Totems’ Hattrick

12. Januar 2012

Winning a new project last week, Totems has achieved a new milestone;

At World Expo 2012, Korea, Totems is now designing and building

3 national pavilions;

National Pavilion Netherlands

National Pavilion Belgium

National Pavilion Algeria

And proud of it !

We’ll keep you updated as the 3 pavilions are being developed and realised !

Merry Christmas and a fruitful 2012

21. Dezember 2011

Dear family, friends and clients,

We’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas and let 2012 be a fruitful year!

Totems | Communication & Architecture


 

The New Stuttgart City Library – Germany

14. November 2011

A group experience amidst books

The new public library in Stuttgart, Germany officially opened its doors to the public on October, 21th, 2011. It is now one of the biggest public libraries in the world and sets important standards in Stuttgart concerning cultural aspects and the availability of knowledge and education as a social element.

Totems has completed the entire interior of the house designed by the Korean architect Eun Yuong Yi. During a two-year process dealing with these concepts, the medial presentation was analyzed, examined and finally realized. The complex challenge and the aim was to create an atmosphere of living amidst different forms of media- thus realizing a special quality of atmosphere in each and every zone and level of this building. The aim was not to just gather and collect different forms of media, but to actually live amidst them.

The interior design resembles the plain, geometric and well-structured concept of the outer appearance. Just like the books and all other media, terminals for visitors are integrated into the shelves that dominate each room. The range of books and other media is manifold: all forms of print products, data media, digital files, sheets of music, games, pictures and various collections. Highlights are special pieces of furniture. There are rooms for private as well as group studying and even areas to communicate with each other.

Already in the foyer you find elements of design that will reappear on all the other seven levels of that building. Examples are: the “Studiolo” as a room to actually reflect intensively on different concepts; service- facilities such as the information booth, self-service checkout devices, computer labs and a control system. 
Only in the basement you will find the “Skriptorium”- a modern reminiscence of the ancestor of today’s librarianship.

The special ambiance of the funnel-shaped reading room comes from shelves that are flush-mounted- thus creating a “monumental room of books”. The plain and simple furnishing adds to this effect. The shelving system was exclusively developed for this library. The system also includes facilities for the OPAC-search, for self-service checkout devices and to sit down and rest. In between the shelves you will find individual and group workstations as well as seating areas and the “Studioli”.

There are different media presentations on each level which function as showcases for visitors. A special focus was put on the furnishings of the levels of music, children and art. A “music staircase” invites you to listen to music and a sound studio gives you the opportunity to browse and compose. In order to easily change between temporary exhibitions, art is shown in a flexible room with special walls. The arrangement of the children’s library strengthens the creative influence.

The base colour of all furnishing elements corresponds exactly to the light-grey tone of all the other architectural and technical surfaces of the building. Cushioned areas are held in the CI-colour blue. A lively green dominates the children’s level. Markers on the floor are coding spaces for shelves. Separators in the shelves give orientation and create special subject areas. Cubes make the orientation within the shelve much more easy. Digital information-steles are there for orientation and information. Visitors can find different kinds of media by following these steles. On top of that they also hint at the various activities and events of the library.

Leisure Expo in Hangzhou/China

30. September 2011

Our first project of our new office in Shanghai.

A Dutch magazine “travels” from the Netherlands to China.
It presents the interesting country “Netherland” to Chinese.
A “Walkable Dutch magazine” is our concept of the Dutch pavilion at the World Leisure Expo in Hangzhou in China. We designed a creative and sustainable concept which fits into a low budget and gives the Chinese an idea about the Netherlands.

Here some images right before the opening (the carpet is still wrapped ;-) !)

SKS Orange World

24. August 2011

The Orange World of SKS.

An 800 sqm showroom at the SKS headquarter in Sundern. This showroom is an open platform for exchange and discussion with clients, dealers and visitors. The core of the showroom is a futuristic space where to discover the high-quality products of SKS.

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Totems goes Shanghai

15. Juli 2011

We are expanding into China! Totems Shanghai will be our first office outside Europe. From here we can serve our Asian clients and find new opportunities to expand our market. We are really excited about it and are eager to jump into it!

We have quite some experience in China already: For the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai we designed a number of pavilions, of which 2 were realized; one for Algeria and one for Cyprus. We have also worked for China Mobile, Motorola and Real Estate Developers for a shopping mall design in China. Always in collaboration with our local network.

Totems Shanghai is housed in The Dutch Design Workspace [check www.dutchdesignworkspace.com]. The Dutch Design Workspace offers creative agencies, studio space and several support programs. Designers of different disciplines work together in one creative business environment.

Check out our latest newsletter online: http://ymlp.com/zUjnfW

Climate Zone Menerga, ISH 2011 Frankfurt

15. Juli 2011

Menerga is a German manufacturer of climate systems. For the ISH show, Totems and advertisement agency Logo, designed a stand concept that shows the philosophy of the company: sustainability and innovation. Therefore the title of the stand is The Climate Zone. The stand also shows the human implementation of technology behind the scenes by showing customers different situations. Each situation tells a story about the sustainable air conditioning systems of Menerga. The stand is built by Artec Messebau.

Check out our latest newsletter online: http://ymlp.com/zUjnfW

Retail concept, Housing corporation Wonion

15. Juli 2011

It was a great challenge, to transform an authentic industrial property into a Corporate HQ and visitor centre for housing corporation Wonion in the Netherlands. The result of our efforts is an interior design and program that matched their ambitions, for themselves and towards their clients.

The big idea was to create a human scale in the large open industrial space. We did this by introducing the iconic shape of a roof a number of times as hanging objects, below which the different functions were housed.

Check out our latest newsletter online: http://ymlp.com/zUjnfW

Check our online newsletter – April edition.

22. April 2011
http://ymlp.com/zS5BTn

We wish you happy easter!

15. April 2011