The Denys & von Arend studio has recently completed the interior design project for Coatresa's headquarters, healthy offices inspired by the concept of 'the third skin'.
Factory and offices, in a passivehaus warehouse
Coatresa, a family company founded in 1983, located in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda and led by the second generation, specialises in providing solutions in the industrial sector, through non-stick and anti-corrosion coatings, specialising in the food bakery sector in terms of moulds and coatings.
The generational change has been the definitive impulse to buy a new industrial building with the aim of uniting factory and headquarters in the same space, creating a corporate environment that encompasses the different departments and promotes the connection between the manufacturing process and the office.
In addition, the management team was looking for a PassiveHaus office, a system based on optimising resources through passive techniques that make the building efficient: quality thermal insulation of the envelope, installation of high performance windows and doors, absence of thermal bridges, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and air tightness. All this to achieve a totally healthy environment.
The concept: The third skin
To approach the design concept, the Denys & von Arend studio team started from the meaning of the anti-adhesion and anti-corrosion coatings manufactured by Coatresa to form the concept of "The third skin". Thus, the basis was the idea of coating: "to cover one thing completely with another, usually forming a layer, a skin".
According to Hundertwasser's 5-skin theory, there are 5 skins: the first is the epidermis, the second is clothing, the third is the home, the fourth is the social environment and the fifth is the global environment.
"We created an analogy with regard to the third skin that corresponds to the home and that for us will be our office, so we started to think about how this third skin could be developed in our new offices", explains Denys & von Arend.
A skin that articulates the floor plan, through which a space is generated that allows isolation from the rest, but without turning its back on everything that is going on around it, so that communication flows in the working environment.
The mould: Texture and repetition
The project started from a completely undressed and industrial space, on which a refined industrial style has been generated.
"Based on one of their products, the baker's moulds, we were inspired by the idea of the mould, where the presence of repetition will create a pattern, a repetition of elements that will bring a certain rhythm to the interior design", say the Denys & von Arend team.
An office with movement has been created by means of a metallic mesh that acts as a visual filter between zones, separating them, but without actually dividing them, thanks to its semi-transparency. It generates a sensation of seeing without being seen.
In this luminous space, certain "raw" materials are left uncovered, covering them with a patina of colour that gives them a new focus within the space.
Wall coverings and dividers of different textures are combined, mixing padded finishes with other harder ones and bringing richness and variety to the envelopes.
The design of different volumes within the space, working the different heights, generates boxes within the building and dividers that generate new routes within the office. By adding more or less skins, more private spaces and other more permeable spaces are created to respond to the different needs within the office: meeting rooms, informal meeting space, phone booths, etc...
The floor of the new offices becomes a single space where a wide variety of activities take place. Being located in the centre, the office articulates the entire floor and, thanks to its circular shape, creates a space for connection and meeting within the space. It becomes a very pleasant place to take a break.
The sum of the different elements: skins, patterns, dividers, light, variety of textures, makes the office an elegant, timeless space with a relaxed atmosphere that invites productivity, teamwork or individual work indistinctly offering a place where employees interact socially and professionally in a healthy environment.
Abour Denys & Von Arend
Founded 25 years ago by Patricia Von Arend and Nathalie Denys, the Denys & Von Arend interior design studio has forged its great prestige based on large doses of passion and enthusiasm, always betting on quality interior design, which has allowed it to gain the trust of its clients. In its DNA is the vocation of service to the client, to whom they provide integral solutions according to their needs.
Throughout its history, Denys & Von Arend has successfully tackled prestigious projects of different sizes and complexities, supported by a solid team of passionate professionals.
Their success stories include hotel projects - Hotel Don Carlos Marbella, Hotel Bel Air, Club House Dorado Beach Resort, Hotel El Tropical, Hotel Casa Anamaría, Hotel Catalonia Berlín Mitte, Hotel Axel, Hotel Playasol in Cadaqués, among others and the Paradores de Málaga, Aiguablava, Torledo, Benicarló, Mérida, Alcañiz, Zamora, Arties and Santillana del Mar-, Offices -Perrigo, Borker Genius, Garmin, Oca Group. Offices Selenta Group, Privalia, Bimedica, among others-, restaurants -Pasarela, Frankfurt Station, Montes de Galicia, Sensacions Catering, Colors, among others- as well as shops -Condoms, Gems...- and university residences for Uax and Sepi.
From their offices in Barcelona and Madrid (Spain), they are currently immersed in the implementation of several interior design projects.