Possessing solid experience in the reconstruction of a wide variety of industrial facilities, from individual buildings to entire blocks, Alexey Goryainov and Mikhail Krymov carried out the "redevelopment" of the factory premises for an office for their architectural bureau promptly and economically. Now the workshop works on Presnensky Val, in the former assembly shop of electrical appliances of the Moscow Electric Machine Building Plant in Memory of the 1905 Revolution. By the way, the plant is still functioning, only a part of its buildings were given over to offices, so the choice of industrial aesthetics was almost predetermined. However, the authors of the project were quite satisfied with this: the loft style is both practical and modern, and sufficiently brutal, that is, it fully corresponds to the image of a working space for a creative team led by two young architects. At the same time, with this approach, the very minimum was required for re-equipment, which was of fundamental importance: Arch group had only two weeks to move.
The new workshop office is a classic open space; the executive office and the meeting room are separated by glass partitions. For Goryainov and Krymov, it was fundamentally important to create a single space without solid walls: in the previous offices of the bureau, managers sat separately from employees, and this was inconvenient. And the glass wall, despite the fact that it creates sufficient sound insulation for meetings or negotiations, does not visually separate the "bosses" from the team in any way, and it is psychologically easier to go to the manager with this design.
As befits a loft, the ceiling is left as it was in the factory past, with open structures. It was painted entirely black to expand the space and hide the beams on the ceiling. Also, thanks to the black ceiling, it was possible to focus on LED lamps that float freely in space. I must say, they approached the light seriously, without unnecessary savings, carefully choosing the brightness and shade: after all, correct lighting is not only necessary for work, but also determines the overall atmosphere. The spotlights on the walls capture the texture of the original brickwork and concrete wall with traces of formwork, highlighting their authentic beauty. And, of course, there is as much daylight as possible - it was decided to decorate the large windows with concrete slopes, the combination of which with brick walls turned out to be expressive in itself.
In terms of details, the most interesting thing about the office interior is the supporting columns. Removing the gypsum boards that hid them, the architects discovered real industrial antiques - authentic 19th century railroad tracks manufactured by KRUPP and Brown, Bayley & Dixon Steel. Each rail is different, each with its own curvature and time marks. The rail supports were varnished for better preservation.
Work tables, chairs of several types, storage systems were chosen very carefully, based not only on economy and ergonomics, but also on how much each item works to create a comfortable and creative atmosphere. “We care about our employees,” emphasizes Alexey Goryainov. - Each workplace is very individual and is made in such a way that it would be pleasant for a person to spend his working time at it. Something had to be "brought to mind" - for example, from three tables they made one long one, removing half of the legs. And at the table in the meeting room the story is even more interesting - it appeared thanks to one glass, which turned out to be superfluous after the installation of the partition. Goodness should not be lost - the glass was installed on a metal frame, thus obtaining a large, elegant, laconic and practically free piece of furniture. Here, by the way, there is another object dear to the heart of the owners of the office: a small copy of the sculpture by Igor Shelkovsky "The Head", which reminds architects of
participation in the competition for a monument to victims of political repression. “A bit gloomy,” comments Aleksey Goryainov, “but it really suited this interior.”
Somewhat unexpectedly, a shapeless beanbag chair looks in the corner of this austere, purely business-like room - but tired employees need to relax somewhere! And it's also good to warm up - for example, play table football: this opportunity is provided in the Arch group office. And there is also an idea to make a relaxation area with mats under the ceiling, where you can take a nap for a couple of hours during the next emergency. It has already been thought out how this can be realized - the kitchen and the bathroom are created in the office in the form of multi-colored cubes, the height of which is below the ceiling. It is planned to put mats on their "roof". The architects have already designed a ladder to this bed, all that remains is to bring the idea to life.
Despite the maximum simplicity of the layout, the office space looks quite intriguing. The dotted line of the ceiling lamps, visually stretching the volume, is reflected in the glass partitions and the dull gloss of the gray floor, the columns-rails rhythmize the space, the monochrome black-and-white scale is broken by the warm shade of the brick walls and, suddenly, by the life-affirming azure of the end wall, which together with the low white shelving forms the entrance group (architects often use a similar technique: decorating the interior, they do not bring the design of walls and partitions to the ceiling). “Maybe our next office will be in a different, more expressive design,” reflects Alexey Goryainov. “But now it seems to us that we have chosen the right direction, the office turned out to be cozy and conducive to creative work”.
