izaskun chinchilla hacks IKEA furniture into playful co-working space in madrid

as co-working spaces become increasingly popular in cities around the world, ‘utopic_us’ is an example designed by izaskun chinchilla architects located in madrid, spain.

as co-working spaces become increasingly popular in cities around the world, ‘utopic_us’ is an example designed by izaskun chinchilla architects located in madrid, spain. the space has the capacity to facilitate 100 workers in a diverse number of settings that are directly influenced by the contrasting and colorful cultures of japan and new york. ‘we need to feel our working space is adapted to the unique necessities we all have. it is really important to create a proper work atmosphere and the architecture and the design of the spaces and furniture is crucial to get it’.

izaskun chinchilla architects worked with a DIY, temporary aesthetic to establish the eclectic and vibrant setting. the focus was to create unique working spaces to influence creating and thinking where people would enjoy to work at. as well as the open-plan spaces, there are eight private offices populated with versatile and changeable furniture systems. recognizable IKEA furniture including the svärta bunk bed, fjellse bed, beddinge bed drawer have been combined to create the various desk systems. in turn, the makeshift IKEA hacked furniture can be adapted, appropriated within the co-working space or even recreated at home.

despite serving as a working environment, a playful setting is achieved with the different levels and the meeting rooms that imitate the essence of a japanese ryokan. this is portrayed with the presence of ceramic tables and overall low height that also serves as space for large events delimited by sliding panels. the large hall space reflects new york, with decoration mimicking broadway style and a waiting area suspended with swings.