creative office | Supermachine Studio

Design team: Pitupong Chaowakul and Yupadee Suvisith, Korakot Meesathien and Sujinda Khawkum

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Area: 800 SQ.M.

Completed: 2015

Photographs: Wison Tungthunya

“2 face space”

Chaay and Jin, an internet advertisement agency duo, want to create their new working den for their company, CJ Worx, which has been growing very quickly in the last years. Locating on the 20th floor of a modern typical office building in Bangkok where the financial offices are, their new office is meant to be a creative alien both in the nature of how their company works and the physical look of it. “Once the elevator opens on our floor, we would like them to think it is a pub”, the duo briefed funnily.

The idea of designing an office for 140 people hidden behind the pub has been pushed further by inserting 3 modules of farm-house like elements that works like a common area. A cafe’ work space, pantry, playzone & meeting spaces are hidden behind the rotatable bar painted with green and red, a 2 face element. Green faces the front pub facade while red faces the spacious common space. This informal space zone works as a heart of the office where staff intermingle and work creatively.

PROJECT: Rebirth of Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand
LOCATION: Sindhorn Tower, Wireless Rd, Bangkok
DESIGNERS: Supermachine Studio: Pitupong Chaowakul, Suchart Ouypornchaisakul, Peechaya Mekasuvanroj, Santi Sarasuphab
CONSTRUCTOR: ST.CLASSIC Co.,Ltd.
PROJECT SIZE: 400 m2
PROJECT COMPLETION: October 2011
CLIENT: Joel Clement/Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand
PHOTOGRAPH: Wison Tungthunya

To enhance the social atmosphere and encourage staff’s creativity and imagination, the office Saatchi&Saatchi advertising of Bangkok had been renovated to an innovative and exciting workplace, which everyday life objects were used to inspire schematic ideas. The office is separated into two zones: the creative zone and the managing zone. The creative zone was designed to be open and bright where people can communicate broadly, share ideas and get inspired together as it was important for them to work as a family. On the other side, the managing zone has a darker tone atmosphere yet with colorful decorations in order to show that they too need excitement at work. In between, their lies a playful trophy wall and a bicycle wall for passer-bys and facility zone with pink colored walls to create liveliness for the lifeless programs.
Each component was designed to serve the requirement and function of the office with the purpose of making them fun and useful yet familiar. By twisting the function of everyday life objects and exploit them further than their standard means such as the bicycle meeting table that is able to separate to two smaller tables, this can be fun and appropriate to different uses. Another item is the counter table on wheels located at the front lobby; it has an imagery of a bus where it can function as a moving café/bar/counter that can compliment the living areas as well being a typical “Front desk”.

As the intention is to twist identities of the objects in a working life, we created meeting pods that imitate a train seating and an enlarged armchair. The pod gives privacy and a sense of difference between inside and outside. Also, instead of a squared message board hanging on a wall, we decided to give it a new identity as an office monster message board that covers the entire one side of the creative zone. All staffs can interact with different parts of the animal while it provides different advantageous features such as holes, pins, lighting, and shelving. Another social gathering space is the bar that is extended into a daybed; it can perform as a mini kitchen/bar with a storage space for fridge and glasses or a reading/resting with the storage space for books.

The overall design focuses on transforming what is familiar into something innovative yet functional for everyday use at the office. Due to the limited space, each component has multiple functional characteristics that are merged into designed components allowing various usages yet in the same time inspiring for the working environment.