm of these vertical lines are beautifully complemented by the lines of the curtains through the scheme.”
SODA creates contemporary MYO offices inside 1970s London building
In some of the spaces, including tea points and bathrooms, SODA chose to use Altrock and Durat terrazzo material to create more striking patterned interiors. The studio collaborated with Altrock to create bespoke coloured surfaces that would match the design.
Handcrafted objects decorate the space
As well as informing the colours and shapes of the office space, the Liberty department store also lent some of its in-store aesthetic to the interior, which features a number of hand-crafted objects throughout as well as pieces that nod to display cases.
“This is expressed most clearly in the main lounge and reception, where we used light, bright tiled surfaces to highlight key joinery objects,” Vipulendran said.
“These were inspired by the craftsmanship and the display of high-end items in Liberty. These jewel-box cabinetry pieces are arranged through the reception and lounge to create islands of social activity along the length of this open space.”
Large period windows allow light to fall into the lounge
SODA’s branding for the project also plays off Liberty London’s typeface, with an abstract pattern derived from the letters “Liberty” used to create prints on both textiles and surfaces inside Liberty House.
While the final design encompasses many different types of rooms, one stands out to Vipulendran.
“The lounge is particularly spectacular as from this space you can really appreciate the richness of Liberty House and its prominent location along Regent Street,” the architect said.
“The room comes to life in the afternoon when the sunlight falls through the big period windows and illuminates the variety of surfaces.”
SODA recently designed the interiors for a flexible workspace in a gridded 1970s building, while The Office Group’s latest London workspace prior to this one was designed by Note Design Studio.
Photography is by Ed Reeve.
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Studio Aisslinger has created an adaptable workplace for accessories brand LOQI, featuring coloured curtains, folding screens and “work capsules”.Located in Berlin, the LOQI Activity Office serves as the European headquarters for the American company, which specialises in totes and weekend bags produced in collaboration with artists.
The office contains a mix of different work zones
The workspace is designed to support creativity and collaboration, but also to create a safe and supportive environment for staff in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
To satisfy both of these conflicting requirements, Studio Aisslinger planned the space as a series of distinct but flexible zones, facilitating solo work, group workshops and a range of activities in between.
Contrasting colours help to signal different areas
“The workspace is treated like living, breathing organisms that adapt to accommodate a team deciding on flexibility, autonomy and the ability to choose when and how they work,” explained the studio, which is led by designer Werner Aisslinger.
“The result is an office space of a different kind – a lively and inspiring working landscape, breaking through the grey schematism of standardised workstation units.”
Folding metal screens are used as partitions
The office comprises a large open-plan space, so the design team had to find creative ways to demarcate different areas.
Partitions were designed to be as adaptable as possible, in the form of heavy fabric curtains and perforated metal screens. A bold colour scheme was also applied, so it’s clear where one area ends and another begins.
Studio Aisslinger’s Work Capsules provide spaces of solitude
Isolated workspaces are provided by Studio Aisslinger’s Work Capsules – a design previously created for the 25Hours Hotels.
With felt-covered exteriors and a bubble window, these pods allow occupants to find privacy and separation, without being completely cut off from the more public activities going on around them.
Meeting areas are framed by curtains, so they can be opened or closed
There are various other types of workspace on offer, including large desks with integrated lighting fixtures, a pink tiled bar, standing desks, bleacher-style seating areas and sofa booths.
Meeting areas are dotted through the centre of the space, framed by curving curtain rails. These spaces feature fluffy carpets, which not only give them a different aesthetic but also help to create acoustic baffling.
These spaces are all furnished with Studio Aisslinger designs, including the Aspen pendant lights for B.lux and the Circle Barstools.
A change in floor surface gives meeting areas a different feel
LOQI is one of many companies that have had to think more carefully about how they plan their offices, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meditation chambers by Office Of Things wash workers in colourful light
The virus appears to have accelerated trends for partitioned spaces and mobile pods, with examples including a converted warehouse in Melbourne and a series of meditation chambers in YouTube and Google offices.
Fabric panels line the walls, to improve acoustics
With this design, Studio Aisslinger highlights the need for flexibility in the workplace, allowing people to find solitude when they need it, but to also bring people together.
They studio describes the project as “a complex, constantly changing conglomerate of working areas, break-off units and work capsules”.
The aim was to create an environment that people are proud to call their workplace, and perhaps even share on their social media platforms.
