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Architects: Studio11
- Area: 1494 m²
- Year: 2018
- Photographs: Dmitry Tsyrencshikov
Text description provided by the architects. Studio11 has completed a new project in Minsk for PandaDoc – a company which takes up more than 1200 square meters and employs about 130 people. All employees are functionally divided into 4 large open-spaces complemented by a fifth space which is a common kitchen. From both stylistic and methodologic point of view the project mainly fixes on principles of “the third wave” of modern architecture such as, for example, the purity of technique. Project coloristics highlights the achromatic background and two main colors - blue and burgundy. The influence of postmodern design can be witnessed in the light game-like way these color volumes are arranged and in the variety of usage scenarios created.
The zoning of each block includes an entrance space with a wardrobe visually separated from the work places. On the opposite side of the wardrobes each open-space is closed by a small coffee point facing the window line. The coffee points are also visually separated from work places in order to exclude possible conflicts of zones. The coffee point for each block is a leisure place carrying a social and communicative function. This planning concept positively affects office work capacity, since the employees can have a small coffee break only a few steps away from their desks and go back to work rather than waste time walking to the common kitchen. In addition to that such islands of social functions reduce office space regularity.
The main idea of the layout is the promenade which a pedestrian path marked with blue color that runs along the perimeter of the entire office and connects all work spaces. The coffee points of each of the blocks are located exactly on the way of the promenade, implying places for short-term meetings of members from different teams. For this purpose the coffee points are equipped with markerboards, which creates effective conditions for discussions.
The promenade is an alternative link to the office main hall, which allows to decrease pedestrian traffic and increase mobility. We also put temporary work places by the windows with a magnificent view along the promenade. They are designed as alternative standing places in case the employees get tired of monotonous sedentary work.
Meeting rooms occupy large volumes of office space and their color solutions answer completely to one of the main colors of the project - blue or burgundy. Curtains are used as a visual mobile partition, they are also an effective noise-absorbing element for meeting rooms.
The entire floor is designed in one technique, it is a carpet of two colors: background gray and accent black. Floor pattern together with the colored volumes and neon pieces create impressive spatial compositions. In the artistic sense the compositions are associated with modernist abstract painting. The same principles are used in the common kitchen block except for the floor, which inherits a geometric pattern, but is executed in colored linoleum. A peculiar feature of the kitchen is the abundance of greenery and different options of ambient and decorative lighting, which makes the space as cozy and welcoming as possible.
