Freeze Frame

A closer look at the hottest solutions from May

Staff -- Interior Design, 5/1/2003 12:00:00 AM

Up for downtime

Because the pre-stressed concrete seaplane hangar that now houses Cell Network, Copenhagen, vaults to 36 feet high, Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter was able to build three interior towers to accommodate office areas, conference rooms, and more. Atop two of the steel-and-birch structures, principal Dorte Mandrup-Poulsen installed relaxation spaces for the Internet company's employees. One of these spaces is furnished with cotton-covered custom beanbag chairs. The other features eight cotton hammocks strung with braided stainless-steel wire between steel posts set at random angles. Halogen up-lights, recessed in the floor at the base of the posts, provide gentle illumination. "It's relaxing up there, like floating or walking on the moon," says Cell Network office manager Rikke Lyck. "Ready for Takeoff," page 238. —S.K.

Brilliant white

Who knew that the color white could form a complex arrangement of tones and textures? The architects at DMJM Rottet certainly did. Lauren Rottet's design for law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in Los Angeles involved cladding the majority of the 198,000-square-foot space in white materials. In the double-height public zone, the Thassos marble floor gleams, while the 13-foot-high staircase combines a honed Danby marble base and treads, glass balusters, and a stainless-steel handrail. Thassos marble reappears as the slab top of the 12-foot-long reception desk, which is lacquered white and fronted by panels wrapped in cream patent leather. Behind stands a focal wall of sandblasted Cippolino marble—whose veining is actually blue-gray. "Legally Blond," page 298. —E.C.