A workspace flooded with natural light

Given the favourable market conditions, the partners of Varese-based CRS Sinergie had been thinking for some time about expanding their flourishing insurance business. Then last year the group finally decided to open a new branch just a few kilometres from the city centre on a busy road leading south. Despite the anonymity of the urban context, it is ideal as a business location. Now occupied by the new, brightly-lit offices in an approximately 110 square metre space on two levels on the corner of a recently constructed building, the premises were formerly used for retail activities, which meant that a certain amount of conversion work was required. Changes to the floor plan were only made in the mezzanine area, as the dimensions and layout of the ground floor were already suited to the new use. “The double height entrance leads into a space dominated by a black iron monobloc linear staircase that contrasts with the white colour chosen for the surfaces and furnishings and identifies the two main business areas,” commented architect Andrea Losoni from Trestudio, who explained to us his entire architectural project in detail. “One is the ground floor space leading to the front office for negotiations with customers and the other the mezzanine area leading to the glass-walled director’s office and the meeting room. The eye-catching custom-designed staircase was factory built in three separate sections ready for subsequent transport and assembly in a confined space. A team of expert personnel then completed the installation of the structure, which in terms of the design project was intended to serve as the defining sculptural and architectural element of an otherwise anonymous space.” The basic colour of the project is white, chosen for both the walls and the furniture. The only colour variant is the upholstery of the armchairs, where a fabric inspired by the company’s colours was used.
The flooring on the ground floor consists of Amani Grey porcelain slabs from Cerim’s Timeless collection, which were installed on top of the existing floor tiles. The abundant natural light flooding in through the large windows on two sides ensures adequate daytime illumination, thereby enhancing and expanding the interior spaces. Direct and diffuse artificial lighting is also provided by LED ceiling and pendant lamps installed above the workstations. The electrical and data transmission system was redesigned from scratch to avoid the need to demolish the existing floor. All cables run through the false ceiling located in the soffit of the mezzanine structure.