After a succesfull collaboration between i29 interior architects and VMX Architects for social workplace Combiwerk, this is another project where both offices joined forces to seamlessly integrate architecture and interior design. For media agency MediaXplain an industrial building with a compliant bold interior is realised in de Houthavens, at the old Port of Amsterdam.
At present the area is rapidly transforming into a residential and working area. This interface between the old and new city and the harbour is reflected in the design for the building. VMX Architects took full advantage of this location’s strong point – the view of the water and docks – with a completely open facade. To achieve this, large glass windows in the facade haven’t been set straight but at an angle (as in a ship’s wheelhouse) to cancel out reflections of the glass.
The interior also refers to the industrial origin of this area. It’s an open plan office with a large open space at the centre of the building. Following the building’s skeleton with it’s raw concrete walls and open layout, i29 interior architects proposed an interior with matching materials such as rough oak wood, black surface walls and furniture, custom designed concrete carpets, gray acoustic ceilings and a large industrial staircase to connect both office floors.
Large desks made of rough oak wood accommodate the employees overlooking the port at the front. A strip of private offices, meeting rooms, print area and pantry is placed at the back. Along the full width of the building a corridor finished in black walls, ceiling and floor connects the different areas. Seen from the main office area, this corridor operates as a cinema with large projection walls for the display of digital work, referring to the clients activities as a media agency.
i29 interior architects stands for a work ethic that leads to design solutions dependent neither on expensive materials nor on technical show. We look for choices that answer to multiple questions at the same time. The integration of both the industrial environment as well as the clients identity as a media agency tells a conceptual story about the company, the space and it’s users.
