AHB Technology Sdn Bhd’s Artwright showroom/ corporate office is a stunning design masterpiece that emerged as a winner at the MIID Awards
The new award-winning showroom and office space for Artwright Group Naza Tower, Platinum Park, Persiaran KLCC is a striking showcase representing Artwright as the leading premium office furniture brand.
Marrying the concept of Heritage + Future Heritage as a catalyst towards visionary innovations coming together, the space was designed such that each section was revealed design layer upon design layer; and collection upon collection; creating constant interesting reveals as visitors walk through the showroom gallery. This effect makes the trip to the showroom a worthwhile and satisfying journey.
The back office meanwhile is tucked on the other side of the space, away from the showroom area.
Design Rationale
The Artwright Showroom and Office at Naza Tower, Persiaran KLCC was designed as a “by appointment only” Office Furniture Boutique.
Due to the rich heritage that Artwright possesses – with its humble beginnings in 1965, when its Founder Yong Chee Leong came up with Artwright’s first drafting board and drafting stand targeted for architects and engineers – it has since built a reputation among its high-end clientele from all over the world. This legacy was due to the many years the company has spent constantly innovating and improving the quality of its products.
Celebrating its heritage as the oldest manufacturer of office system furniture in Malaysia and given its reputation as a high-quality system furniture brand among its clientele, Artwright decided to match its new showroom / office to the value that it has achieved.
Relocating its new showroom / office to Persiaran KLCC; famous for its various upscale, high-end boutiques; the interior design for this space has been aligned with the location as well as the rich heritage and the value of the brand itself.
The intended design goal was to curate a showroom cum office space that is as unique as Artwright’s rich heritage.
“Case studies were conducted prior to the design stage. Interestingly though, the findings point out that most showrooms for office system furniture in Malaysia fail to portray the value of the brands’” he shares.
Therefore, inspired by the boutiques surrounding its location, a design strategy was formulated for this showroom / office for Artwright – which was to create a boutique-like feel within the space.
This, according to Choong, is especially true for the showroom zone to further accentuate the product and technology Artwright has innovated throughout the years.
The entire floor was divided into two design scheme areas namely;
1. The showroom and mock-up space
2. The back office
Window display
Aligned with the goal to create a unique showroom tailored for Artwright that enables it to stand out from the rest, a window display area inspired by high-end designer boutiques was deliberately designed at the foyer as a form of an introduction of the brand before visitors step inside the showroom. This thematic window display in fact, relates the story of what Artwright is all about and which also showcases their latest collection.
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Feature display
As visitors step into the showroom, they will be greeted with the Feature Display area that houses the current highlighted products by Artwright. The ceiling was designed and treated in such a way as to draw the eyes towards the products displayed underneath it; whereas the flooring pattern mimics the ceiling design to further accentuate the products.
History wall
Located on the left side of the main entrance, the History Wall is a unique feature that enables visitors to further understand what Artwright is all about as well as to showcase the stories and achievements on what makes it the leading office system furniture brand that it is today.
Concierge/Lounge
As visitors walk further into the showroom, their eyes will immediately shift to the concierge area that comes with a unique bespoke concierge counter with the coined name “Caterpillar”, and a backdrop with the illuminated signage with the word “Artwright” applied on it.
Next to it is a lounge area for visitors to wait at before they are ushered in to explore the rest of the showroom.
The lounge acts as a focal area designed to create a sense of intimacy. This serves to bring down the illusion of the feature ceiling; designed with multiple layers and at a different rotated angle each to create an interesting overall look at this section of the space.
Office Seating Gallery Gallery
The Office Seating Gallery showcases the entire collection range of office chairs produced and manufactured by Artwright.
At this section, visitors and customers can see and feel the chairs up close and even sit on them to test their comfort level. A cylindrical hydraulic platform has been placed here to enable customers to view all corners of a chair, especially in reference to the bottom part.
R&D Corner
The display corner called the “R&D Corner” features a graphic wall that mimics a blackboard containing the technical drawings and details of a product by Artwright.
This unique feature isinspiredby the blueprints commonly found in a Research & Development (R&D) Centre. The floating counter fabricated with solid surface locates dismantled chair parts as part of the display to showcase the engineering techniques that function behind the architecture of a chair produced by Artwright.
The Main Gallery
The Main Gallery which is located beyond the R&D Corner provides visitors “Set Displays” which feature a combination of Artwright’s furniture being arranged in a Set Design to simulate actual applications of the furniture model and range.
Additional displays of furniture model are also provided in the Gallery as well as at the Virtualisation Pods which serve as discussion and exploration stations where specifiers and designers can explore and discover how to combine the various Artwright products.
Chillout Area
The Chillout Area not only functions as a breakout area for employees —- but it also doubles up as a space where customers can have further discussions with the staff regarding the products they would like to purchase.
The unique ceiling designed in the form of a star-shaped disc is hung slanting down towards the window; with the purpose of covering up the projector inside it to create a seamless ceiling design — while at the same time creating an interestingly dynamic look that connects the whole space together visually.
Another unique feature in this area is a spiral staircase that leads seemingly to nowhere; aimed to serve as a different seating height where people can sit and relax during presentations.
The mural designed by a local artist adds more colors to the whole space and compliments the furniture by Artwright used in this space.
Boardroom
The boardroom features a bespoke boardroom table designed with inspiration taken from the letter “A”, which is the initial for Artwright.
The shape of the letter “A” was then developed with curved corners; following the same design language of the entire showroom / office. The ceiling was designed to follow the form of the table; with an Light-Emitting Diode (LED) pin spotlight / downlight located right above each of the chairs to light them up individually.
A see-through wine cellar that illuminates serves as a feature wall for this boardroom, which adds an unpredictable twist to the design of the whole space.
The metal rods cantilevered from the inside of the wall meanwhile creates an interesting texture to the design of the wall / wine cellar.
Managing Director Room
The spacious, clutter-free Managing Director Room features a rich-toned grained timber look applied onto the built-in cabinets and door. This is further paired with the interestingly designed carpet as the flooring.
This combination exudes a sense of luxury in a modern and minimal way, befitting of a room designed for the Managing Director.
Mock-up Space
Some of the displays in the showroom are arranged as a mock-up of how the furniture would look like in real life; existing within an imagined office space. These mock-up displays allow visitors and customers to clearly imagine the application of the furniture in their offices. Over all, This award-winning showroom/office makes the statement that great designs are a result of a collective and shared vision, passion and goals by the client and the designer coming together.
The close working relationship between the owner Yong Yoke Keong and the designer IDr Ronnie Choong of Innovative Space Dimension Sdn Bhd is the reason the showroom and office won two prestigious Design Excellence Awards.