Text description provided by the architects. Fulcrum Studio uses the opportunity to create its own workspace as a play space. It breaks the mold of a conventional office. It reveals itself in unpredictable layers that stills the viewer into silence and provokes expression. We were our own clients, and this gave us an opportunity to reimagine the physical realm of a workspace. We began by removing typical constructs pertaining to a conventional ‘office.’
The design investigates what it means to ‘go to work’ post-pandemic. Despite being in the heart of the city, the interior spaces open up and capture the canopies. The composition of solid, void, and, most importantly, the ‘in-between’ is layered in a vertical dimension of constant overlays that culminates with the sky. The ‘in-between’ is perforated mesh, which is incorporated in flooring, stairways, and leisure spaces. These perforations melt the vertical planes, create shadows, and visually expand the stacked layers.
Connections are in the form of bridges which are overlapping angles, much like arrows, that direct the transitions ‘to and through’ spaces. Innovation peaks with the kinetic conference box, a mechanical and artistic fusion of form and function which opens and shuts at a touch of a button. A simple pulley system as seen during construction, is used to celebrate our conceptual models placed within invisible boxes.
The anatomy of the design uses exposed materials like i-beams and metal-chains, which have the ability to be reused and recycled. Wood is a material used extensively and is sourced from sustainable timber yards. The perforated mesh flooring is made up of metal waste acquired from the site during construction. The artwork created from reclaimed waste is suspended dramatically to form a pivotal attraction. The abstract spaces create a beating heart in the city center. Its layered spaces are ideal for art, culinary, fashion, and cultural events, which bring people together and foster a feeling of community.
