The architects of the project took on a big challenge when approaching the design of a new showroom and main office for a well-established office furniture brand. The client wanted to reinforce its brand identity and create a showroom that would fully reflect the latest trends in workspaces.
The first part of the challenge was to detach the experience from its harsh industrial surroundings and the second was to create a space with a strong architectural presence while still acting as an enabling backdrop for the furniture it will exhibit.
The space was clearly divided into private areas for the offices on the entrance floor and mezzanine, and public open spaces for the showroom on the entrance level and the lighting needed to address each of these areas with a unique and fitting approach but also tie them together to maintain a whole.
The space is sculpted of monochromatic plains that vary in shape and angle and is completely closed-off from the outside. The boundaries between floor, wall and ceiling dissolve and the main feature when entering is an artificial skylight, replacing completely one of the ceiling planes, stretching from one end all the way to the opposite, drawing the visitors in and washing the space with light. This skylight is a key feature in the lighting for the showroom as it seems to be completely part of the architecture, but it is also crucial for the lighting giving a good general light, very suitable for a showroom with changing exhibitions.
The rest of the lighting is linear, emphasising the geometry of the space and upstairs the wall along the staircase and corridor is grazed with a fully concealed light source reflecting in the mirror partitions and refracting off the ceiling, balancing the skylight.
