architectural practice, gallery
Ivan Lazzaroni, Raffaele Oppido, 2018
96 Belsize Lane, NW3 5BE
OmniDe is a two floors 100m2 office space conceived as a laboratory where Art, Design and Architecture live together. What we designed is a space that is born from the conversion of an existing accountant space into an architecture office.
Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage, Belsize Park
Finchley Road & Frognal
31, 268, 46, 13, 113, 187, C11
Belsize Lane is a two floors 100m2 office space conceived as a laboratory where Art, Design and Architecture live together. What we designed is a space that is born from the conversion of an existing accountant space into an architecture office. However, this is not just a regular office, since it is thought to involve widely the local community, which is welcome to join our office during our many events, talks and exhibitions. By doing this we are really keen on uplifting the social life of the neighbourhood, enhancing the interest towards arts, design and aesthetics.
The new workspace brings together the finest products from a selection of skilled craftsmen to create a space characterized by a mix of different finishes, such as marble, wood, cement, steel.
A very innovative characteristic of our office is the presence of an automated system which manages the whole environment. You can set and control the intensity and colour of the spotlights, the sound and video system, cooling and heating system, ventilation system, alarm system, and the CCTV.
At ground floor, there is a space for permanent and temporary art exhibitions as well as an opportunity for events and seminars in order to promote and create a business hub for constant networking and the exchange of knowledge and ideas.
The challenge was to move the main architectural office from the street level, where it was expected to be, into the basement, in order to leave the ground floor space open to the public and exhibitors and to create a more intimate and private space at the basement level where the actual design is done. In order to make this happen, we decided to increase the staircase well as well as the window transparency so that we could bring in and down more natural light.
A tailor-made steel staircase brings you to the basement where the Omnide architecture practice is located together with a conference room and a small workshop. Moreover, in this particular space a deconstructive concept merges bricks and wood traditional finishes with more contemporary materials and elements, such as microcement, the joinery and exposed mild steel not as commonly used in a typical office environment and applied to fragmented lines and shapes. This design results in a workspace that suits perfectly with the needs of a small architecture firm and where the design idea shows up immediately on sight.
