Time is a key design theme in online financial media company cnYES’ new Taipei office—as a nod to the dual fast-paced worlds of Wall Street and Silicon Valley, and a reminder of the evergreen adage ‘time is money’.
By integrating antique and modern elements, designers Waterfrom Design reinvented and interpreted this theme through the rapidly floating and changing rhythms of the space.
For example, an abstract timepiece made up of deconstructed stainless-steel fragments hangs in the conference room, casting a complete clock shadow from a certain angle. Set against a stone wall reminiscent of ancient ruins, it tells a story of the progressiveness of time from medieval ages through the industrial era.
More subtly, the conference area is segmented with see-through steel parts and glass, creating space hierarchy and enriching visual translucency that serves to remove the demarcation separating space and time. Thanks to movable partition panels that can be folded into a hidden space, the conference area can also be quickly transformed into a large auditorium to accommodate 100 participants.
COLOUR AND STYLE
Gold and blue are picked as the visual keynotes throughout the office. Gold—as seen in the reception desk, chairs and floor patterns—represents aspirations for wealth and prestige. Blue is found in the ceilings above the main corridor, an imagery of a river that speaks of wealth as a fast-flowing stream, as well as the importance of knowledge and trust in the financial media sector.
Different colours are also used to enhance visual depth. Hence, the carpet to the glass sector is grey on the outside, and indigo, with a filter-like effect, on the inside. The walls of the auditorium and the hallways are covered with bamboo, with grains and textures that create special patterns from the projected lighting.
Wooden freestyle seating in the corridor and lounge room are available for cosy reading, discussion and relaxation. A pendulum-like lamp not only decorates the passage, but also adds to the atmosphere of the floating persistence of time.
The chairs and tables in the lounge room are a combination of practicability and aesthetics. The movable chairs are equipped with storage capacity and fit neatly under the blue rectangle tables, fashioned after the high-back chairs of medieval Europe, creating a ‘small chair within a big chair’ nesting effect.
PROJECT DATA
Project Name: cnYES Office
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Completion Date: March 2016
Gross Floor Area: 820 square metres
Client/Owner: cnYES
Interior Design Firm: Waterfrom Design Co Ltd
Designers: Nic Lee; Sam Chung; Richard Kuo
Images: Sam Tsen
