056.MDS

Title MINALE
Status completed
Program office
Area 300 m2
Duration 2010 - 2012
Location Ixelles, Belgium
Coordinates 50°49'44.50"N 4°22'34.78"E
Owner Minale Design Strategy
Budget 300.000€ HTVA
Partners

Minale Design Strategy

Valentin Bianchi photographie

The design agency Minale Design Strategy wanted to invest this old printing house for its own offices. The basic volume presents an already very specific typology. A large free tray on the ground floor takes on all the characteristics of an industrial space, while the other two levels are located under the eaves of a very large slope roof and punctuated by framework trusses dividing the trays into four subspaces. The vertical circulation organizes spaces. The program demanded spaces where they could meet clients (kitchen and dining area, meeting room, seating for the head of the agency) and have work areas in open rooms where each staff member has his own defined space. Plus, a real challenge was to create a link between the different floors. The staircase is a central element. It divides workspaces and community spaces and its shape fits the roof structure. Made of wood, the staircase is a multipurpose living space that blends naturally as a place for conversation, extra seating, and phone calls, as well as a means of passing between floors. The rest of the furniture has been developed to correspond with this kind of sprawling extension. Finally, the offices have been designed to take into account the need for everyone to find their own space within the open space. A main frame in multiplex forms is the skeleton of the clusters of work tables. The intention is to capture synergies while maintaining a certain distance between users. A new office area and meeting room now exist on the ground floor at the foot of the stairs.



© Valentin Bianchi

© Valentin Bianchi

© Valentin Bianchi

© Valentin Bianchi

© Valentin Bianchi

© Valentin Bianchi

© Valentin Bianchi

© Valentin Bianchi

© SPECIMEN architects