Dolgopiatova Design transforms three apartments into a unique workspace

Photography: Andrii Bezuglov

A lesson in adaptive reuse, designer Oksana Dolgopiatova has completed a bold new concept in the Ukrainian capital with her eponymous studio Dolgopiatova Design. Setting out to renovate three ground floor apartments in a residential complex in Kyiv, the result is a daring, unique office space brimming with character, informed by Dolgopiatova’s experience in residential interior design. These new apartment buildings – based on the city’s Dnipro River embankment – would be transformed on behalf of local construction firm Intercon, with an ambitious design scheme created to reflect the company’s character.

Inspired rather than deterred by the apartments’ relatively low ceilings and limited natural light, the studio proposed a white scheme for the walls and ceilings to instantly brighten the interiors. Texture was introduced to the white walls with the addition of gypsum flutes, while the rest of the scheme adheres to a simple, neutral palette warmed by rich wood in the copious arches, doorways and integrated shelves. This palette helped to accommodate, not detract from, the main focal point put forward for the project: an open system of metallic ventilation pipes, crafted with real brass. The use of genuine brass sheeting, rather than cheaper metals painted to resemble brass, means that the striking system will change colour and texture over time – further imbuing the workspace with character and dimension as the years pass.

Avoiding a conventional company logo and name in the reception, the studio instead chose to represent the firm symbolically. According to Dolgopiatova, a load-bearing concrete column represents the reliable, capable and precise head of the construction department, while the robust, curved wooden countertop represents the second partner responsible for organisation and forward progress. Last to join these structural elements is a gleaming brass sphere, designed to symbolise the positive, energetic demeanour of the third partner. Flexible lighting tubes above the desk also create a diagram of rises and falls, representing the complex problems met and solved in the construction industry.

A combination of shared workspaces, common rooms and minimalist bathrooms (each with sleek gold and white finishes) are also joined by private partner offices, deliberately designed in a slightly different style to zone each space. As a final touch, displayed in one of the dedicated meeting rooms is a comic-style mural celebrating the construction process, provided by an artist who had already been sketching the company’s actual building sites.