journal
Photography: Studio Millspace
25 / 10 / 2024
“Even small, approachable details, when they disrupt the monotony, signify the beginning of a journey”—this was the motto of the Waterfrom Design studio, which created the latest Vacanza Accessory office.
Free and irreverent, a space that reflects Vacanza's values and name - this was the request from the Taiwanese jewellery brand for its new office. The project was handed over to the Waterfrom Design team, who designed every detail with the best employee experience in mind.
“We began to wonder what the conventions of traditional spaces are”, explain the designers. “Beyond simply dividing public and private areas or efficiently organising departmental seating, are there more interesting ways to rethink how we manage time and space?” add.
The conventional layout (horizontal and vertical) of offices may seem efficient regarding communication flow. Still, it usually results in long, dark corridors - the opposite of what was intended for this project. So, abandoning the traditional structure of these workspaces, the team designed a sinuous, curved path that calls for exploration and discovery as you move through the room. “Through this meandering flow provides a moment of respite from the fast pace of life—a ritual of self-soothing and healing”.
As soon as you enter the more prominent office area, you come across a product display area, the commercial development department and the creative director's office. A curved drop-shaped partition defines the boundaries between the work areas and the management room, preserving fluid circulation and the presence of natural light.
The space defined for the product development department includes a large table with a dual function - it serves as a workspace and a meeting place. This desk is partially lowered and cut at an interesting angle according to the number of people, creating a unique shape.
The different pathways within the office lead to a common area, similar to a square, where private meeting rooms are located. Although enclosed, these spaces maintain diagonal contours that allow natural light to be incorporated. Inside these volumes, partial and misaligned layers provide privacy, with movable panels enabling you to control their openness.
The storage areas, previously chaotic due to inventory operations, have been moved to the end of the office. Although the open shelving continues to be used by the team for convenience, the new arrangement of items differs from the rigid division of the past.
In a non-rectangular and non-standardised layout - such as the one adopted in this project - colours and materials are essential indicators for defining work areas or transitioning between zones. The designers created large blocks of contrasting colours, especially in the product development department, which requires creative stimuli. Like the diversity of the brand's jewellery, this approach offers different sources of inspiration for the team. One of the work areas is separated by a translucent and vibrant yellow PVC curtain, which creates an impressive visual impact and allows light to pass through and penetrate into the adjacent areas. On the other hand, the ceiling and floor use shades of light grey-green and pastel blue, maintaining the colour scheme but toning down the intensity of the colours and thus creating a subtle change in the overall atmosphere of the space.
The tones and textures of the materials, which flow between the different areas of the office, are similar to the various enchanting landscapes captured during the holidays: a crisp meeting table, like a digital photograph in daylight; a bright yellow filter, reminiscent of old film rolls; perforated metal sheets, which blur the vision like low-resolution images. These perspectives enhance the workers' sensory experiences, like photographs taken through different lenses.
With this project, the Waterfrom Design studio wanted to convey that we should get out of our routines and look for inspiration and creativity, even in the trivialities of everyday life. In the workplace, “even small, approachable details, when they disrupt the monotony, signify the beginning of a journey.”
“We began to wonder what the conventions of traditional spaces are”, explain the designers. “Beyond simply dividing public and private areas or efficiently organising departmental seating, are there more interesting ways to rethink how we manage time and space?” add.
The conventional layout (horizontal and vertical) of offices may seem efficient regarding communication flow. Still, it usually results in long, dark corridors - the opposite of what was intended for this project. So, abandoning the traditional structure of these workspaces, the team designed a sinuous, curved path that calls for exploration and discovery as you move through the room. “Through this meandering flow provides a moment of respite from the fast pace of life—a ritual of self-soothing and healing”.
As soon as you enter the more prominent office area, you come across a product display area, the commercial development department and the creative director's office. A curved drop-shaped partition defines the boundaries between the work areas and the management room, preserving fluid circulation and the presence of natural light.
The space defined for the product development department includes a large table with a dual function - it serves as a workspace and a meeting place. This desk is partially lowered and cut at an interesting angle according to the number of people, creating a unique shape.
The different pathways within the office lead to a common area, similar to a square, where private meeting rooms are located. Although enclosed, these spaces maintain diagonal contours that allow natural light to be incorporated. Inside these volumes, partial and misaligned layers provide privacy, with movable panels enabling you to control their openness.
The storage areas, previously chaotic due to inventory operations, have been moved to the end of the office. Although the open shelving continues to be used by the team for convenience, the new arrangement of items differs from the rigid division of the past.
In a non-rectangular and non-standardised layout - such as the one adopted in this project - colours and materials are essential indicators for defining work areas or transitioning between zones. The designers created large blocks of contrasting colours, especially in the product development department, which requires creative stimuli. Like the diversity of the brand's jewellery, this approach offers different sources of inspiration for the team. One of the work areas is separated by a translucent and vibrant yellow PVC curtain, which creates an impressive visual impact and allows light to pass through and penetrate into the adjacent areas. On the other hand, the ceiling and floor use shades of light grey-green and pastel blue, maintaining the colour scheme but toning down the intensity of the colours and thus creating a subtle change in the overall atmosphere of the space.
The tones and textures of the materials, which flow between the different areas of the office, are similar to the various enchanting landscapes captured during the holidays: a crisp meeting table, like a digital photograph in daylight; a bright yellow filter, reminiscent of old film rolls; perforated metal sheets, which blur the vision like low-resolution images. These perspectives enhance the workers' sensory experiences, like photographs taken through different lenses.
With this project, the Waterfrom Design studio wanted to convey that we should get out of our routines and look for inspiration and creativity, even in the trivialities of everyday life. In the workplace, “even small, approachable details, when they disrupt the monotony, signify the beginning of a journey.”
For more information visit Waterfrom Design website.