HOTSPOT SKYHUB is a high-standard coworking space in Bucharest. It is, therefore, the result of the interaction among three main elements: an **innovative** and **open-minded business** concept – developed by REC Partners; the experience accumulated through the development and operation of the first Hotspot; and the opportunities and constraints offered by the location.
In the first Hotspot, Workhub, located in a wide single-floor location at the first floor of an office building close to the center of Bucharest, the concept is expressed architecturally through a series of high, open spaces separated by glass walls, with the surrounding cityscape being a main actor and an active element of the project.
The conditions in the second Hotspot, Skyhub, are completely different. We are talking about two separate floors, in an elongated tall building. Here too, even more than in the first development, the surrounding cityscape is a main actor and an active element of the project.
The layout of both floors is structured, inevitably, along the circulations dictated by the architecture of the building. ‘Piazza’-like elements, the main entrance lobby on the 14th floor and the relax area on the 13th floor mark the circulations with clear, defined, full-of-character destination points.
The reception area is defined by a continuous ‘strip’ of wood that in turn becomes a desk, a kitchenette, seating, and a planter.
The relaxation area is in itself centered on two different spaces, the original interior green lounge designed by landscape architect Cornelius Gavril, and the open bar that overlooks the city.
Both the reception on the 14th and the relaxation area on the 13th floor contain an ‘infinite tower’ that uses parallel mirrors to symbolically connect the two floors between them and with the whole building.
The office areas represent the core of the project and are designed to be flexible, simple, and easy to connect and change in time. They are all strongly characterized by the stripped glass towards the corridor - that lets light and spots of color visible from outside but also ensure full privacy inside - and by the vegetal graphic insertions of Wolf-Dieter Grabner.
A great deal of attention was put into the furniture and lighting design, with high-quality elements setting the tone of the whole project.
Hotspot Skyhub is a coworking space, its functions are divided between different-sizes office spaces and common areas. All of it is creative, from the overall layout to ‘fun’ details like the infinite tower or the suspended forest.
Sustainability is present in three ways; in the very essence of a coworking space, because it saves energy by sharing functions and amenities; in the choice of the furniture and other design elements; and in the unusual (for an office space) use of a lot of actual vegetation, in order to improve both the psyche of the users and the quality of the environment.