By Jeanne Tan / 10-02-2011

In the new office designed by Origins Architecture for motion direction designers Onesize, the core of the studio's work - direction and production for film and television - forms the backbone of the interior.  

Smack bang in the middle of a spacious, industrial warehouse on the outskirts of Amsterdam, an intriguing object houses the studio's meeting room and two dark rooms for film projection. Instead of normally being located on the periphery of an office, Origin's founder Jamie van Lede placed the dark rooms centrally to indicate the nature of the firm's work. Work stations line the edge of the space.

Not only the firm's line of work provided inspiration. 'The visual modelling that is done in the studio inspired me to make an object with a minimal of polygons,' explains Van Lede, 'transforming the program into an interesting shape while simultaneously subdividing the space for a clear routing.' The elongated structure, which is dissected into three volumes, is constructed from a series of exposed timber frames much like a set of ribs, that transform in shape along the object. Creating a sense of dynamism, this changes the perception of the object when viewed from different angles. Providing abundant daylighting, a central rooflight emphasizes the length of the structure. Built independent of the existing architecture, the freestanding timber structure can be easily dismantled for relocation should the need arise.

Both for the cladding and structure, low grade spruce plywood is used - normally hidden in cabinetry or under flooring. During the construction process, waste was minimized by maximizing the use of each plywood sheet. The decision to use an economic material extended beyond purely budgetary reasons. 'Alongside the cost issue we strongly believed that the juxtaposition of high definition detailing and a low grade material would make both stand out better,' Van Lede continues. 'This contrast is also echoed in the relationship between the existing building and the central sculptural shape.'

The custom-designed interior - right down to the plywood meeting table - suits the client to a tea. Pepijn Padberg, executive producer at Onesize comments: 'The design turned out better than we ever could have imagined. Both with regards to architecture/aesthetics and functionality, it seamlessly fits our company and philosophy. What we like best is that it's a prominent architectural object that is dissected, dividing the space to create a multi-functional office space which is an inspiring place to work.'

The project was built in collaboration with KNE+.

Click on the images to enlarge

Photography: Stijn Stijl

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