By Annie
Aggarwal
Photography:
Frans Silvestre Arquitectos
Read Time:
2 mins
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The
recently completed ARV customer services office in Valencia, by Fran Silvestre
Arquitectos, is a symphony is white, interspersed with shapes and forms in grey
and black.
Located in
a commercial complex in the centre of the city, a calculated geometry with
sharp turns and structural elements is used to advantage; transporting
customers and employees to a monochrome realm of straight lines composing clean
and distinct spaces.
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The
labyrinthine layout is regularised with orthogonal geometries. Visual spaces
carved out in bold greys, though abstract in form, clearly demarcate the public
areas, efficiently guiding customer movement.
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Once through the minimal yet bold aluminium-clad entrance, which also allows a ventilation outlet for the space, an otherworldly waiting area greets customers. The elongated white space composed of minimal black and grey furniture and offering digital information on screens, skilfully hides existing structural members and is enlarged by a reflective black surface running along the sidewall. Customers are easily led to the public attention space marked clearly in a grey geometric form.
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All other service areas, work spaces and corridors adapt to the acute geometry to meet the organisational grid and effortlessly flow from one to the other, in a shroud of white. The main staircase, which leads to the meeting rooms and offices at the upper floor, is a transcendental experience in itself. Stepping up through a frame, one is immediately surrounded by stark white walls; and climbing up the white steps seems like a journey to another realm.
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A
directional ceiling completes each space matching the colour and lines of the
spaces below with recessed lighting that complements the overall geometric
patterns. The lighting strips offer a sort of
signage to define the various areas and also provide ambient lighting for the
entire office.
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Though the
almost surgical ARV offices cannot boast of comfort and warmth, they do inspire
intrigue and interest with a emboldened colour palette, optical illusions and
functional spaces carved out of sharp geometries.
Fact File:
Architecture: Fran Silvestre Architects
Interior Design: Alfaro Hofmann
Project Team: Principles in charge: Fran
Silvestre, Fran Ayala & Vicente Picó & several collaborating architects
Built Area: 625.86 sq. m.
Location: Valencia
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