Office + housing. Mixed-use project by Sergey Makhno Architects

Architect
Makhno Architects, Sergey Makhno
A type
apartments, office
Status
implemented
Year
2019
Size
175,6 square. m

The Ukrainian design studio Sergey Makhno Architects created an office with a real home atmosphere. After all, the workspace for the employees of the agrarian company STEFES and the apartment of its founders were located here under one roof. Also, the architects have arranged an area for recreation in the fresh air.

The agrarian company STEFES, which specializes in crop protection products, ordered a mixed-use complex from the architects of Serhiy Makhn studio. On a plot with an area of ​​175,6 square meters. m in Bila Tserkva was to house an office, living quarters and an outdoor recreation area.

Since environmental protection is one of the priorities for customers, this was reflected in the project of the complex. During its implementation, the principles of energy efficiency were taken into account. The building has solar collectors on the roof, solar protection systems and a heat pump.

The territory, on which almost nothing grew before the construction of the complex, is now drowning in greenery: trees, an English lawn, a bed of beets near the entrance, a six-meter "living" wall that serves as a fence.

"When our work began, there was a wasteland and a lonely apricot," says architect Ilya Tovstonog, one of the authors of the project. — Now customers have their own mini-forest with trees instead of a fence. Behind the hedge, we planted 12‑meter firs and pines, which perfectly isolate the territory."

Although the building looks more like a country residence from the outside, inside it combined two different functions. Working areas and a private apartment of the owners are located under the sloping roof, and a minimalist two-story box is intended for living rooms of employees and technical premises for product storage.

"The main challenge of this project is to unite under one roof two types of premises with radically different moods. Create a working, motivating atmosphere in the office, and a cozy and homely one in the owners' apartment. At the same time, the premises had to harmonize with each other," says Serhiy Makhno.

The color range of the interiors can be called quite restrained - it is mostly monochrome shades, taupe and various wood textures, among them the green patina on the copper stands out. Brighter accents are only in living rooms.

The restrained palette does not make the project strict: all rooms are full of indoor flowers that add coziness to the atmosphere. This is a parallel with the activities of a plant protection company. However, greenery in the office can also be found in quite unusual places. Yes, live plants decorate a minimalistic white lamp above the work area. In addition, there is a real green wall here - one of the favorite techniques of Sergei Makhn's studio.

As for the characteristic style of Sergey Makhno Architects, it can also be guessed by the ceramic elements - lamps in the work and living spaces and tiles in the bathrooms, as well as the use of sculpture in the interior (here it is also on a plant theme).

Although the STEFES office is not an open space, all rooms are open and interconnected, separated from each other by transparent glass partitions.

For the meeting room, the architects chose smart glass, which can become transparent or matte depending on the needs. A sliding system of partitions allows you to expand the premises for holding lectures or other group events. The meeting room has large, full-height panoramic windows that overlook the courtyard. But the most remarkable element here is a huge six-meter table made of ash board, the age of which is more than 150 years. This table and the copper lamps above it were designed by the Makhna studio especially for STEFES.

The authors of the project used different materials for zoning. For example, the security room was hidden in a rusted copper box. The tree in the office has a connecting function — it conceptually unites the room. Guided by the principles of sustainable architecture, the Sergey Makhno Architects team used beams from the old building that stood on the site before construction to decorate the walls of the new office.

The bathroom is decorated with "beehives" - ceramic tiles from a limited collection, which the studio also created with its own hands.

The architects managed to implement a real mixed-use project in a small area, where there is nothing superfluous and which is made with care for users and the environment.

 

Photo: Andriy Avdeyenko