Copenhagen-based interdisciplinary design studio OEO has completed a new HQ in the city’s Nordhavn area for the Danish technical cycling clothing brand Pas Normal Studios (PNS)
The HQ is arranged over across two large late 19th-century warehouse buildings. It includes a state-of-the-art office, a gym as well as the brand’s first flagship store in Denmark. A cosy café and a generous outdoor area complete the space.
OEO Studio cleaned up the red-brick buildings and opened them up to natural light. “The building was originally a factory,” explains Thomas Lykke, OEO Studio’s founding partner and head of design.
“We decided to open the façade to bring in more natural light and we added a large oak and steel staircase, which serves to connect the floors, as well as create a bold architectural detail within the space. The beams were exposed and the façade was cleaned up, so the buildings structure is celebrated rather than covered up.”
The main building is home to the flagship store, with private and communal workspaces to the back and on the top floor. There are also lounges and informal meeting rooms, with high tables custom made from oak, which are paired with Adam stools and benches from Frama, while the Develius sofa system from &Tradition sits alongside Jari tables in smoked oak, designed by OEO Studio for Brdr Krüger.
The boardroom and meeting rooms are furnished with sustainably made Rely chairs and slender recycled aluminium Drip tables from &Tradition.
“The design of the HQ is a natural evolution of the work that OEO Studio has done for the PNS stores around the world,” says Lykke. “It encapsulates a homey, warm feeling where you want to spend time with your friends. A warm palette of natural and earthy materials such as wood and stone have been used, as well as glass bricks, green plants and trees and large paper pendants.”
The second building houses bike storage and a staff changing room on the ground floor, while the Studio-Lab, where employees can exercise as well as test new products, is located on the top floor. The roofs of both buildings have been fitted with Velux skylights, which are climate-friendly and fully automated, bathing the interiors in natural light and regulating the temperature inside.
The design of the white-washes space is sleek, minimal and practical but OEO Studio has also added bold splashes of colour in the form of rugs and artwork to create a welcoming and warm work environment. Iconic Hotaru paper pendant lights, designed by Barber Osgerby, which echo the design language of the flagship stores that OEO Studio has already designed for PNS in Taiwan and Seoul, complement the new space.
“The design concept for the flagship store reflects a vision to offer technically advanced apparel in a welcoming and domestic-like space where customers not only purchase cycling gear but are just as likely to stop by for a coffee in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere,” adds Lykke
Images by Pas Normal Studios & OEO Studio
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