As a company defined by their rebellious thinking and rigorous execution, RebelDot wanted their new Cluj Napoca HQ to reflect their singular identity. Our proposal took the shape of a café where the team’s interests are reunited, providing a space for informal social interaction.
We want our new space to be a community place. That’s why friends, family, and the friends of our friends are always welcome here.
-RebelDot
Located in the vicinity of downtown Cluj Napoca, we knew our proposal needed to highlight the urban quality of the space. After establishing the relationships between the more traditional existing work- and meeting areas, our aim was to interfere with utmost precision for the maximal effect.
Adapting the Club Office principles to the needs of the client and maintaining the necessary balance between site and intervention was a challenge we were excited to meet.
Compositionally speaking, the RebelCafé consists of several smaller elements gravitating around a central communal table. Likewise, the adjacent Multifunctional Area reflects RebelDot's playful spirit both through the flexibility of the design, and the individual pieces, such as Spoon, which were carefully chosen and are peppered across the space.
Ultimately, this project revealed the core principles we needed to keep in mind when intervening in any given context: finding the right language and medium to express the client’s character, thinking outside the box and keeping an eye on details at all times.
Thus, we broke down the rigidity inherent to first meetings, and provided ample opportunities for a fresh first impression. The RebelCafé connects various focused-work areas without imposing on them, and the warm colour palette (with RebelDot's trademark yellow taking center stage) invites people to relax and open up. The Cafe also benefits from an open view to the city, immersing people in the urban landscape.
This project represents a targeted answer to a more universal question: how to balance out work and play within the office space paradigm? Architectural design provides the framework for human life to unfold, and while work is certainly an important part of that, it is vital to keep in mind that a personal touch and human interaction is what pushes a space to the next level.
