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CREATIVE OFFICE
l&m design lab
Hanghzhou Qingmo, China
Corporate offices can be utilitarian,the focus beingon maximizing productivity, leaving little room for aesthetic flair. But that isn’t the case for the19,000-square-foot headquarters of Hanghzhou Qingmo by Shanghai-based L&M DesignLab. Led by architect Liu Jinrui,L&M conceived an out-of-this world workplace with an array of innovative touches, namely whatJinrui calls “a UFO in the office.” He’s referring to an installation of mirror-finished stainless steel that starts at the entry’s elevator bay and continues inside to connect various functions, increasing possiblities for staff interaction, its sweeping form simulating the brushstrokes of calligraphy. Embedded in the device is a fullservice Motea bubble tea bar, which faces bays of workstations as well as the office’s collaboration zone and model
display area. In addition, the silvery intervention squeezes out a “crack” for whatJinrui calls a padded “peek-a-boo space,” where an employee can hide, err, take a break. This being Hangzhou, which some consider China’s Silicon Valley, there’s also a table tennis room. —Wilson Barlow
PROJECT TEAM: LIU JINRUI; ZOU MINGXI; LI JIAYAN; LI WEIHUI; LAI WUYI; CHENG MIAO; LI CHUNYAO; LIU HUIDONG; YUAN MING; GUAN HAOTING.
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