Published on Archi.ru (https://archi.ru)

28.07.2011

Office for high technologies

Anna Martovitskaya
Studio:
ABD architects

This year one of the winners of the Best Office Awards became ABD Architects project of the Siemens corporation Moscow office.

"Design in accordance with LEED gold certification standards and interior with some peculiar Russian motifs – were the main clients’ requirements” - said Michael Gumankov, the chief project architect. In other words, the architects had to combine energy-efficient technologies and the national Russian spirit – truly a challenge, but ABD Architects managed it brilliantly. First of all, authors of the project organized brainstorming session in order to find a symbol of “Russianness”. Such commonplace versions as matreshka doll and balalaika, gzhel paintings or hohloma were rejected at once, but the architects realized they had to find an image popular no less as mentioned ones. As a result, they chose birch trees. Michael Gumankov, Fedor Raschevsky and Irina Prisedskaya came up with the idea to feature thin white trunks so typical for the central Russia using glass frosting technique. The other important requirement was the design of atrium, which they asked to turn into recognizable corporate image space. On the plan this atrium has a shape of a much stretched rectangle. The architects tried to overcome the strong dictate of right angles and lines. This is why there appeared diamond-shaped benches and boxes for plants, the floor was divided into curved segments of different colors. In the end of the atrium the architects established a multimedia wall, bar and raised floor. ABD architects describe planning of the main office part as "total open space”. And they do not overstate: the four small staircase-elevator blocks with WC facilities, dressing rooms, and portable archives “fix” the corners of the atrium rectangular space. The rest space of each floor is given to work places. The color palette of the office floor is soft - gray floors, light wooden tables, matte glass. Color accents are focused in public areas. There are mini-meeting rooms, recreational areas with bright acoustic high back sofas, coffee-points. Initially the architects wanted to give each floor its own color, but opted for alternation of two colors – green (even floors) and orange (odd floors).

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