Brandbase Pallets by Most Architecture

Dutch firm Most Architecture have created this temporary office from wooden pallets for an Amsterdam advertising company.

The project for advertising agency BrandBase sits in a narrow Dutch canal house that runs 27 metres deep.

Whitewashed walls contrast with lighting, fittings and banisters all finished in black.

In the main room two long tables and a central walkway formed from disused pallets run from end-to-end.

A staircase made from pallets leads up to the manager’s office with a presentation room behind glass walls.

To the rear of the office a studio has white desks and ceiling-hung wires servicing each workstation.

All photographs are by Rogier Jaarsma.

Here’s some more from the architects:

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BRANDBASE PALLET PROJECT

A temporary furnishment for the new office location combined with the explicit wish to furnish the space with an authentic, recycable material, gave creative director Marvin Pupping and MOST Architecture the idea to use Euro-pallets for this particular design. The pallet structure; an open, autonomous landscape that gradually changes its character, facilitates all parts of the office.

The pallet structure is designed in such a way that besides being merely a workplace, the entire element invites you to stand, sit or lay down on the pallets. This open office concept was created to suit the creative advertising agency, with an additional, informal atmosphere.

The existing building on the Brouwersgracht, downtown Amsterdam, is an archetypical Dutch canalhouse; a narrow, 27 meters deep space, with a back area that is divided by split level. Because of this, the concept for this dynamic company was organised along the longitudinal axis. And because of BrandBase’s specialty, it was mandatory to include new media. From the very start of the project, the design development as well as its execution, had followers from all over the world through the project’s Facebook page.

The design concept, an open autonomous landscape, consists of 3 layers. The first layer, the existing space was used as a starting position and painted completely white, to provide a homogeneous base for the pallet structure. The pallets itself create a structure that slowly changes its character accommodating all parts of the office.Finally, the third layer in the design contains additions to the pallet structure like light fixtures, staircase banisters and the furniture; which are all done in black. The structure is not dictating, rather facilitating.

The open character is enhanced by dispositioning the pallets both directions over a 20 cm grid. The pallet structure unites the whole space, covering the whole depth of the building in one single movement.The design can loosely be divided into four zones: The entrance area, the staircase area, the split level area and the studio area, in the back of the ground floor. Entrance area: coming in, the pallet structure welcomes its visitors with open arms, created by two rows of desks, providing a total of eight working units on two different levels. Visitors walk onto the pallet structure like a catwalk, surrounded by BrandBase employees. Staircase area: the working units in the entrance area make way for a staircase that is divided in two part; the formal part with its steps and banisters and a more informal part, where stacked pallets provide for a place to hang-out.

Split level area: reaching the upper floor, the staircase transforms into the management premises, with a combined presentation- and meeting room. Here, the four desks are designed more independently. Subsequently the pallet structure, separated by a transparant wall with translucent doors, develops into the presentation room with its seating element that accommodates guests during presentations. In front of this, a huge movable boardroom table, made of pallets. The studio area: the rear part of the ground floor was dealt with in a totally different way. The efficient positions of the white desks are connected with the pallet structure through black wires, which hang along the ceiling from the staircase to the desks and servers like lianas.

MOST Architecture is an office led by Paul Geurts (aged 32) and Saxon-Lear Duckworth (aged 30). For over a year they have been working together intensively on several design assignments. Their first collaboration immediately resulted in a longlist nomination for the Prix the Rome 2010, the oldest art prize of the Netherlands, for their design called ‘The Great Green Escape’. Furthermore, the office work on a spectrum of competitions and assignments, ranging from interior designs to architectural projects and urban strategies. Their architecture is characterised by clear analysis, providing cutting-edge contemporary challenges with powerfull sollutions. BrandBase specialises in exceptional projects, mainly around Brand Activation. This is the integration of all available communication means into a creative platform to activate consumers. In other words: advertising new style. Putting a brand in the spotlights, using all means in the most creative and innovative way possible. This is what BrandBase does, mainly for multinationals like Shell, ING, Schiphol and Friesland Campina.

Architects: MOST Architecture
Location: Rotterdam
Client: BrandBase bv.
Location: Brouwersgracht 246, Amsterdam

Design: May 2010
Completion: July 2010
Number of pallets: 270 pieces
Surface: 245 m2
Building sum: 50.000 euro

A Red Object by 3Gatti Architecture Studio

This faceted red volume in a Shanghai office, designed by 3Gatti Architecture Studio of Rome and Shanghai, houses two meeting rooms and a cafe.

Called A Red Object, the enclosure forms part of an office inside a former factory.

The project also involved inserting two mezzanine levels, coating much of the concrete interior in white resin, and installing a black reception desk and workbench around the stairwell.

Photographs are by Masato Kawano.

The information that follows is from 3Gatti Architecture Studio:

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A red object
Conversion of an ex factory into a office building

Red and black are historically avant-garde colours. In the last century they represented bold uncompromising ideologies and artistic movements that combined ethical and cultural beliefs with innovative forms of expression.

These were the colours that represented a certain turbulence or tension towards the essence of objects whereas white represented a vacuum or void in which to collocate their significance or meaning.

A blank sheet of paper on which nothing has yet been written is white; once there is a text, the colour red is used to underline words. In a similar way and in a contemporary setting Francesco Gatti associates colours to the objects he designs.

To convert an ex factory in the centre of Shanghai, the Italian architect was given certain criteria to follow and final requirements to be met: there should be premises to be used as offices, versatile spaces, meeting rooms, a reception and a café.

