Moldova / Amazon Romania Offices

The space occupies an intermediate level of an office building, which, in turn, belongs to a complex with the same specifics. The activity is IT programming, the beneficiary of the space is the Amazon Romania division.

The source of inspiration for the project has its origins in the first office layouts in the USA, realized at the beginning of the company's activity, where an original furnishing idea was used - the so-called doordesks, which are, as the name suggests, desks made of door panels supported on a metal frame. The result is extremely practical furniture at very low cost.

Based on this concept, the design of the furniture proposed by us suggests, through the shapes and proportions of the component parts, the robustness and formal purity of the original piece of furniture. The desk itself is made of lacquered solid wood, with a simple, linear geometry and generous dimensions, offering a user-friendly workspace.

By renouncing a rigid and dull approach, the depersonalized image that office spaces usually offer, we aimed for the idea behind the architectural solution to be one of spatial openness, functional efficiency, and achieving maximum expression through minimal interventions. This is also supported by the accuracy of the finishes, the chromatic and textural associations (exposed concrete, metal, glass, wood, textile), the plastic qualities of the wood used predominantly in the interior design and, last but not least, the visual communication of the interior space with the spectacular panorama offered by the Palace of Culture.

It was of course necessary to create a series of compartmentalizations, but the grouping of enclosed areas within the office area around the central core of vertical circulation helped to create an open space that embraces the entire floor perimeter. The meeting rooms and managers' offices are separated from the rest of the workspace by glass panels, some of which also act as writing boards (painted glass panels on the inside).

The whole layout is based on the same minimalist concept, which also inspired the furniture line. The finishing of the vertical and some of the horizontal concrete construction elements is minimal. We opted for their direct exposure, preserving the texture of the concrete after stripping; the intervention in this case was only chromatic, the concrete elements being painted dark gray. The entire network of pipes of the ventilation system is also visible, only partially covered by a succession of metal gratings suspended on tie rods. These metal panels also serve to soften the proportions and scale effect given by the height of the space.

The socializing and relaxation area for employees benefits from specific furnishings and fittings, the same generous openness of the space and the wide view of the city.

Photos: stud.-arh. Ștefan Rotaru, stud.-arh. Radu Enea