DSN Office is an architectural design and construction office. Located in Karawaci (about 20 km outside Jakarta), it is predominantly housing estates with fixed urban typology. The office is situated between two houses of tropical style with Dutch gable roof structure. Therefore, we deconstructed the roof and made it into the face of the building, to give a sense of belonging and volumetric uniqueness.
We broke the space programming into threefloors:first floor accommodates six cars and one meeting room, second floor serves as the actual open space office, while the third floor is the dining – pantry – function space – break room.All wooden materials used are furniture industry byproducts obtained from Central Java.
As we wanted to humanize the entry space, we created a wooden entry portal where the space is squeezed into human scale. It serves as a foyer for guests, as well as a rain reservoir for plant irrigation in the office. The entrance then opens to a corridor that leadsto the meeting room and the stairs towards the second floor.
Here we wanted to create a spatial effect, where upon opening the door, people would immediately feel as if the space broadens infinitely. To achieve that, we used glass roof and installed polycarbonate panels between the carport and the corridor to limit visual periphery without compromising the openness of the space.
The meeting room itself is simply a room with glass partitions that also act as whiteboards. To help with acoustic issues, we used carpet tiles from our collaborator Tuntex, which reduce echo by almost 40 percent.We also have two rooms inside the meeting room: water pump room and a small powder room, both camouflaged along the wall, tucked under the stairs.
On to the second floor, we added another foyer that also serves as the stairs landing. We put murals of DSN founders and early projects graphics on the wall to give the office a fresh sense of history. Since it is the main floor where people do most of their activities, we opted for a higher ceiling and an open space office thatis filled with natural light.
Danpalon (tough polycarbonate), the material that we used for our façade, corresponds well with this purpose as it limits visibility to the outside, reducing visual distractions, while still allowing sunlight to come through. We integrated a simple linear-type table formation with cabinets surrounding the tables to ensure a more efficient interaction between working and storage space.
The third floor was designed specifically so that the staff would have a room to relax. A place to do constructive activities outside working hours. It is divided into an indoor and outdoor area, equipped with sliding doors to allow them merging into a larger space suitable for functions. Pantry and multi-use table and chairs are located indoor, while the outdoor area also serves as the end of the office journeywhere people can enjoy an almost unlimited view of the landscape and to still be reminded of the essence of the office’s surroundings.
