Tabula Studio combines bold red floors and trompe l'oeil details in Bilbao office
Bilbao architecture office Tabula Studio has designed its own workspace and showroom in the Basque city, featuring an eclectic mix of colours and surface finishes that represent the practice's playful approach.
Tabula Studio completely refurbished a former consultancy office to create an open-plan space that showcases various surface materials and interior products by local brands, for which the studio serves as a distributor.
The office is situated on the first floor of a traditional building in the heart of Bilbao's Ensanche district, close to the Isozaki Towers and the Jardines de Albia.
Tabula Studio founder Nerea Apraiz was attracted to the building's high ceilings, French windows and a bay window that provides a strong visual connection with the surrounding urban context.
Her main aim was to create a functional space that reflects the studio's eclectic approach and love of colour, as well as fulfilling the functions of both a workspace and display area.
"We wanted a place that would also act as a showroom, a 'step inside and see' kind of space, full of textures, finishes and unexpected solutions," Apraiz told Dezeen.
"We feel comfortable with eclecticism, because we do not believe in labels and because each project is a unique creative challenge," she added. "That same diversity, that freedom of expression, had to be reflected in our workspace."
The office was previously divided into a waiting room, two large workspaces and two toilets. The new layout accommodates five workstations and a meeting room that is separated from the main space by a glazed partition.
The main office space features a cement floor in a bold red shade that creates a continuous surface everywhere except in the entrance hall and the kitchen, where the studio used a stained oak board from Berry Alloc.
According to Apraiz, the vermillion hue represents "pure energy – a vibrant, warm colour that activates the space and fills it with vitality".
The red flooring extends into the meeting room located at one end of the office, where a table with an irregular triangle shape from Italian manufacturer Miniforms was chosen to optimise the geometry of the space.
One of the walls in the meeting room features a custom-made drawing by Apraiz that was milled into the five-metre-long panelling and is illuminated by an LED strip concealed in a curved coving.
A kitchen incorporated into the office functions as a showcase for several brands the studio works with, including Logos Kitchens and Pando appliances.
Here, a large, three-metre-long island topped with a worktop from Spanish brand Cosentino is framed by two pillars clad in corrugated galvanised metal.
One of the pillars conceals an existing structural column, while the other is described by Apraiz as a "trompe l'oeil", serving no function but to add a sense of symmetry and playful irony.
"The column's metallic finish, with its reflections and industrial texture, brings strength and dynamism to the whole," she said.
"We like the space to have a sense of humour, too, because we believe humour is as valuable an ingredient as technique or creativity in any architectural project."
The office's two toilets were redesigned to showcase various surface materials and fittings that Tabula Studio offers its clients, providing an opportunity for visitors to experience these products firsthand.
The bathrooms are concealed behind a glazed-tile wall that incorporates hidden doors. Apraiz described the deep-green hue of the tiles as one of the studio's signature colours.
"Green has been very present throughout our journey, and it is also deeply rooted in this land,” she said.
"Euskadi [the Basque Country] is mountains, enveloping nature, even if in Bilbao we sometimes lose sight of it. For us, it was essential to introduce it as a chromatic symbol."
The entrance hall leading to the studio space is also clad in full-height lacquered green panels that conceal key utilities. A partition wall framing the entrance is covered with a leaf-patterned textile from Arte International that adds a further natural detail.
Apraiz told Dezeen that the office functions as a joyful and comfortable workspace, while also immersing visitors in a sensory environment that allows them to explore a range of finishes, textures and colours.
"The space gives us freedom, it pushes us to create, and we believe our clients can feel that energy too," she claimed. "It is a living place, where architecture is experienced, not just conceived."
Tabula Studio works predominantly on renovation projects in Bilbao, combining a focus on functionality and aesthetics with material analysis and a knowledge of local suppliers and artisans.
Other vibrant interiors in the city that have been featured on Dezeen include a pink-heavy apartment renovation by architecture studio Azab and Masquespacio's colour-block student housing.
The photography is by Erlantz Biderbost.
The post Tabula Studio combines bold red floors and trompe l'oeil details in Bilbao office appeared first on Dezeen.
