Workplace lounge with soft seating, a floor lamp and timber-framed glazed partitions

06Commercial Interiors

The Atelier Workplace

Design Study

Category: Commercial Interiors
Project Type: Office interior
Design Style: Warm contemporary workplace
Design Scope: Interior concept, zoning and services coordination

Project Overview

A small office has to work hard. The same floor has to support quiet concentration, loud collaboration and meetings that need to impress visitors. This study explores an open commercial floor for a small creative team, using zoning rather than solid walls to make those uses coexist.

Design Details

01A central long table anchors the social and working life of the floor
02Privacy increases from the front of house to quiet rooms at the core
03Demountable glazed partitions can follow changes in the team

The Design Challenge

This study imagines a growing design-led business, seeking a workplace that reflects its character, and that can adapt as the team changes.

Clear separation between client-facing and working areas
Focused workspace with less visual and acoustic distraction
Shared tables and a lounge for informal collaboration
A layout that can change without major building work

Design Concept

The floor is conceived like a working studio or atelier, with a central “long table” as its social and working heart. Around it, a gradient of privacy runs from the welcoming front of house through shared space to quiet rooms at the rear.

Lounge with a geometric timber screen wall and an exposed services ceiling

Space Planning Approach

Visitors arrive at a reception and meeting zone close to the entrance, so they never need to pass through the working areas. The long table and lounge take the best daylight on the glazed façade, while focus rooms and storage are placed against the core, where natural light matters less. Timber-framed glazing separates spaces while keeping sightlines open across the floor.

Privacy increases from the front of house toward the quiet rooms at the core. Schematic diagram, not to scale.

Interior Design Approach

An exposed ceiling keeps height and costs under control, and warm timber frames, acoustic felt and a textured floor balance the raw shell. A material wall displaying samples and work in progress gives the reception some personality.

Material & Finish Direction

Oak-framed glazingMeeting and focus rooms
Acoustic feltCeiling rafts and wall panels
Polished concreteFloors
Blackened steelFrames and shelving
LinoleumTable tops

Lighting Approach

Task lighting at desks is separated from softer ambient light, so that each zone can be set up according to use. Meeting rooms have dimmable light for presentations and calls, with attention to faces on video. Glazed partitions allow daylight to travel from the façade toward the core.

Layout Considerations

Raised power and data points allow desks to be rearranged
Acoustic panels are focused around meeting rooms and the shared table
Glazed partitions are demountable, so they can follow changes in the team
HVAC and lighting zones align with the way each area is used

3D Visualization & Rendering

3D views would help the team and any stakeholders understand the zoning, and would show how the look of the reception supports the business’s identity.