MOMO Office / PAL Design

Curated by 韩爽 - HAN Shuang

Interior Designers: PAL Design
Area: 3600 m²
Year: 2018
Photographs:Qilin Zhang
Manufacturers: Asia Marble, Au Pak Marble, Cobelco, Floover, Spring Collection

Text description provided by the architects. True to the pioneering spirit of one of the fastest-growing mobile app startup in China, MOMO's new office in Beijing boasts the perfect breeding ground for creativity and innovation - and naturally demands an unconventional design. Nasdaq-listed MOMO has been at the forefront of mobile applications and digital platforms for social networking, short films and live shows - nothing short of challenging putting forth a user-friendly solution for such diverse requirements.

Throughout a horizontally interlocking geometric layout, natural light diffuses down through its myriad skylights in various shapes and angles. They are in particular inspirational for designers who find them not dissimilar to a film roll unwinding. What is particularly worth noting is the two entrances to the resulting airy interior, including one specially dedicated to catwalks or popup performances as special guests are prepared for the magic within as they follows a long, secret path with an origamic corridor with triangular skylights.

Surprises are in store even with the normal entrance for day-to-day use, when the foyer opens up to multi-level decks emerging on both side as handy seats for the open space in between, which doubles as an ad-hoc stage fitted with track lights above. The entrance is in fact also meant to transport MOMO's employees into another world of quality but fun work - and for their talents to awake through and through.

So despite a simple black-and-white colour scheme with occasional wood furnishings, thoughtful details abound, and offering as many possibilities is central to the overall brief. As users are always "on the move" and commute within the office from product tests to team meetings, such flexibility and freedom, thanks to all the in-between, undefined open spaces, helps facilitate workflows and fulfill unique spatial potentials from social interactions to mind-stimulating inspirations.

An example is the double staircase, a significant centerpiece featuring an expansive lightwell which offers additional space to chill and connect. A meeting room with transparent glass walls opens up in the midst of office workstations, again unconventional, but conveniently answers different needs. Concluding the overall design on a high note is the theatre floor below ground, which not only offers a company canteen, but also a spacious reception area to prepare guests for a professional-grade cinema for screenings.

In addition to a sculpted passageway in fresh white leading to this lovely surprise, the practicality of the cinema cannot be understated given its velvety purple carpet, comfortable couches and form-fitting lighting.

All these comprehensive facilities, connected by a dynamic, flexible and immersive studio interior, helps inspire a generation of creative professionals and complement the bold, asymmetrical architecture which stands out against its neighbourhood.