GRAZIOSI PROGETTI
OFFICE, DEN HAAG
National monument Nirwana was realised between 1926 and 1929 by architects Duiker and Wiebenga. It was the first residential flats in the Netherlands with a concrete skeleton, and at the time the tallest building in our country in reinforced concrete. Nina Graziosi: “Nirwana is Sanskrit for ‘the highest attainable’ and that is what we always strive for. I think both the building and the location are fantastic, we’ve been here for thirteen years. But we wanted an office that is suitable for hybrid working, so we found the perfect space on the ground floor. This used to be a car wash and garage, very fitting for me as a car enthusiast.”
The interior of the new office has a transparent open layout, with the shared workplaces facing the street. Directly at the entrance is a reception for guests. Partly enclosed by a curved glass wall, the co-creation space is centrally located in the space, where meetings and work can take place. Facilities such as material samples and printers are hidden behind a closed, semi-circular wall. “We introduced organic shapes within the existing tight column structure to create a spatial image.”
The pantry, equipped with an Italian 2-group espresso machine, is located in a dark materialized volume, contrasting with the rest of the interior. “Precisely because we work a lot with colours, we kept everything white. Materials such as the light travertine for one of the walls reinforce this neutral look. This space must breathe the atmosphere that you find in the studio of a fashion house, in the large open wall cabinet you will find many books about art, fashion and architecture as a source of inspiration.”
The curved wall with mirror strips is a playful reference to Coco Chanel’s famous ‘mirrored staircase’. As a striking contrast to the new objectivity of the building, Graziosi designed an elaborately decorated light ceiling for the co-creation space that is a beautiful reference to her homeland Italy. “The pictures on the ceiling are frescoes from Palazzo Te in Mantova, where I visited thirty years ago.”
National monument Nirwana was realised between 1926 and 1929 by architects Duiker and Wiebenga. It was the first residential flats in the Netherlands with a concrete skeleton, and at the time the tallest building in our country in reinforced concrete. Nina Graziosi: “Nirwana is Sanskrit for ‘the highest attainable’ and that is what we always strive for. I think both the building and the location are fantastic, we’ve been here for thirteen years. But we wanted an office that is suitable for hybrid working, so we found the perfect space on the ground floor. This used to be a car wash and garage, very fitting for me as a car enthusiast.”
The interior of the new office has a transparent open layout, with the shared workplaces facing the street. Directly at the entrance is a reception for guests. Partly enclosed by a curved glass wall, the co-creation space is centrally located in the space, where meetings and work can take place. Facilities such as material samples and printers are hidden behind a closed, semi-circular wall. “We introduced organic shapes within the existing tight column structure to create a spatial image.”
The pantry, equipped with an Italian 2-group espresso machine, is located in a dark materialized volume, contrasting with the rest of the interior. “Precisely because we work a lot with colours, we kept everything white. Materials such as the light travertine for one of the walls reinforce this neutral look. This space must breathe the atmosphere that you find in the studio of a fashion house, in the large open wall cabinet you will find many books about art, fashion and architecture as a source of inspiration.”
The curved wall with mirror strips is a playful reference to Coco Chanel’s famous ‘mirrored staircase’. As a striking contrast to the new objectivity of the building, Graziosi designed an elaborately decorated light ceiling for the co-creation space that is a beautiful reference to her homeland Italy. “The pictures on the ceiling are frescoes from Palazzo Te in Mantova, where I visited thirty years ago.”
