Dezeen Magazine

Scandinavian Spaceship office for Bakken & Bæck, designed by Kvistad

Kvistad creates tonal workspaces inside Oslo office

Single-colour rooms, carpeted walls and circular doorways feature inside this Oslo office which Norwegian studio Kvistad has designed to feel like a "Scandinavian spaceship".

Scandinavian Spaceship office for Bakken & Bæck, designed by Kvistad

Family-run Norwegian studio Kvistad was tasked with creating a new HQ for Bakken & Bæck, a rapidly expanding digital company based in Oslo.

The design for the office was developed around the idea of a Scandinavian-style spaceship, a space the studio imagines as "a union of space-age, futurism and friendly Scandinavian forms".

Scandinavian Spaceship office for Bakken & Bæck, designed by Kvistad

The office's open-plan kitchen, dining and lounge area have therefore all been painted a cool blue shade, complemented by navy carpet and furnishings.

Even the kitchen sink and worktop are made from a matching shade of light-blue Corian.

"All floors, walls and ceilings are painted in the same colour to give a feeling that everything is moulded in the same material," explained the studio.

Scandinavian Spaceship office for Bakken & Bæck, designed by Kvistad

Tonal spaces continue throughout the rest of the office: the cloakroom features coral-pink walls and tiled flooring, matching the peachy-hued bathroom.

There is also an all-beige boardroom and a red-themed work area where cushions and a curved seating banquette are upholstered in terracotta-coloured fabric.

Scandinavian Spaceship office for Bakken & Bæck, designed by Kvistad

In some of the office's rooms, carpet extends up from the floor and over the walls to create the illusion of a "zero-gravity environment" where staff could walk across any surface.

"Many of the details are supported by thin lines to resemble weightlessness," the studio added.

Scandinavian Spaceship office for Bakken & Bæck, designed by Kvistad

Other decor details that nod to the outer space aesthetic include circular doorways into work areas and rounded furniture with curved edges.

Contrasting splashes of colour are provided by green potted plants and a curved orange screen-divider. A couple of rugs by Kvistad that depict playful characters have also been mounted as wall hangings.

Scandinavian Spaceship office for Bakken & Bæck, designed by Kvistad

Kvistad's design for the Bakken & Bæck office has been shortlisted in the small workspace interior category of the 2019 Dezeen Awards.

It will go head-to-head against projects such as the Ya Vsesvit co-working space in Ukraine, which has been decked out in dark tones and a property development office in Kuala Lumpur, which is fronted by a faceted gold facade.