Students and graduates of the British Higher School of Art and Design took part in the contest, which had been announced by the organizers of the BATIMAT RUSSIA exhibition and BHSAD, for the design of a conceptual, functional and stylish coworking cafe, which today is the most popular alternative to a conventional office. Not all companies and freelancers can afford their own office, and working from home often just erodes the productive mood. Coworking is an office for those who don’t need it.
Designers Victoria Zolina and Ekaterina Starikova, ZI – DESIGN interior design studio, became the winners.
Their #REUSE coworking project entirely consists of recycled materials. The main idea of the concept is to talk about the urgent problem of our time – the processing of recyclables. This is one of the main principles of today’s eco-style and a trend in interior design. Understanding the possibility to reuse materials designers created original furniture and accessories from waste.
Unfortunately, we will not publish the project of Victoria Zolina and Ekaterina Starikova in order to preserve the intrigue. Everyone will have an opportunity to see it already implemented at the BATIMAT RUSSIA 2020 exhibition from March 3 to 6 as part of the HoReCa design quarter.
The runners-up of the contest also are:
The Color Perception project, designer Julia Osina, graduate of the British Higher School of Art and Design
The phenomenon of distorted perception of primary colors (or color blindness) was selected for the stand. The main idea was to create the most comfortable space for people with color blindness in its various manifestations.
One of the prominent persons with color blindness is Vincent Van Gogh. In his paintings the yellow color is predominant. Some time ago, people thought it was his style, but then many experts began to argue that color blindness was to blame, since in one place there can be two different colors that are similar to each other and which a color blind person could confuse.
There are several types of color blindness, the most common are protanopia (lack of perception of red), deuteranopia (lack of perception of green), tritanopia (lack of perception of blue), and monochromy (total absence of color perception) – the rarest type among others.
“To achieve this goal, a zoning technique is used to preserve the integrity of the color composition for each type of color blindness. Thus, I propose to divide the stand according to the main functions and use an individual approach to each of them in terms of color, while maintaining the overall style of the stand,” Julia Osina says.
The Inside-Out project, designers Anastasia Potapova and Julia Levina, UN Buro design bureau
The stand of designers Anastasia Potapova and Julia Levina is divided into two parts, two functionally different rooms in one.
The main part is the cafe. This is a rethinking of Matisse’s “Dance”. From the side, if you just pass by, this zone looks like a bright and coloristically whacky composition, but when you stand at a certain point marked on the floor, the scattered elements are gathered into a general picture according to the principle of optical illusion. The cafe zone is a bright place that allows you to quickly reboot, distract, get inspiration in order to get back to work more quickly. On the wall in the cafe there is a sign with the name of the bureau, which is made as an optical illusion. If you look at it from the side, it looks like just a set of lamps made of white neon, but when you enter the stand – they turn into the name. The coworking zone is a calm, easily transformable space that provides concentrated work with maximum efficiency. This is an example of a dynamic space for young people where they can move freely. It is equipped with telescopic worktops that change their height. Thus, you can sit, stand and lie while working, as well as occupy any of the workspaces to take a suitable position for work during the day. The materials used in the project include decorative coatings imitating concrete, neon signs, neon pendant lights above the bar.
The Eco Futurism project, designers Alexandra Karabatova and Julia Chulanova, YKKA design studio
The concept of a coworking cafe is conceived as a combination of environmentally friendly space and adaptive service. The basic filling of the space includes color, lighting, plywood, plants, felt, glossy floors, ‘concrete coat’, perforated metal, profiled sheets and colored glass. Sources of natural strength such as planting and light in recreational areas restore strength and increase productivity. Color solutions in white, mint, beige, purple and gray tones evoke extremely positive emotions – they contribute to creativity and at the same time concentration. The use of interactive technologies and advanced finishing materials gives a sense of involvement in the new future. In such a place, all necessary and sufficient conditions for effective work and rest will be created.
Project of a mini-office for startups, designer Ilya Titov, INMONI Design Place design bureau
The author’s task was to develop a universal model of coworking for shopping centers and retail zones in business centers. The designed cafe hall combines two functionally different zones: open spaces for minimalists of verbal communication (the possibility of short-term meetings is not excluded) and a zone for those who need conditions for a long dialogue or a more isolated space. Another challenge is acoustic comfort in a small room. To solve this task, it is suggested to use embossed wallpaper made of foamed polymer to improve speech distinctness, and to close entrance space with two insulating screens of tempered safety glass. Visual comfort is also required. Today the eyes of a person are constantly in contact with light emitting displays. To remove the increased brightness mode, it is suggested to use lamps with hidden focused light sources and niche illumination. To transform the space, it is possible to combine seats for a group of 6–8 people.
