3 Unique Architectural Designs for Commercial Spaces
In today’s world, image is everything. Not only companies but other organizations as well need to establish the right image in order to succeed. While there are plenty of factors that determine a company or organization’s image, architectural design is one of the most important among them. This is the case because we all prefer working with people who show they’re imaginative and ready to do something different. So, no matter what kind of commercial space you’re designing, here are 3 modern architectural designs you’ll want to take a closer look at before you get started.
Barn-style company building
Who says a modern-day office needs to be located in the heart of a big city? Just take a look at Larue insurance and their barn-style office. It was experts from Maurice Martel Architecture who’ve managed to turn a wooden barn into a real office. Their goal was to make this structure fit into the rural landscape of Canadian countryside and they’ve certainly managed to do so. Built in two separate volumes, the building the building separates workspaces from the common area. The first volume consists of 2 floors and 50 separate offices with sound insulation that can serve as a great working environment. The second volume is built with a flat roof, meaning that it can be extended in case the company decides to expand. Both of these include a lot of large windows that let natural light into the building. Even though the style the architect went for is something completely different, the building itself is pretty simple. For example, both front door and rear door for employees are completely same.
Old cottage art studio
With some adjustments, an old cottage can be used just like any modern building. For example, let’s take a closer look at a cottage based in West Midlands which the architects from David Connor Design and Kate Darby Architects managed to turn into an art studio. The whole point of the project was to turn the cottage into a modern office without having to sacrifice its most important features. This means that the art studio they’ve designed includes things such as 300-year-old timbers. The entire structure is protected by an iron shell and in order to support it, architects included a new steel frame. Another feature that makes this art studio stand out is a large fireplace that covers almost a half of the wall. When working on projects like this, using refractory mortar to fortify the chimney is always a great idea. Luckily, with companies such as Alex International for Mining and Refractories (AIMR) getting refractory mortar should never be too difficult.
Flexible ministry building
A 1990s building in the Netherlands, previously used by the ministers received a huge makeover and was turned into something completely different. Ellen van Loo who led the entire project managed to provide the government with both better-looking and more flexible building. Van Loo said that the visible entrances and the visibility between the departments were exactly the features the building needed in order to get closer to the city life. What the architect did was use subtracting floors in order to increase visibility between the departments in the building. Moreover, van Loo went for open-plan offices which have proven to be quite a trend today. Such offices suit the ministry very well and there’s no doubt they help experts who use it get the job done more effectively. It’s also important to mention that the project involved some huge changes like installing angular staircase and acid-yellow escalators.
There’s much more to designing a modern commercial space than adding a few tables and calling it a day. With so many different architectural options available, it seems like more and more people decide to do their work in less traditional buildings. The 3 projects we’ve talked about earlier can serve as great example for anyone wishing to incorporate modern architectural solutions in their commercial space design.
