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Resene Total Colour Commercial Interior Office Colour Maestro Award Winner
Inside out office

Auckland

Matter architects was invited to take the lease on the top level of bespoke three level commercial premises on which they had been the architects. They took the plunge and inherited an open plan shell with a small set down floor area, referred to as ‘the pit’.

They wanted the offices to reflect the energy and imagination they like investing in all their clients and projects, provide defined/self explaining areas within the open plan, and articulate the method by which the building was constructed creating a legible aesthetic, e.g. the structural elements vs. wall planes. Additionally they thought it would be nice for colleagues to be able to personalise the office, associating ownership and hopefully a sense of pride with their work area.

The purposely exposed steel structure within the space was defined with Resene Black Sheep. These sleek black steel elements were highlighted by a Resene White background. This monochromatic palette provided the perfect canvas to employ bright colour highlights and natural timbers to define specific areas within the open plan.

They created a meeting/chill out space for clients and staff encouraging a relaxed and private feel while maintaining the personality and passive cooling and heating, etc of the office. A painted mural and taking advantage of the existing change in floor level (the pit) added to the informal nature and intimacy of this space, while a timber partition and library provided privacy and acoustic absorption.

The partition screen included small display boxes randomly set within the vertical timber slats. These boxes provided platforms for both green wall anchoring and selected artefacts important to office users. The vertical timber slats form the skeleton framework for the jewel like boxes, this composition loosely taking inspiration from Mondrian, interpreted into a three dimensional structure.

Each member of the team was asked to choose a colour to be used within the office space, applied to the boxes, details within the mural, and furniture. The reasons for these selections ranged from nostalgia to colour psychology within an office environment.

This design process also led Matter to include one or two of the selected box colours in their practice logo, adding additional murals in and around the office space, and colour matching the more formal meeting area chairs.

The boxes feature the colours Resene Big Bang, Resene Jalapeno, Resene Knock Out, Resene Southern Cross, Resene Kereru, Resene Cavern Pink, Resene Pacifika, Resene Blackjack, Resene Windfall, Resene Sahara, Resene Holiday and Resene Quarter Evolution complemented with Resene Enamacryl Metallic and Resene White.

Resene Black Sheep	Resene White	Resene Big Bang	Resene Jalapeno	Resene Knock Out
Resene Southern Cross	Resene Kereru	Resene Cavern Pink	Resene Pacifika	Resene Blackjack
Resene Windfall	Resene Sahara	Resene Holiday	Resene Quarter Evolution

Both Resene Lumbersider and Resene X-200 paint were used on the boxes, due to the maintenance and watering requirements of the plants in some boxes. The Resene X-200 provided them with peace of mind for preventing water damage, while the Resene Lumbersider provided the full colour range required.

Resene Blackboard Paint was used over an entire wall mirroring the timber screen and setting up a relationship between static screen artefacts and dynamic individual blackboard sketches.

There were many in-house debates over which artefact would be selected for the screen; Star Wars figurines vs Masters of the Universe... big decisions!

They found it hard to know when to stop colouring in the chill out space mural. It was agreed that this should be an ever evolving piece reflecting the character of the office and its users over time.

Architectural specifier: matter
Building contractor: Keenan Interiors
Photographer: Simon Devitt