What is the meaning of architectural space if it is not used and enjoyed? This big picture question drills down to the essential purpose and sustainability of building architecture in the first place. It's a question that is perhaps most relevant today for offices that risk lying empty in an era of remote and hybrid work. An important challenge for design today is therefore to enhance the workplace environment to encourage attendance.
Offices offer the incredible function of physically bringing people together, fueling innovation and even simply providing a sense of separation from home as a place where work can be left at the door. The potential of these spaces is huge, yet many employers aren't tapping into the benefits. So how can workspaces be efficiently and flexibly transformed into multifunctional environments for creativity, sharing, socializing and even relaxation?
Layers of Experience
This was an essential challenge for Danish design brand BoConcept, when tasked with a contract office project at a business park. A large adaptable conference hall had so much more potential than it was offering. The scale of the space left room for an area that could be used for additional experiences: for resting and refueling between sessions, comfortable informal conversations before and after an event, and even an independent collaborative space that could function independently.
Products are used as a device to transform this space within a space, with no distinct boundaries or walls, into an inviting area.
Not only did this brief seek to make more use of the room, it also sought to make the experience more enjoyable for its users. BoConcept, known for its inspiring, high-quality and timeless modern furniture, decided to use a bold arrangement of products as a device to transform this space within a space, with no distinct boundaries or walls, into an inviting area with an open-ended myriad of possibilities for new functions.
Recharge in Style
BoConcept's Carmo snake sofa formed the essential centerpiece to this arrangement: the modules of the sofa softly curving to subtly carve out more intimate spaces, counteracting the scale of the space beyond. The deep comfort of the Gabriel fabric and the foam cushioning was ideal for recharging after extended sessions. In addition, modularity was key, because the client sought a flexible seating arrangement that could accommodate different settings, all whilst seamlessly integrating into the available space.
A group of cocooning Bolzano armchairs encourage 'togetherness' with joyfully swivelling bases for shifting conversations and viewpoints.
Around the Carmo snake sofa, a group of cocooning Bolzano armchairs, designed by Morten Georgsen to encourage 'togetherness' with joyfully swivelling bases for shifting conversations and viewpoints. Then, orbiting these, Nawabari poufs, circular Madrid coffee tables and circular rugs build out the area into a comfortable universe that supports both individual moments of pause and collaborative work.
Bring on the Bold Character
Importantly, the bold characters of Carmo and Bolzano created a focal point to the otherwise fairly minimalist interior. It's common for this type of campus business park to offer modern and contemporary architecture, with clean lines and vast spaces devoid of existing color. Indeed, a similar problem can arise with other public and commercial buildings such as hospitals, shopping centers, airports or factories, which often operate in a vacuum of context.
It's common for this type of campus business park to offer modern and contemporary architecture, with clean lines and vast spaces devoid of existing color.
In these kinds of spaces, the challenge for furniture is to create an elevated and interesting experience with lively qualities of color, shape and texture – even taking on the role we might expect from a work of art on the wall – ultimately transforming them into more dynamic and welcoming environments. This, in turn, allows the architectural spaces beyond to maintain their flexibility and simplicity for evolving future needs.
Today, this space within the business park is frequently used and enjoyed, with users reportedly appreciating its comfort and aesthetic harmony. BoConcept's checklist for furniture arrangements with comfort, modularity and character is a direct route to elevating large-scale contemporary office spaces with additional positive, diverse and shared experiences that are worth traveling in for.