Taking into account the height of the rooms, it was decided to divide the upper space into two mezzanine floors joined together by two bridge-corridors. In this way a neutral central void was created.

The use of white resin for the floors and epoxy applied directly onto the concrete makes the double height a perfect setting for the utility functions, all housed among objects resembling sculptures.

A faceted red object contains two meeting rooms and a kitchen in its lower level. It is separated from the floor by an illuminated slice of void and it reflects onto the white resin. Other less startling sculptures, are the reception desk which lies in the bend of the banister of the stairs and another long belt-like surface which can be used as a working surface which leads the way into the central area.

Programme: Two storeys office events open spaces, two meeting rooms, reception area, bar, special dress storage-exhibition room, storage room, server room.

Architect: 3GATTI.COM ARCHITECTURE STUDIO
Chief architect: Francesco Gatti
Project manager: Ingrid Pu
Collaborators: Paola Riceci, Jessie Zheng, Candy Zhang, Vivian Husiyue, Ben Hou, Peter Ye, Sunny Wang, Chen Han Yi, Robin Feng
Contractor: K2Lab
Engineer: Jachy Yan
Client: Italia Servizi s.r.l.
Location: Jing An district, Shanghai, China.
Total area: 708 m²

Materials:
ground floor: white resin
mezzanine: steel structure, concrete floor with transparent epoxy
red object: concrete and brick structure, wooden secondary structure, plasterboard skin with plexiglass windows
reception desk: steel structure, wooden skin with grey piano painting

Stella K Showroom by Pascal Grasso Architectures

Pascal Grasso Architectures have inserted extruding and recessed volumes along the walls of corridors to create a showroom in Paris, France, for fashion sourcing company Stella K.

The aim of the project was to transform two 115ft corridors into usable spaces, by covering their walls with protruding geometric shapes, providing display areas for clothing and fashion accessories.

The blocks, made from lacquered MDF, increase along the corridors, gradually fading as they lead to the offices.

The interior space is completely white, with the exception of randomly placed grey panels set into the walls.

Photographs are by Nicolas Dorval-Bory.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

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SHOWROOM IN CHAMPS-ELYSEES By Pascal Grasso Architectures

[Com]-pose

The company Stella K, specialized in the design and distribution of prêt-à-porter, occupies two floors in Avenue des Champs-Elysees. It calls upon the skills of Pascal Grasso Architectures to assist in the project realization.

The issue is simple: to turn these levels into office space and showroom for its clients. A major constraint remains unsolved.

How to take advantage of the two corridors that are more than 35m (115 ft) each, leading to the main spaces?

The origin of the project consists therefore in the transformation of these long corridors in a functional and atypical space, the strain of the place becoming its strength.

 These corridors, being originally simple passages, become the display area, the showroom itself.

Its use allows to display clothing and other fashion accessories.
 This new feature is made possible by the clamping of random volumes made of gray lacquered MDF.

These volumes are like pieces of the wall that have been extruded.
 The rhythm, created by the volumes, increases along the showroom before fading gradually to the office. The effect boosting the space. 

Another strong element structures and animates this place.

This is a main piece of furniture, passing by through the place, which is separating the public space of the exhibition from the space for private offices and storage.
 Its way begins from over the reception, allowing the necessary porosity to host clients.

Then it gets denser in order to make the offices more intimate. This piece of furniture is made out of racks that allow the storage of supplies.

It ends in the assembly hall and takes on the functions of exhibition and storage.

 To complete the dynamics of the space, a subtle play of light is set up for both levels. At the first level the suspensions form falling tears from the ceiling.

They create plays of light reflecting from more or less bright surfaces. The organic appearance is in contrast with the geometry of the installation.
 Upstairs, the strips of fluorescent tube boost the effect of perspective created by the length of the showroom. They reinforce the geometric rigor of the space.

Geometry, by its (overwhelming) presence, transforms the space, blurring the bench-marks. The scale of the place becomes difficult to grasp.

The intervention is seen as a series of spatial devices provoking disorder, disruption of the senses, a reaction which changes the perception and feeling. Geometric abstraction is enhanced by the lighting, which makes this negative space into an immaterial space.

Program : Designing a duplex showroom
Location : 34, Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris 8e, France

Architect : Pascal Grasso Architectures
Client : Stella K
Completion : 2010

Assistants : Damien Descamps – Juliano Bottari
General Contractor : Bane Deco
Carpenter : Art et Confort

Urban Station by Total Tool

Design studio Total Tool have completed a combined office and cafe for nomadic workers in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Called Urban Station, the brightly coloured space features a café, which doubles up as a temporary office for freelance workers in need of desk space.

There are lamps and powerpoints connected to the sides of tables, whilst others have apertures in their middle where wires from laptops can be fed through.

There are fully-equipped private meeting rooms available as well as a helpdesk for any enquiries.

See all our stories on office interiors in our Dezeen: archive.

Photographs are by Sergio Esmoris.

Here’s some more information from the designers:

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Designed by Total Tool BA, Urban Station has been conceived as a hybrid space, combining café and temporary office, specially designed for nomad workers.

The use of the café as a working space as been a long-lasting tradition in Argentina, but the development of connectivity over the last years has boosted this habit.

The project was meant to create a space where the traditional typology of the café was reconsidered while accommodating office amenities such as tables specially adapted for laptops, private meeting rooms provided with medias such as projectors and video conference equipment or a help desk where to print or ask for errand services.

From the organization of promotional events among frequent customers to the offer of free bicycles to be borrowed and take a break, many other elements and services have been also designed to provide enhanced comfort and interaction opportunities for the nomad worker.