ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Iponweb company office in Moscow, Russia by Za Bor ArchitectsNovember 20th, 2013 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Za Bor Architects As it happened, a central place in the portfolio of the architectural workshop za bor is occupied by the offices of companies working in the sphere of information technologies. First of all it is related to the quite informal and creative atmosphere which such companies try to create for their employees. However the IT company Iponweb office, although in general it corresponds to this tendency, stands out due to both its unique architectural space and neutral colour grade which no office project by the architectural workshop za bor has ever had before.
Iponweb office, though it completely corresponds to the developers’ needs, also performs representative functions – visitors and numerous partners who come to Moscow from the European, American and Asian offices of the company, are received there. That is why the main task was to create a practical and comfortable office within the limits of the zone list provided by the technical specifications. The office is located in an old industrial building, business centre «Shabolovka 31». It used to belong to a brewery, then to the State ball bearing plant – 2, which manufactured bearing pieces of even the Kremlin stars. The building was reconstructed several times, due to which now it has a lot of interesting details such as crossbeams, utility lines as well as a substantial level difference on the sixth floor, where the office is situated. A two-level transition was preserved, as a result the height of the ceilings is from 3.9 to 4.5 meters, the technical details have also been preserved and are maximally open. Spectacular view of Shukhov radio towerand interesting industrial landscape which can be seen from the windows, only enhance the office décor. Since in the office there work about 120 people and all of them are mainly developers, the places which are separated from one another by either level difference or separately standing partitions, constitute blocks of 6-12 units each. Workplaces are located along the windows, which provides good illumination. As the office is not aimed at administrative activity, it has no reception area, but nevertheless the entrance group is very showy – it is in the shape of a compact geometric tunnel leading to an open area which is the main pedestrian «artery» of the office. It is surrounded by numerous conference rooms; besides, a large open space serves as a place for meetings and other events. Since there are only seven conference rooms, the client offered to name them after the planets, emphasizing «geocentric» role of the Moscow office for Iponweb company. So, the conference rooms are decorated with the text blocks telling about physical properties of the Solar system planets. Another feature of the office is monochromic color grade which is not typical for za bor projects. The only colour dominant are plants. In the office finishing cork and dry easy covering have been traditionally used. On the communication lines under the ceiling one can see the covering similar to snow – it is acoustic material Sonaspray. It was used as the practice has shown that because of the open communication lines there is an echo effect in the office. za bor architects is a Moscow-based architectural office founded in 2003 by Arseniy Borisenko and Peter Zaytsev. The workshop’s objects are created mainly in contemporary aesthetics. What distinguishes them is an abundance of architectural methods used both in the architecture and interior design, as well as a complex dynamical shape which is a hallmark of za bor architects projects. Interiors demonstrate this feature especially brightly, since for all their objects the architects create built-in and free standing furniture themselves. Many conceptual and realized design-projects by za bor architects were awarded at international exhibitions and competitions. At the moment za bor architects is involved in variety of projects in several countries. za bor architects have been involved in more than 60 projects including residential houses, a business center, a cottage settlement, many offices. Among the clients of za bor architects there are IT, media and government companies such as Badoo, Castrol, Forward Media Group, Yandex, Inter RAO UES, Iponweb, Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry and others. Contact Za Bor Architects
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