In 2021, SL+A Bangkok embarked on a new journey to the next level, relocating our office to the edge of the CBD and the green lung of Bangkok, Thailand. Surrounded by Lumpini Park, the sports club and several mature embassy compounds, this setting is more pastoral and a welcome getaway from the cosmopolitan atmosphere of central Bangkok.
Learning and changing with every project, agile work space solutions are at the forefront of corporate design. This special design and build project gave us an opportunity to change places with the client, to re-evaluate the needs of our own office. The new normal is for our team to use a simple model for the space, with the concept of ‘fixed and flexible’ as the starting point. By combining the architecture and interiors, the staff can comfortably work together as one big team while the utilities are allocated to the side of the office to maximize the studio area.
The palette of the new Bangkok office is white and warm grey – a neutral base to better showcase different colours and accents, while drawing attention to the unique wood features and our recently completed architectural and interiors projects. Different art pieces are also on display, giving the office an inviting residential/gallery ambiance. One particularly interesting feature is the lighting choices made starting from the entrance of the office through to the working studio. The transition from a darkened hallway to the brightly lit workspace is representative of the SL+A process as we approach each project; starting with unresolved curiosity and searching to shed light on the work cultures and process of our clients to find the most suitable end result.
The use of colour and materials gently distinguish between the workspaces and utilities. The workspaces arranged along the window line utilizes the exceptional view and natural light to brighten up the studio. The bright white colour helps focus on creative and design processes, while drawing from the outside views for inspiration. A darker palette for the support areas includes the entrance, the meeting room, pantry and the printing station. In a cheeky move, our accounts and financial team are also kept in the dark, but of course, all have easy access in the office
We modelled our meeting room after the curve of the elephants ear in the SL+A logo to symbolize the idea of listening and hearing the views of clients and consultants. The more informal collaboration counter and pantry is a mix of work and play as we can meet, eat and digest problems to create unparalleled solutions. While the new office decorations are ever evolving and changing with each stroke of inspiration, our teams are already hard at work in the nearly 300 square meter office. By opening up the space and incorporating an agile solution we noticed an increase in the collaboration and creativity of team members.
Our new office has opened SL+A Bangkok to a new working style and resulted in a more rewarding and fruitful work environment.