The interior design facilitates a flexible working space with required spaces of a gathering area, meeting room, workstations, private room, pantry, design studio and a washroom within a small area of 75 sqm office for a new start-up architect’s office.The key intervention was to maximise space efficiency by adding movable panels used to divide the space into four main zones.The four main zones are a private room, a workstation or the event area, a meeting area, and a pantry.The rest of the space is kept remarkably simple, with only essential furnishings, minimal shelving and a few decorative plants.
The main vertical component within the space has become a termination point for each of the zones.The usage of a natural log from one of the cleared construction sites is an idea of bringing in a natural aspect to the interior space directly.It refined the volumetric of the space and improved the openness of an open-plan layout.
In general perception, a column (the vertical component) in an open plan would be a blockage or restrict the spatial usage.However, in this design it became the connecting point, linking the activities internally within a workplace.The log was manually transported to the second level where the office is located.It was then supported with a mild steel plate at the top and bottom free-standing vertical component within the space.With the introduction of this log, we obtained an optimum space efficiency without having to create corridors or circulation spaces.
The internal wall surfaces and plaster ceiling boards are painted in a grey tone complementing the selected interior surfaces with unique colours.Pale turquoise, light coral and pastel yellow blend with the wood textures forming a new colour palette combination.A natural log is being used to redefine and strengthen the spatial experience within the emptiness of space.Sliding glass panels are introduced to create the enclosure if one needs privacy while keeping the interior’s visual permeability of the interior from one end to the other.It created an open office plan with flexibility for different activities, when required.
The work area is occupied by simple tables, large enough for employees to work on desktop or laptop computers and have room to lay out physical drawings. It can be converted into an informal discussion area where the glass panels are used as the writing board. Some other examples of the spatial configurations for the studio usage are the Boss mode, in which a private room for the principal; or a private design area; formed by closing one zone.
The Meeting mode can be a seven-pax meeting room, expanded up to ten-pax or more meeting room by opening the entirety of the sliding panels.There is also the Dining mode where the meeting zone can be converted into a dining area with an attached pantry next to it.It is our studio’s culture to have a small gathering with friends and business associates occasionally.
Another possibility is the Studio or Event mode in which we could manipulate the openness of the sliding panels for design studio discussions, small exhibitions or sharing sessions whenever required.The glass panels become writing boards or exhibition panels.
The design for KYA studio was not to create a compact workplace with numerous compact-office ideas but to look at it as an organisation with proper office spaces.We often need a circulation space or corridor to connect all the required spaces or rooms.
However, we do not have the luxury of connecting corridors in this office design.We offered a solution by fulfilling all the required spaces and achieved spatial flexibility by its functions.
