Demant Offices, Florence. Project: Domenico Farinaro, Stefania Micotti, Franco Rosi. Photos: Nicolò Panzeri.
Located on the ground floor of a building within a large industrial complex, the refurbishment project involved a section of the current headquarters of Demant, a Danish multinational company operating in the healthcare sector. The space, with a rectangular floor plan, featured large windows along the two long sides of the building, allowing natural light to flood into the interior. The layout designed for the various spaces meets the client’s requirements for rationality and functionality and therefore features a succession of enclosed offices and open-plan areas along the perimeter, whilst the centre is dedicated to support functions for work activities, the design of which aims to enliven and make the spaces more welcoming, both in terms of colour scheme and architecture.
The design concept addresses the client’s need to revamp the spaces on a limited budget, whilst avoiding invasive alterations to the existing structure and false ceilings. The project therefore aims to focus visual attention primarily on the new elements, through a bespoke architectural system along the main circulation route, consisting of a rhythmic and irregular sequence of partitions painted in deep blue. This creates a sort of ‘portico’, beyond which hybrid and convivial areas are situated, including touch-down areas, phone booths, informal lounges and a shared desk: the heart of the design is architecturally defined by a change in floor colour, a new plasterboard false ceiling set lower than the circulation areas, and oak brise-soleil.
The design thus takes the form of a kind of micro-architecture, emphasised by the presence of actual windows set within the plasterboard walls, thereby accentuating the openness of the spaces and the natural flow of light. The use of colours that are only apparently primary (starting with blue, the corporate colour) in a necessarily more desaturated palette allows for the emphasis of architectural volumes, the definition of spaces, and the introduction of unexpected and precise contrasting chromatic accents.
