Within these walls

FOR MOST of those who work in offices, the only way of personalising the white walls and grey partitions of our cubicles is to add a plant, a couple of family photos and, if space permits, maybe some books.

While these additions certainly add colour and ambience to an open-plan area that does little to inspire, they are at best temporary fixes that might, if we are lucky, add an occasional spurt of energy to cope with a busy day. 

Staff at advertising agency BBDO in downtown Bangkok takes the whole “personalising” concept considerably further customising their own pleasant spaces in any way they please and with the approval of the boss.

No two rooms are alike in the 18th-floor office that houses the agency’s creative staff. One room has been done out as old-fashioned barbershop, another as a move theatre and yet another as a ryokan – Japanese traditional inn.

“All of us work best in an atmosphere that we like. Each person has his/her own favourite ambience, whether it’s a coffee shop or a green backyard. By offering them freedom of expression to design their own places, our staff are more energetic and creative,” says Suthisak Sucharittanonta, chairman and chief creative director of BBDO Bangkok.

Adding even more fun to the concept – and introducing a touch of competition too – the agency launched the YourSpace Awards and urged its 130 employees to go head-to-head in coming up with the most creative working area. Introduced six years ago, the contest offers three winning prizes for each category along with 10 complementary nods and a popular vote prize. For the 2014 edition, 44 designs were submitted – 24 of them individual designs and 20 team efforts.

“Research has shown that office workers spend 72 per cent of their time at their desks. Not everybody likes bland white walls and white ceilings and soulless lighting so this serves as a spur to get busy.

“No budget is given to the participants and the cash prizes are not much – Bt20,000 for the winner of the team category and Bt13,000 for the individual winner. But cash has little to do with morale. Throughout the two months preparation, the staff are more relaxed and work better together,” adds Suthisak. He’s entered into the spirit of the competition by covering the white walls in his office with hand-drawn renderings of a fireplace, a cabinet, a television, a table lamp and bookshelves, giving it the ambience of a living room but without the clutter.

 

 

Music lover Adisorn Atikomchakorn, the client service director, transformed his room into a recording studio with electric and acoustic guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments and microphones. The wall is partly covered with soundboard and decorated with musical note stickers and the message, “If music were a girl, I’d wanna make love to her everyday”.

“During my high school and university days, I played drums and guitarist regularly. My friends and I formed a rock-and-jazz band called Sugar Rocket and we occasionally played at Rock Pub. A working space doesn’t have to be serious and I love that I can keep my instruments here. When work gets to be too much and the ideas have stopped flowing, I relax by playing music. It’s also a music room for my colleagues to enjoy during their breaks or after hours,” says Adisorn, whose idea landed him top prize in the individual category. 

Creative director and keen ornithologist Vetida Pongpanit has brought her passion for bird watching into the office and turned her room into a bird safari camp. Inspired by her favourite jungle bird lodge in Pangot, a village in India’s Nainital Hills, she’s chosen a colour scheme of rich earthy brown and covered the walls with beige canvas boasting her own drawings of a variety of birds. The working desk is covered with a leather-like material and rattan chairs replace the dull plastic ones. The effect is completed with binoculars, a tripod and books on bird watching.

“Bird watching has my passion for more than 20 years and I love spending time in the Valley of Flowers National Park in Pangot, which is known the world over as a bird paradise,” says Vetida, who won the first runner-up prize in the individual category and recouped Bt9,000 of the Bt20,000 she spent.

Creative director Sinothai Samseethong and graphic design director Natthawut Soonsub are both collectors of all things vintage and turned their shared office into a warehouse by covering the partition with old wood and veneers and painting the walls grey. Shelves groan under their vintage clocks, old wood boxes and cases, retro picture frames and cartoon figures.

“Office spaces are typically not fun places to be. By giving us freedom to decorate our working area and surround ourselves with our favourite items, we have a sense of ownership – a bit like we’re working at home,” says Natthawut, winner in the team category.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the office shared by art director Katkanan Boonyarungsrit and copywriter Manamai Rodpetch. The space, which they’ve dubbed the Workday Creative Cafe, has been decorated in a classic coffee-shop style, with a white table covered with wood-like stickers, and walls coated in brick-like gypsum. A black magazine rack sits against the wall and the shelves are home to coffee making machines and beans. Even the internal telephone directory has undergone an overhaul and now resembles a menu with types of coffee drinks renamed to match the working process: brief for cappuccino, brainstorming for Americano and artwork – the hardest job – for espresso.

“We both love coffee and hanging out in coffee shops but while we’ve recreated a cafe ambience, we’re been careful to keep the space functional. It works well too, we both definitely perform better,” says Katkanan, whose design won first runner-up in the team category. 

Art director Suraboon Purnaveja and copywriter Arocha Chomphueng no longer have to take the lift to the ground floor to stock up on snacks. They’ve brought the 7-Eleven concept to their space and renamed it 7-Heaven. The shelves are stacked with everything from instant noodles and canned soft drinks to napkins and shampoos, and every item is for sale.

Elsewhere an office is bathed in blue fluorescent light to resemble a swimming pool and another boasts broken prison bars. An old-fashioned barbershop-like room is equipped with old leather chairs and equipment and actually offers a hair-cutting service.

 

WORK AND PLAY

BBDO is on the 18th floor of U Chu Liang Building on Rama IV Road. Visiting is by appointment only. Call (02) 637 5999.