Apa Nova Bucharest Office Design - Ștefan cel Mare Building - 5th Floor

Authors’ Comment

The design created for the company’s administrative department explores the concept of biophilic design, which emphasizes the fundamental connection between humans and nature. The project is part of a broader concept in which each floor of the office building is dedicated to a representative natural element: Water, Air, Vegetation, Earth, Stone, and Wood.

The theme of this floor is Metal, subtly integrated through furniture, color palette, prints, and lighting. The contrast between the wireframe metal furniture and the weathered steel surfaces with rusted finishes evokes the process of material transformation over time, giving the space an organic aesthetic.
The flooring, a patchwork of large surfaces in tones ranging from light gray to rust-brown (corten steel), completes the color palette inspired by the hues of metal.
Furniture made of solid-colored MDF (Valchromat) and natural wood accents, strategically placed, harmonize with the predominantly white surfaces of the open space areas.

The reception desk, clad in corten rust-colored panels with jagged edges, continues the narrative of strong, sharp lines specific to metal. The sandblasted glass partitions echo the look of rusted steel sheets deteriorated to the point of disintegration.
The table structures, made from raw angle iron with an industrial feel, contrast with the smooth, tactile surfaces of the colored MDF furniture and felt upholstery.
The ceiling, with exposed installations and a minimalist treatment, has a lower layer of parallel light lines placed diagonally, reinforcing the room’s rigorous geometry.

Around the building’s core, a series of panels featuring images of metal in various forms – ore, molten, polished, perforated, rusted – provides a focal point that highlights the versatility of this element and its relationship with the natural forces that shape it.

The space is designed to support efficiency as well as the psychological comfort of its users, through clearly organized functions, balanced lighting, and carefully chosen textures that temper the roughness of the material with a tactile feeling.

The project seeks to create an intimate atmosphere, where the theme of metal is reinterpreted through details that allude directly or indirectly to nature and to our innate attraction to it.