One of Finland’s leading advertising agencies, Bob the Robot found a new home in the old bread factory in fall 2018.
Like many creative agency, Bob the Robot did not want an ordinary office space. They came up with a concept “private club” a space where both the employees and the customers could feel they had a privilege to be members of. The over 6 meter high industrial space was transformed into House of Bobs by Studio Joanna Laajisto
The 1,500m² space was divided in to public and private areas to ensure interaction in different levels. In public areas, such as lobby and café, both customers and employees can freely mingle.
The meeting rooms are also located in the public section along with a long corridor.
More private areas, meant just for employees, are placed at the back of the space as well as on the 2nd floor loft in the center.
“In today’s creative office employees like to change the place and way they work multiple times a day, so it is important to accommodate this into the office design”, says Laajisto, lead designer of the project.
Some dedicated team areas with electronic tables were located in the private side, but there is also a large lounge area with different seating arrangements for work, team meetings and more confidential conversations. The café space in the office is also a popular spot for working.
The idea of a private club was a big source of inspiration for the design.
Materials and features more common to hospitality industry than an office space were used throughout. Large custom chandeliers, specially designed for the space, give character to the public areas. Fluted glass panels, used both in meeting room walls and as space dividers, also break a way from typical corporate office environment.
“We like the idea of hi-lo design; high-end details side by side with lower end materials. For us it was fulfilling to use marble pieces with defects that normally would be left unused. This method also helped with the over all budget”, Laajisto states.
Natural MDF with black oil in stair rails and millwork with lo-grade Carrara marble were one of the continuous elements used through out the space.
“Budget is always an issue when designing anything, but our design philosophy is that even a tighter budgets should not effect the quality and longevity of the project. You just need more creative solution.”
In this case the design studio did not want to make compromised on the quality of the furniture selected to the new space. By partly using used furniture even with very much wear Laajisto was able to invest in new pieces that the client is proud to own and will take with to the new premises in the future.
“Businesses grow fast and often move in 5-year increments. This doesn’t mean that everything should be changed each time. I really want to promote that furniture should be considered as an investment to the future in a business just like people are starting to do more and more in their private life” Laajisto concludes.
