Ginásio by 20.87 Estúdio
Created by 20.87 Estúdio from São Paulo, the Ginásio closet (Ginásio stands for Junior high school in portuguese, and also for sports gyms) it’s a remake of the classic locker, that for many times they had been in our lives keeping our things in non-places. It could be perfect for an office!
Cheap Netbook for your office [Android]
Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies Company, which we will absolutely never call by its full name again, has just dropped a juicy nugget about its forthcoming netbook. If you’ll recall, we recently caught wind of the ARM-based, Android-powered rig (the Alpha 680), which is expected to be a stripped down portable useful for web surfing and light duty Office use. Nixon Wu, Skytone’s co-founder, recently confessed that it’s aiming to sell the machine for around $250, and if all goes well, it should have prototypes ready by June and final products ready for consumption a month or two after that. Call us crazy (or just greedy, really), but we were totally hoping for this to ring up at $199 or less.
High Tech Haifa Apartment
Details are scant about this stunning monotone apartment in Haifa, Israel posted by the folks over at Blue Ant Studio. What struck us most about these photos was the home office with the huge power cord housing connecting the desk to the floor’s hidden power source and the cube-like structure with a flush mounted LCD display. All the indirect lighting gives the all-white interior an inviting warmth despite its pristine color palette.
Degenkolb Engineers
With a broad focus on environmental sustainability, disaster resilience, security, earthquake hazard mitigation and performance-based engineering, Degenkolb asked POLLACK architecture to design space which reflects their business’ consistent drive for innovation in structural solutions and their evolving culture, while retaining their rooted brand. In order to qualify for LEED-Gold certification, Degenkolb asked POLLACK architecture to design the space with consideration to a variety of factors. Such factors included: waste reduction through the reuse of existing furniture, energy efficiency achieved through the use of Star Energy products (HVAC, lighting, and other equipment), incorporating the use of natural light and views to improve indoor environmental quality and a recycling plan which includes designated areas that are strategically placed throughout the office. Not only was this project met within time and budget constraints, but it also improved the quality of the workspace for Degenkolb’s staff while impacting the sustainability of their everyday operations.
RIAA Headquarters – Envision Design
The culture of RIAA is fast paced, cool, and creative, and the office design needed to reflect a strong commitment to the music industry. The office is situated in an all glass rooftop addition to a 1920′s era department store now renovated into office space. Abundant use of interior glass walls brings natural daylight and views deep into the space. A key feature of the facility is a large sub-dividable conference room that can be transformed into a concert venue. Sustainable design strategies that promote human health and wellbeing, and environmental responsibility were incorporated throughout.
First-Aid Kit
In the reception area at Johnson & Johnson’s office in New York, an entire wall is taken over by a constellation of miniature J&J-brand items from across the ages: Likenesses of packaging for Aveeno, Band-Aid, Effergrip, Tylenol, and obsolete curios such as belladonna and capsicum plasters are a visual history of the company, reminders of its founding mission to cure, comfort, and heal. The installation complements the surrounding interior by Lalire March Architects, which—in a similarly medical-minded fashion—took the Hippocratic oath as an overall guideline for the office, occupying the 15,000-square-foot 16th floor of the Starrett-Lehigh Building. “First, do no harm,” Christopher March recites. “The space has a pure beauty that didn’t need disturbing.” That meant exposing and emphasizing the 1930′s mushroom-cap concrete columns, board-formed concrete ceiling slab, and steel-framed ribbon windows on two exposures.
The impetus for opening this particular office, the New Jersey company’s first in Manhattan, was the founding of a global strategic design division two years ago. “Previously, all design work was done by outside firms, so there was no consistency across the brands,” chief design officer Chris Hacker says. “Having in-house designers gives us a competitive advantage.” Being in the city also allowed him to recruit the best talent while providing an off-site location for New Jersey staffers. Plus, Rex Lalire adds, “The design deliberately forges a connection between the very strong, important history of J&J and a start-up that explores new ground.”
After gutting the space, a former upholstery shop, the architects kept the plan mostly open, relegating the few private offices to the center of the floor plate and designing low workstations that maximize views out and in. “Everything pulls back and down, keeping the focus on the envelope,” March explains. Like archaeologists on a dig, the team even peeled up old vinyl tiles to expose the original poured concrete, then ground and polished it to a subtly reflective sheen. Preserving the existing floor jibed nicely with Hacker’s environmental stance—in addition to leading the design team, he oversees the J&J consumer-products group’s environmental-responsibility effort.
Wherever possible, Lalire and March chose eco-friendly finishes and materials: low-VOC paint, tackboards of compressed recycled paper, linoleum desktops, and goat-hair floor coverings. Creative reuse makes a statement, too. Hanging on the reception area’s concrete-block wall, for instance, is a vintage red J&J logo that Hacker discovered being removed from one of the company’s facilities and diverted from the landfill. A few feet away, slipped between lapis-blue Womb chairs by Eero Saarinen and a languorous red sofa by Piero Lissoni, is a low table constructed from stacked plywood tabletops rescued from the design team’s previous office. The topmost one is emblazoned with the J&J credo.