INTERIOR DESIGN OF THE NEW CO-WORKING SPACE IN BRUSSELS
Ohra Studio, the secret ingredient for a better life.
In less than one year after the opening, due to an increased demand for rental work-spaces, the co-owners of the co-working space Transforma got a new challenge. They had to expand rapidly as co-working became quite popular. Therefore, they needed professional help. Before our cooperation, the interiors were decorated by the owners in addition to the brand-name company’s colors. However, further expansion was necessary not only to choose the new atmosphere but also to properly plan and organize the work and leisure spaces. So, Ohra Studio began this interesting collaboration.
Professional advice : when you create public interiors for work and leisure, it is very important to remember the impact of colours and materials on our psycho-emotional state and health. Some colours are soothes and harmonized, others invigorate and encourage to be active. For example, the yellow colour is like a sun at the zenith, on a beautiful summer day, illuminates the vision and brings to those who contemplate it the energy necessary to awaken their consciousness. Or, the blue colour is very particular, it has the art to inspire a deep sense of peace, elevation, serenity and tranquility.
The Client
Our clients, Anis Bedda and Paul-Henri Schynes, co-founders of the coworking TRANSFORMA Bxl. Two young, ambitious, hardworking people who are actively developing their businesses. We met at one of their presentations and we were struck by their bright ideas and active lifestyle. When we had the opportunity to have a discussion about their new challenge and our work, the idea of cooperation arose. Anis with his partner closely examined our portfolio and found that our designs are very modern, stylish, and distinguished by great attention to detail and professionalism. Therefore, they were interested in our proposition to help them to redesign their spaces.
But, what is “co-working”? The co-working is a new typology of office spaces of the 21st century. It is a big open space where people who are self-employed or work for different employers share equipment, ideas, and knowledge.
How we work
Our work began with a detailed study of the specifics of the space and our customers’ wishes. Transforma Bxl is located in one of the neighborhoods of Brussels. It is not just a shared office space but also a place where people from different professional disciplines work side by side, eat together in the kitchen area, or relax together over coffee. Sometimes, events or conferences are held there! Knowing all of this, we could start our work.
What we received from our clients:
-floor plans of the building (with the heights annotated)
- pictures of the existing rooms — a list of the necessary facilities needed and spaces to be designed
- examples of interiors that they liked
- allowed budget
- a detailed description of what they are expecting to have
- the logo and the colour of their brand
In this project, we have developed a large number of spaces, but we decided to mostly talk about the principal area, the co-working space itself. It is a large rectangular room almost fully glazed on both (long) sides. An important condition that our client asked for was to preserve the existing infrastructure: windows, doors, and electricity layout, to reduce the cost of the project. We took into account all these criteria for the development of our first design proposition for the project.
The main problem of this space is its proportions: it has a low ceiling showing the existing ventilation and electricity infrastructure which are impossible to hide. On the other hand, the big advantage is the large amount of daylight and the possibility of organizing the working space around the perimeter of the room. However, the central area of the room remains quite dark.
Our clients had a big wish list, but the most important one was to improve the acoustics in the room and to reduce the noise as much as possible, so people aren’t bothered by the ones having small conversations. Another essential point was to have a sustainable development and environmental/ecological approach. These two factors have inspired us in creating the interior.
What this space initially looked like :
The wish list :
- Adopt and adapt to the existing color scheme
- Keep as is the windows/doorway location for the new interior.
- Have a lot of light in the space, both during the day and in the evening time.
- Use the tables and chairs that they already have in stock.
- Place 32 desks in the room.
- Reduce the noise as much as possible in the room.
- Create an eco-friendly atmosphere
- Have a bigger communal table in this space
Sometimes the best solutions are born in seemingly impossible conditions. Minimum budget, maintaining the existing finishes and furniture, high demands on the materials, and the need to improve the acoustics.
Where is the place for creativity and designing ??
However, it was these restrictions that enabled us to create the optimal solution for this space.
Design Process
While working on this interior, we, first of all, thought about the function of the space. It is very important for the office to have enough natural light in every single workplace, so, almost all the tables were placed along the windows.
Professional advice : the most favorable lighting for working and for the human eye is a mix of warm artificial light with cold natural light from the windows. In this case, the light becomes neutral and doesn’t lead to quick fatigue. The street light should fall to the left side of the person writing with their right hand, or on whatever side for a person working on their computer. The most uncomfortable lighting is from the back or on top of the seated person.
The implementation of each of our design projects includes a two-stage sketching proposition
The first version of the proposed design by Ohra Studio
At the first stage of the process, the customers expected to change the carpet. Given the location of the co-working and the often cloudy weather in Brussels, we offered a bright color combination by juicy yellow shades. We found a wonderful brand of acoustic panels Baux, which not only gave us the opportunity to play with the colour palette we wanted but also to develop a unique pattern combination for this space.
To change the environment’s proportions and visually raise the ceiling, we split the space into two diverse zones.
The central area stood out due to hanging lamps over a large common table. On the left side, between the tables, we placed a metal construction with greenery and stuck sound-absorbing Baux panels on the ceiling, which allowed us to achieve the necessary insulation. On the other side, we managed to separate the work tables with hanging panels, this zones the space out and is a great sound barrier. In addition, we placed these panels on the back wall of the room.
Professional advice : as you can see in this example, one of the important points in the design space is to achieve an equilibrium. Working in bright colors there is a big risk to overdo it. Balance is always is key to a project!
In our case, given the colour accent on the right side of the room with the hanging panels and bright flooring, we left a very calm floor with a light grey color on the left. We transferred gradually the colours accents in a diagonal way. This means that on our left side, with the calm floor, we created a more vibrant ceiling and wall while we kept a pure white ceiling on our right side.
The final version of the proposed design by Ohra Studio
Unfortunately, in the course of the works, it turned out that the customers no longer had the necessary amount for all the initially thought finishings so, we had to leave the existing flooring (seen in the initial pictures). This completely changed our design concept.
We also had to abandon the BAUX acoustic panels and find a replacement with a more budgetary solution. However, we decided to keep the global similar idea. We only changed the Baux panels to a wooden rack construction which still performs the sound-absorbing function looked for by creating an obstacle for the sound and emphasizing the room separation.
Pleasant colours and geometric compositions created a variety in the interior and new color accents. We respectfully treated the eco-approach and in this version, we chose colours closer to nature — wood, dark blue, gray, light blue, beige, white, and, bordo items were introduced to maintain the existing flooring.
As requested, tables in the center are an additional working area, which can also serve as a table for meetings or workshops. We placed different lighting sources: a huge spider web at the center hanging from the ceiling, individual hanging lights over the working area on the left side and long light banner on the right side. In their entirety, they provide the required amount of light needed for the space.
As an extra, a small sitting area with poofbags , wood paneling and shelves garnished with flower pots have created the most comfortable atmosphere. We hope that this new design will encourage new successes and inspire ideas to all Transforma bxl visitors !
Implementation
To this date, January 2018, most of the work has already been accomplished and we thank our clients for bringing our ideas to life, as close to the approved design project as possible.
As we can see, the final result is very similar yet a little different. They will continue upgrading and adding elements to their space whenever they can and/or wish to. The hanging plants will soon be on their way!
We are happy to know that the space is appreciated by their clients as it is comfortable, has great lighting, and a peaceful atmosphere.
p.s.: In 2021 Space-Filling became Ohra Studio
