A co-working space. Vaudoise Assurance

To find inspiration for this project, which featured a range of environments dedicated to different activities, Atelier Oï looked to the Japanese tradition of Washi paper and succeeded in creating different installations and moods through an interplay between light and the transparency of paper.

In 2016, Vaudoise Assurance launched an architectural competition for the design of a co-working space at its Lausanne offices. The redesign of the space was based on the architectural elements of the original building, constructed between 1952 and 1956 by Jean Tschumi, Bernard Tschumi’s father.

The building’s chief element is a lobby with a ceiling decorated with an origami-inspired design, which led Atelier Oï to create a geometrical composition for the project featuring the installation of a mobile, designed by the Minoshi Garden studio, into the co-working room. This room is used by company employees for brainstorming sessions and the Minoshi Garden paper flowers installation helps create the ideal space for inspiration.

This is the only space in the building featuring the mobile; a bespoke integrated artificial lighting system was also created just for this area. This is not used in any of the other locations featuring Minoshi Garden installations.

For the lighting, Atelier Oï chose Laser Blade XS luminaires because they are so compact and could be recessed in the sound-absorbing panels attached to the ceiling. Laser Blade XS luminaires are the smallest version of the already revolutionary Laser Blade – a rectangular recessed luminaire that emits a circular beam of light.

The illumination in this space is an interplay between movement, shadows, and different lights; the theme of the project becomes a reinterpretation of nature integrated into an office building.

The Minoshi Garden project is based on the Honminoshi Garden installation. The product is made of semi-industrial paper, while the installation is a unique work of art, made of craft paper made by the paper masters from the Gifu Prefecture in central Japan.