The biggest challenge was in dealing with the constraints of the space available and how to bring light in through a limited fenestration layout. Direct sunlight came only from one side and the ceiling hung low, so the challenge was to create a comfortably spacious with an equally distributed sunlit office floor.
The first step was to create a layout plan in which the inclosed rooms are located in the darker inner perimeter in order to bring the sunlight in through the open office without any obstacles. All the technical decisions were made with the aim of creating the highest ceiling height possible.
While using glossy concrete surfaces to increase the sense of spaciousness in the vertical plane, Habif Architects tried to create a more warm and tactile effect on the horizontal. The materials on these surfaces were handled with a tactile and an inductive approach. Every single component on these surfaces such as a single natural terra-cota brick, or a wooden board is unique despite looking similar to each other; they come together to create holistic and rhythmic surfaces.
Because of the remote location of the office, there were no opportunities for the workers to go out for coffee breaks during the day. In order to amend this; the main break area is designed with a different approach than the rest of the office. This cafe acts as an actual branch of ‘Grandpa’, one of the leading third wave coffee franchises of Turkey.
The showroom is placed in the darkest area of the office floor. The designers created a dark background to the play of light; the light coming from the bright showrooms filtered through wooden blinds and coloured glass façades, overlapping and interloping in the dark corridors. Another tactile surface found its place here, in the wall of the main showroom created from rough structure components.