Posts Tagged ‘modern interiors’
Work In The Park, Play In The Office
June 4th, 2013 – The new Dunmai office has taken over an old motorcycle factory in the creative plaza on Shanghai’s South of the Bund, a place that serves as a remembrance to the familiar stories about old Shanghai. Designer Thomas Dariel, founder of Dariel Studios, gutted the old factory and replaced the space with a pleasurable, relaxing and modern workplace that reflects the company’s dynamism and creativity as well as serving their professional needs.
It took an internal architectural reconstruction to memorialize this old 4-floor factory building, Dariel kept the building’s historical façade, but completely transformed the internal structure into an open, high 3-floor volume arrangement under the design concept of “work in the park – play in the office.” A concept that is reflected in the overall structure and in every detail of this edgy and humorous-looking space.
The internal reconstruction is a response to the friendly atmosphere to the open space required by the client. A 3-floor high central patio, furnished with large white lacquer desks, was built so that colleagues can easily communicate with each other despite what floor level they are on.
Dariel appointed shades of white as the dominant wall color to push out the dark and dingy feeling of the old factory, and to reveal the original structure of the building. The shape of the new internal structure is inspired by the branches of a tree. Drawers on the wall let people imagine that all the plants growing in that space are spreading along the wall and up to the ceiling.
In order to make people feel as if they were surrounded by nature in the given space, the designer attempted to move all the elements of a garden to inside the office: grass lawns under chairs and tables, gardener’s tools designed on the walls, swings displayed during afternoon breaks that exhibit the sweet memory of childhood, and a groove for flowerpots on tables.
The natural light has been designed to infiltrate the whole space, so that one could feel a sense of being outside. The color scheme consists of pure white but bold colors such as vivid pink or green are used ubiquitously for contrast and for developing natural energy.
The restrooms’ entrances are designed to look like open elevator doors. Thus, when one is in search for an elevator, he or she will be surprised to find that it is actually a bathroom. Even the toilet walls are creatively designed, for the designer pays homage to a famous French artist street style by using images from video games to decorate tiled mosaics. The design illustrates that working in an office can be a joyful and unique experience. An office space can be open and transparent, just like the glass walls and doors of many individual spaces in Dunmai Office.
Photography Provided By Dariel Studio
Mistral Wine & Champagne Bar, São Paulo
Thanks to Studio Arthur Casas, São Paulo is the new home to an awesome new wine and champagne bar called Mistral. The wine company has a well respected reputation amongst the locals, being known for having “the best and most complete catalog of wines in the country.” With that sort of reputation, it only seemed fitting for the connoisseur’s to bring on a well respected architect to build their new store.
The space, in its raw form, was long, hollow, and had high ceilings. Casas built out the shop and used it’s length to his advantage. The architect deisnged a long hallway, where the walls are angled and lined with a high gloss white plastic, black mirror, and vertical slats of raw wood. Wine bottles are held in the wall by cut-out holes, just big enough for the bottle shaft. With each label facing upward, Mistral’s store guests can walk through the shop and easily view the products. The long hallway leads into the bar area, where the wall materials from the wine display area continue. The space is modern, yet warm and approachable; making it a great spot to grab some friends and enjoy a wine tasting.
(FG+SG fotografia de arquitectura | architectural photography)
Palencia Civic Center, Spain
This just might be the coolest renovation we have seen in some time. Exit Architects have just transformed a 19th century prison into a super sleek civic center in Palencia, Spain.
The architecture & design team at EXIT has gained a quality reputation for creating stellar projects for health care institutions, cultural & educational centers, and museums; in a way where they introduce bold architectural elements into the interiors. In the Civic Center for Palencia, The impressive architectural addition to the old masonry building consists of zinc metal panels and U-glass, which is just a peek as to what has evolved on the inside.
The interiors, once dark, have been given light by the inclusion of several skylights which were added when parts of the old clay roof were removed. The octagon shaped great wall is the main public space, which has an inviting atrium with enclosed glass cylinders reaching from the floor to the ceiling, each are filled with rocks and a single tree.
The bold architectural is complemented with a clever mixture of natural and artificial lighting. Fluorescent tube lighting is used to create dynamic streaks in the atrium ceiling, massive skylights, and lines of lights make the walls sparkle in the theater. It must be the true marriage of thought evoking architecture, design, lighting, and function, that make this project quite a success!
(Photography: Fernando Guerra)
