SONICA’s Founder and MD, Donnacha Neary, had a vision for a workspace of the future, a truly experiential series of spaces, that both showcased the brands forward thinking approach to design, partnering with Kingston Lafferty Design to push their design boundaries, and their ability to deliver them to an exceptional standard, showcasing SONICA’s highly innovative approach and reputation as a trusted and preferred fitout contractor. The business concept was for SONICA to provide their own unique workspace environment that FDI’s entering the Irish market could use as their base or First Landing point. From there, SONICA’s world class Team would locate, procure, design & fit out their new office for them, shaving months off the traditional market entry approach. First Landings was designed to captivate and entice the target audience of the entrepreneur, the disruptor, and the next world class business leader. The design concept was about framing the dynamic movement of the brand, creating an environment that holistically showcases who SONICA are. Creating bold, strong interjections to interrupt, surprise, and delight, encouraging a change of behaviour, experience, and perception of how office spaces are used. Movement is captured in integrated racing tracks echoed on the floor and in the custom LED lighting. KLD sought to open visitors’ minds to the endless possibilities of design and fit-out, breaking down preconceived notions of the constraints of spatial design. KLD began the design with a focus on the depths and desires of their client SONICA, seeking to design a space that reflected their ambitions and essence, enhancing their own creativity whilst outwardly reading as simple and streamlined. Known as forward thinking and innovative in the market, led KLD to look towards forward thinking designers and artists for inspiration. Successful design should be timeless. Artists such as Donald Judd, James Tyrell, Verner Panton played apart in the development of the design. Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson also informing some of the spatial structures. Multi-functionality was a key client request, merging SONICA offices, with co-working office spaces, DJ space, Café and canteen, bar, working booths, a full auditorium and event space, private office, and meeting rooms, with zen, breakout spaces and podcast room to name a few. The space was configured based around two structural elements- 1, the cylindrical concrete ceiling that links both floors, which we used as the starting point of the pathway through the experience and 2, the central series of stacked mirrored cubes, concealing offices, board room and meeting rooms, inspired by Donald Judds mirrored cube sculptures. It was from these core elements that the journey unfolded. Every element of the space was considered from a design and usability perspective with creativity at the core. During the design process COVID hit and the design had to adapt to the changing needs of users. Technology is integrated within the building to predict and react to human behaviour, with everything designed to avoid touching, sensing the human movement throughout. Screening and social distancing measures were integrated and designed bespoke to harmonise with the design rather than being an afterthought overlaid.