Right from the start of the project, both the client and designer were determined to create a humanized user-centric space that tally with how people like to live, work and interact.
What feels better than a natural setting that greets you with abundant sunlight and flourishing greenery every morning when you come to work? After all, most people yearn for nature, especially in a hyper-dense city like Hong Kong. We have therefore designed a doble-height sky garden as the most prominent space where nature is enjoyed by all, it brings your spirit up once you enter the office. It opens up to the conference room and cafeteria, together they form a flexible and inviting open communal space that fosters all kinds of activities to encourage interpersonal communications and activation. In fact, it has quickly become the staff’s favourite for strolling, casual meetings and coffee chats, even Friday night parties. The stone floor and planters have natural patterns that resemble tree roots, shadowed by the moving sun and the foliage of five banyan trees, it orchestrates changing experience where sunlight and materials speak to you through texture and detailing.
The staff can also switch to private work mode at the workstation zone. Conscious about sustainability, we custom-made all the workstation panels with the left-over denim fabrics sitting in the client’s warehouse, which would have become landfill otherwise. The up-cycled design is functionally sound-absorbing and emotionally resonating with one of the client’s core businesses in textile. Also, we designed lighting fixtures that can be freely clipped onto the stainless-steel ceiling mesh. The easy fixing systems eliminate future demolition of the ceiling if seating reconfiguration is needed.
One of our passion is to create a sense of discovery by using details as points of interest. In this project, we custom-made many unique furniture and fixings such as cast aluminium door handles, GRC ceiling system that integrate M&E functions, light fixtures, etc. It is all about crafting a humanized user journey.
Experiencing the covid pandemic, the project verifies our intention of rethinking the relationship between work space and working style. We should not focus so much on aesthetics when designing because it is personal and subjective, we should ponder on the users’ well-being and their work life in the space. Beauty will spontaneously manifest, because designers, as a well-trained professional, should be inherently equipped to make things beautiful.
Material Used :
1. Interior furniture: Herman Miller - Aeron Chair
