ACE 办公室 | TANK | 2022 | 荷兰

With connection at heart & mind, thought-leading advertising agency Ace recently opened its doors to their team, their clients, their colleagues and their new neighborhood.

The newly built building in Amsterdam’s harbor area (the Houthavens) hosts 11 different advertising-related agencies that are combined into one super-agency; Ace.

The foundation of Ace is bringing different people together on creative challenges for brands; people from different backgrounds and with different areas of expertise. Because when people get together, the true magic happens; cross-pollination of great ideas and visions. Ace’s new office perfectly translates their Club-philosophy where work and social gathering seamlessly blend by inviting employees and clients to meet each other in areas of interest beyond work. An enticing, inspiring and flexible place to be that complements working from home.

The ground floor is fully designed to make things happen – ‘create waves’ – and make a positive impact on society. Anything should be possible. You may attend a lecture, have drinks at the bar, hang out, present your work, meet new people, put products on show, feel energized and inspired, throw a party from time to time, attend workshops, withdraw with only you and your laptop or have any kind of meetings. A hyper-versatile floor that meets your needs, whatever your mood.

Key-words to help designing and defining Ace’s space are ‘authentic’, ‘bold’, ‘cultured’ and ‘energizing’.

Except for adding a huge void to allow for the central staircase, the architecture was left untouched and the interior was added to the building as a separate layer.

TANK chose a toned down color palette, combined with authentic materials like timber and hemp. The bright red staircase at the core of the space is the bold statement that emphasizes connection and opinion.

The use of biophilic design resulted in abstracted islands with surrounding paths that could be interpreted as water and walls with hemp finishing that refer to layers of sludge.

Upon entrance, a clear path guides you through two XL-timber seating islands, following its way under the eye-catching staircase, straight to the round, concrete bar. To easily make your way and feel at ease, all shapes are either rounded or have rounded corners.

But it’s not all nature and zen that spin the space, funky and cheeky interventions are all around:

The reading table is adjustable like a scissor lift so it can either be a table for weekly meetings, a product display-area or even become a catwalk.

The round conversation pit allows for closed off meetings and can be transformed into a central stage.

The chef’s table serves to have lunch but works as a meeting table or workshop-bar too.

Other than that, of course functional single-use spaces are available as well. A sound studio, a prayer room, a pump room, meeting rooms, a wardrobe and gender neutral toilets support Ace’s unique event space at ground level.

Just want to work like you used to, at your own table within your own company? On the first and second floor, dedicated offices are created for the 11 individual agencies. Each agency was given a set of elements to express its own identity. Anything you need besides your desk and chair is organized around the void. Printing, having a drink or a wastebin encourages people to move. Again, to meet others and allow for unexpected encounters and spark conversations.