RENOVATION OF CHOOSE OFFICES IN HALANDRI, ATHENS
The first in situ impression of the advertising agency’s offices on the third floor of a high-rise building on Kifisias Avenue looked chaotic. A cluster of arbitrarily designed office spaces –in the unplanned prosthetic way offices grow over time, made it difficult to find your way and turned the communication between employees and visitors complicated.
The need for effective communication called for a design proposal with programmatic interventions that organize the different thematic identities and enrich the clear perception of the space.
A box penetrates the center of the sunny interior to define the different working environments. Around it the offices– in shades of white –link into each other, creating an open flexible space where the employees can work collectively, reflecting the strong non-hierarchical structure of the company, while taking advantage of the natural light that pours into the space.
With reference to Japanese architecture, the central box has been conceived as a space offering peace and quiet for concentration and inspiration. Through the use of natural materials and well-designed details, a variety of wooden patterns frame the space. By changing their composition, a different program is created within. The meeting room, the library, the lounge, the telephone booth and a cosy meeting/ working corner provide multiple spatial qualities as well as different visual perspectives into the rest of the space. Every time the pattern changes from the wood slats and the bookshelves to the semi-transparent partition of the phonebooth, the natural light penetrates differently and the visual communications between the working environments vary.
The movement of the users around the central core is circular and undisturbed. A glass element is inserted as a transparent outline to divide the traffic corridor from the working atmosphere of the offices. The red frame brings rhythm and life into the corridor, while giving intimacy to the office spaces.
The darkest space of the whole office, the entrance is painted blue. Someone entering the office, sees the whole design through a blue frame.
Custom-made red objects – conceptualised as “totems”, which consist of a metal dividing mesh and shelves with flowerpots, are an integral part of the design, placed in strategic positions throughout the officespace. Each consists of a different synthesis of plants and mesh alluding to the beauty of the plants and an earthy sensation.
STATUS: Completed
PROJECT: Renovation of Choose Offices
PROGRAM: 240 sqm, offices
Cost: 150.000€
LOCATION: 282 Kifisias Αν, Halandri, Athens
CLIENT: Choose (www.choosead.gr)
DESIGN: dARCHstudio
DESIGN STUDY: Elina Drossou
SUPERVISION: Elina Loukou, Elina Drossou
LIGHTING DESIGN: LUUN
VISUALISATION: Olga Avgitidou
DATE OF COMPLETION: January 2021
PHOTOGRAPHY: Vassilis Makris