March 14, 2019

Cumulus Creates “Pockets of Play” for Romania’s OK Center

The OK Center in Bucharest is more than just an after-school spot for Romanian teenagers to take courses geared toward financial literacy. In the words of concept architect Yasmin Asan, whose firm Cumulus designed the interiors, it’s an “anti-boredom place.” No yawn-inducing grids of desks and chalkboards here.

The café sits behind a logo wall of die-cut sheet metal, with tables and chairs by Workspacestudio. Photography by Andrei Margulescu.

Instead, Cumulus turned the 11,000-square-foot space—originally full of “maze-like corridors,” Asan says—into “an exhibition route marked by elements of interest: ‘pockets’ of play.” Niches of plywood serve as meeting and studying areas, organized by aluminum wayfinders dyed in yawn-resistant reds, purples, and yellows.

Concrete Art’s micro topping overlay meets Constar Group’s cork flooring in the conference room; Constar also custom made the LEDs. Photography by Andrei Margulescu.

“The space speaks of itself,” Asan says. “The user can perhaps understand where a pipe comes from and where it goes or learn the source of the wood for furniture and the cost of the bench they are sitting on.” In other words, it’s a space full of teachable moments.

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