Since the pandemic, the workspace was measured up against new standards. People’s preferences had shifted to gathering physically in open spaces for safety reasons and working privately in enclosed spaces with increased virtual and remote work habits. The design response was a single wooden laminate “Obi” or “Ribbon” that winds across the workspaces used by employees of different group sizes in various collaborative activities to achieve “DisCo” – maintaining “Distance” yet remain connected as “Community”.
International Interior Design Awards 2024: Entries Open!
Take your work to the next level. Register Now…
Gold 🏆 Winner
International Interior Design Awards 2023
Mitsubishi Estate Thailand (Bangkok) Office
Workplace Interior
Firm
Mitsubishi Jisho Design Asia Pte. Ltd.
Designer
Kentaro Mabe
Design Team
Kentaro Mabe, Vibha Khrishna Kumar, Andro Lukman, Viany Sutisna, Clarence Tan
Location
Bangkok, Thailand
Country
Singapore
Photographer/Copyright
©WARIN Bunyaprasit Photographer & ENDO Lighting
The “Obi” carves spaces that respects boundaries, creates individuality, incorporates technology, and prioritizes comfort & wellness. Various adaptive spaces that generate flexible interactions are formed by the “Obi” such as a café space, a ping pong table, a theatre with drop down projection screen with two rows of seating, a collab space, a sofa meeting area, and standing desks, all while interspersed by lush planting to provide respite.
The more public settings such as meeting rooms and workstations where people spend longer hours are zoned towards full height windows for optimum views and maximized daylight comfort. The more private spaces requiring enclosed focus spaces such as solo booths and VC rooms are tucked behind shelving that spans the length of the office. The large meeting room for executive clients is finished in sleek detailing and overlooks urban greenery, while the semi-formal meeting room for casual use by staff members and clientele follows finishes which blend with the rest of the office.
The transitory task of waiting is elevated in the entrance gallery to create a sophisticated nature-focused environment using finishes like pebble wash, wooden louvres, and natural greenery. These materials emphasized the fusion of Japanese design and local culture, representing the company’s philosophy of being in harmony with the locale wherever they are situated. Tunable lights spanning the 1800K to 12000K range were crucial in creating fluctuating daytime conditions of early mornings, clear blue skies, overcast afternoons, sunsets & moonlight for a natural environment that kept users engaged during work, and doubled up as growth lights for plants to thrive at night despite being indoors.
As a day goes by, collaborative team discussions, coffee breaks at the café, ping pong with a colleague or tuning into a solitary focused work session in the solo booths all happen in one flexible, integrated space orchestrated through design.