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Swedish architecture studio VIDA has renovated two offices for an estate agent company in Stockholm, drawing inspiration from boxing rings and construction scaffolding. One office is set inside a former funeral home in the district of Vasastan, while the other is located in the city’s affluent Östermalm area. Both offices for the real estate agents Behrer & Partners, feature a similar design. The focal point of each is an elevated wooden platform where the brokers sit.
This placement of the agents on this raised area creates an uncluttered walkways between the offices’ two doors. VIDA used the platforms, as well as open bookcases and partial partitions to subdivide the otherwise open-plan spaces. The offices are finished with a neutral colour palette of pale wood, white paint and muted textiles, and is furnished with pieces designed by VIDA.
Accents of colour come in the form of deep purple and green storage containers as well as table tops.”We wanted to tone down the design and create quite an austere environment,” architect Leonardo Beccari told Dezeen. “We feel the brokers at this firm has a lot of flare and they are the ones who we want to make shine.” The studio wanted to focus on creating a space in which the customer and agent could build a relationship, so added lounges and coffee-making facilities around the platform.
Other features added to reinforced the idea of flexibility and a casual atmosphere include an area outside the bathroom, which doubles up as a phone booth with a curtain instead of a door. “We have also created a natural hang-out for clients and brokers,” said Beccari. “This office shouldn’t only be a place where you go once to sign the probably biggest deal of your life but rather a place you can revisit many times to chat with your broker, have an espresso or just check out what other homes the firm currently have on the market.”
“As is common nowadays the office needs to be both a second home type of space at the same time as it should be about work as opposed to leisure,” he added. Workspaces with a homely atmosphere and a focus on socialising are becoming more common. Coffee shops, lounges and the workspace are blending, as seen with in the design of a co-working space by Lukstudio.
Design: VIDA
Photography: Robin Hayes
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