The building has been treated like an outdoor environment, with indoor urban planning. Corridors are treated as streets, with benches at the end of them. Separate offices and workspaces have been treated like houses coming off these indoor street, turning the workplace into a small community with shared public spaces. a bookcase in the shape of a tree forms a central part-like area, making a garden libarary.
An igloo structure covered in old newspaper, which appears on the corner of one of these streets, is branded the Egg of Talent. “It is somewhere to go if you need inspiration, to watch a film, to take your laptop, or get your head down and think,” explains Tetere. “This was important to people working creatively in a shared environment.” Tetere adds that the project “was a good break from bars and clubs, as you are always thinking about function. We enjoyed learning about the needs of these companies and the people who work in them, and taking a creative approach to those needs.”
Open AD’s most noticeable recycling project is a large cabinet filled with a collection of disused domestic and office items, turning it into display case of pre- and post-Soviet design. “We went round second-hand shops and called friends to see if they had any appliances we could use, but more importantly, we asked the employees at McCann Erickson and Inspired to bring in objects from their homes that they didn’t need anymore,” says Tetere. “There is a big computer screen from the 1990s, an old home telephone. Some of the objects are ten, 20, 30 years old. I think it’s nice to come to work and see something that was a part of your home in the place that you work.”
