Design with a twist

While the tourist associates Switzerland with spectacular mountain scenery, chalets and cow bells, these are not the country's only claims to fame. World-class science, higher education and developments in technology have done just as much to put the country on the map.

To fully exploit the potential of international co-operation in these fields, the Swiss government has established Swissnex offices in several countries, including China. The new Shanghai office shown here, designed by EXH Design, needed to reflect the innovative spirit that characterises the Swiss culture, says designer Zhang Xi.

"Effectively, the office provides a first impression of Switzerland," she says. "It had to reinforce a modern, open and creative approach to business. It also needed to be flexible in terms of functionality. As well as providing workspaces and meeting areas, the office had to be designed so the institute could host receptions and special events."

Working with the bright red and white colours of the Swiss flag, the designers divided the office into two key areas. Red defines the public spaces, which include the reception area, coffee corner and conference hall. The private office area, with its open workstations, features more calming white walls and furniture.

The key feature of the interior, however, is the wall that separates the private and public spaces. Made from twisted red-and-white resin strips, the wall curves a path through the office, allowing fleeting glimpses of activity on either side. Featuring Swiss red-coloured strips on the public side, with white in the office area, the screen appears to change and move as you pass through the office.

"The partition animates the space," says Zhang. "It also provides a visual connection between the two areas. We wanted people to be able to feel or imagine what was happening beyond the wall, but we didn't want to make it too obvious. Slicing and twisting a simple wall helped achieve this."

Interior spaces, both public and private, are also defined by the wall, says Zhang.

"The curved wall floats and shapes a waiting space and a discussion corner, and wanders to enclose a meeting room at the far end of the interior."

The designer says the wall features a pattern of five straight strips of different lengths followed by a curved strip. This helps create the sense of rhythmic harmony.

The space is further enlivened by the lighting, which was designed to resemble a starry sky, and by the highly polished stone flooring. With its mirrored finish, the floor reflects the twisting strips and the geometric white stools in the reception area.

Zhang says the office, in a 20-year-old highrise, has a low ceiling, so the design also needed to make the interior look as spacious as possible. Where possible, the ceiling was raised, and building services concealed in bulkheads at the sides.

Story by: Colleen Hawkes