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TIRES, NOT TIRED- BRIDGESTONE OFFICES
For a recent interior design of the offices of Bridgestone in Polanco–Lomas in Mexico City, the team from the Chicago-based practice SPACE used carpet tile in a playful way that demonstrates its versatility at matching mood and theme. For the world’s largest tire and rubber company, architect Juan Carlos Baumgartner, the CEO and founder of SPACE, took his cue from racing cars and speed.
8 August, 2017
By donlim77 In Blog

The interior design’s red, shiny curves and stripes evoke the exteriors of racing cars, or the starting or finishing line of a race. In this context, the carpet tile used, over a 2300 square metre surface stretching out on a single floor, indicates “movement, dynamism and light in motion” with both carpet and lighting emulating “the blur effect of a car in motion” and “light in motion giving you the impression of speed”.

Looking at the dynamic grey patterns of the carpet tiles with highlights of red and white, you can almost feel the motion of cars whizzing by you, a purposeful design choice to incubate a sense of energy and dynamism in the workplace.

At the same time, carpet tile has been used in a practical way to separate spaces and provide wayfinding: the colours of a grassy knoll next to the race track, solid sand-coloured stripes that mark off meeting areas, a large red circle that marks a social and recreational space. The architects intentionally used design to separate public areas from operating areas.

The rest of the office design is just as creative – and conceptual. The black shiny reception area is meant to evoke the moment just before one accelerates in a car. The open space of the office, with a generous use of glass, resembles “speed, the way you look at things and lights when you are driving a car fast.” They’ve even used Bridgestone products such as tractor tires to create furniture such as armchairs and swings, and to otherwise decorate walls and ceilings.

Hoping to increase productivity through functionality, SPACE has a strong design philosophy. They seek “SUSTAINABLE solutions which not only RESPECT the environment but which help to improve our surroundings”. They’ve even matched this with a methodology to encourage all projects to be “green” to at least some degree. They’ve defined commitment from light to dark green, ranging from energy savings and rational use of resources to a high level of ecological awareness and commitment.