Staff can choose to work seated or standing
“New offices being planned for the near future will less emphasise communal co-working areas but nevertheless we all need new spaces for interaction or idea generation and collaboration,” added the design team.
“Flexible and open, the room adapts to its respective needs, creating space for playful creativity, for that dance of mind and body that is needed to gain new ideas.”
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Marble-clad columns and bronze detailing line the soaring entrance lobby that Ministry of Design has created for the YTL Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.It is one of several shared areas created by Ministry of Design in the Malaysian construction company YTL’s new office skyscraper by Kohn Pedersen Fox, which combines all of its staff departments in one place for the first time.
Alongside the giant entrance area, the studio has created an oak-lined cafe and three storeys of varied meeting spaces shared by 1,000 YTL employees.
Above: the YTL Headquarters skyscraper. Top image: the office’s entrance lobby
“The brief for Ministry of Design was to design the public areas shared by these departments,” the studio explained.
“As such, Ministry of Design sought to create a series of choreographed spatial experiences which aim to balance YTL’s legacy of corporate professionalism with a future-forward attitude that embraces change.”
Marble-clad columns and cushioned benches line the entrance lobby
The YTL Headquarters’ entrance lobby is positioned at ground level and measures 25 metres in height.
Ministry of Design’s goal was to enhance the “majestic” quality of this vast space while ensuring it was welcoming and human in scale.
The marble is offset by bronze accents throughout
To achieve this, the studio developed a restrained material palette, dominated by the soaring, white columns clad in Bugatsa marble that run the length of the lobby.
Floor-to-ceiling windows are positioned behind the columns to illuminate them and maximise natural light throughout the day, while making the space “glow like a lantern in the evening”.
The lift lobby is highly symmetrical
To obscure the height of the columns, each one is punctured by rectangular insets and bronze accents, while a cloud-like installation hangs between them.
Cushioned benches that mimic Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chairs have also been slotted between the columns at floor level, framed by tall, gridded structures made from bronze.
The cafe features a rough grey-granite counter
The lobby is complete with a deliberately symmetrical lift area at its rear, accessed through turnstiles and framed by a statement bronze doorway.
This provides private access to YTL Headquarter’s upper levels, including the office cafe, various meeting spaces and a function room by Ministry of Design.
A central spiral staircase is enclosed by slatted bronze
Ministry of Design’s development of the cafe and meeting spaces are intended as an extension of the lobby area, featuring a complementary material palette but with warmer tones.
In the cafe, this includes a rough, grey-granite counter with a polished black-granite worktop, set against a backdrop of bronze wall-mounted shelves and oak-lined walls.
Ministry of Design creates robot training facility lined with metal and tube lights
Oak has also been used to line the walls and ceilings of the meeting spaces, which cater for small and large, private to non-private gatherings.
Ministry of Design achieved this through the combination of communal tables and open areas, alongside enclosed meeting rooms and acoustically-private spaces.
The staircase connects the cafe to the office spaces
In the open, shared meeting areas, the oak walls form a backdrop to black powder-coated lighting fixtures and seating upholstered with neutral Saum & Viebahn textiles.
Silver mink marble flooring lines the floor, while black Nero Marquina and elegant white Calacatta marble are used across the tabletops.
Oak lines the walls of the shared meeting spaces
The private meeting areas are complete with softer furnishings and finishes, including brown-leather chairs, carpet floors and timber tables.
The meeting spaces are complete with a statement spiral stair at their heart, which connects them to the cafe. It is lined with leather handrails that are enveloped by slats of powder-coated bronze and positioned on top of a bed of black gravel.
The private meeting spaces feature softer furnishings and carpeted floors
Ministry of Design is an architecture and interior design studio that was founded in 2004 by Colin Seah. Its headquarters are in Singapore, and it has two more offices in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
Other recent projects by the firm include an all-white co-living space called Canvas House, a futuristic sports store in Singapore Airport and a robot training facility lined with metal and tube lights.
Photography is by David Yeow.
Project credits:
Ministry of Design team: Colin Seah, Joyce Low, Ruth Chong, Kevin Leong , Damien Saive, Namrata Mehta, Fai Suvisith, Justin Lu, Zhang Hang, Maggie Lek, Kaye Mojica, Richard Herman, Rais Rahman, Tasminah Ali and Azilawanti WatiArchitectural design: Kohn Pedersen FoxAssociates design: Syarikat Pembenaan Yeoh Tiong Lay Sdn BhdArchitect of record: Veritas Design GroupLobby art: Leaves by Studio Sawada Design Co Ltd
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