The reception area at Urban Jungle and The Foundry Real Estate Co. is a cool, neutral shared space for both companies.
We previously blogged about the concept for our Urban Jungle office design a few months back and now that the space is complete we’re excited for the big reveal here on our blog.
Urban Jungle is a forward thinking brand marketing firm whose goal is to help businesses differentiate themselves by providing a creative and intelligent vision from which to build a business, culture and clearly defined brand. They have been instrumental in assisting Hatch with our own brand imaging, website, and print; whenever we need advice or a second eye for anything related to our brand Urban Jungle is our go-to.
The layered plywood reception desk creates texture and rhythm in an inexpensive way.
We are constantly reminding our readers, clients and colleagues of the importance of strengthening their brand through the interior design of their commercial space. No need to remind this client. Urban Jungle wanted something fun and interesting, but nothing too literal. Our client was in a process of re-branding when we first took on this project and moving towards bright colours and faceted, geometric patterns. It was obvious that they wanted to do something different which was music to our ears.
The signage wall and boardroom area with views towards the rear of the shared space.
There were a few challenges we faced when designing this space. The reception area, meeting room and staff area are shared with another company, The Foundry Real Estate Co., so we needed to create common areas that could support both brands, but also divide the long narrow space in a way that maintained an open feel. We were also tasked with the challenge of creating a creative, professional space, but on a constrained budget. Our interior designers had a lot of fun sourcing and applying materials in a way that was budget friendly but also unconventional to ensure we provided Urban Jungle with the most bang for their buck.
The boardroom invites visitors through punchy turquoise doors and leads them to a simple, industrial space with an interesting and inexpensive cardboard ceiling treatment.
Rather than dividing The Foundry’s space from Urban Jungle’s using solid walls, ceilings, and doors we opted for a more flexible approach. We maintained an open corridor, but segregated the spaces using partial height slatted walls and planned for an exposed ceiling. Each dedicated office area was allotted an equal amount of space – a cozy 300 square feet. Urban Jungle requested that the interior design include semi-transparent visual separation between the hallway and their office space, 3 private workstations, storage, and possibly a casual meeting table.
A detailed shot of the creative ceiling installation and industrial, heritage style light fixture.
After a few reiterations of various space plans we arrived at the solution below – a plastic crate partition to separate the office area from the corridor (yes, plastic crates), 3 workstations complete with plywood carrels along the rear wall, storage at the far end, and a table for impromptu team meetings.
The layout of Urban Jungle’s semi-private office area including custom booth-style work carrels for acoustic privacy.
We still had the challenge of developing a design that suited two separate and distinct businesses. A common thread between the two company’s logos was the use of black and white – the perfect way to create neutral territory using color. You’ll see that we incorporated a large amount of black in the partitions, both conventional and wood slatted, while integrating white as an overall backdrop.
A view of the oversized internal graphic signage wall displaying Urban Jungle’s new and refreshed identity.
It’s typical in commercial spaces to expect high quality craftsmanship, but when budgets are tight, sometimes a more deconstructed look is best. So, to keep costs at a minimum while infusing some warmth, texture, and visual interest our design team introduced a material we all know very well – plywood.
The booth style carrels are each clad individually in 3 different hues of felt-textured carpet tile to improve the absorption of excess noise.
For the reception desk we layered slabs of plywood, randomly adding black stained pieces to implement that deconstructed feel. The result is a striking, simple and cost effective desk that works with both brands in a unique way. The feature slatted walls followed a similar pattern, a black stained slat here and there among the natural plywood. To keep the space interesting and fun, we added an eye-catching pop of colour on the heritage-styled meeting room doors and finished them off with sleek, contemporary handles.
The space is functional for a collaborative team and allows for impromptu meetings as well as privacy from passing colleagues via the stacked crate partition.
Urban Jungle is a company that embraces colour. Their brand imaging and graphic pattern are host to a spectrum of hues including orange-red, cyan, and lime green. So naturally, it made sense to introduce those lively colours within their workspace. We did this in the angular booth-style carrels by selecting a felt textured carpet tile in the three distinct shades to line the interior. Not only did this add life to the design it also had a very functional purpose of addressing acoustic privacy – important in an open office scenario.
The only literal reference to the Jungle, er, or maybe it’s a forest. An office should be fun right?
It’s always fun for us to work with companies like Urban Jungle. Our ideas on design, function, and brand communication are in sync, so collaboration between our firms always results in such well analyzed solutions. This project was no different; we had many challenges, but were able to use them to our advantage creating a space that functions for two unique companies and demonstrates how your corporate message can be communicated and strengthened through interior design.