A Tour of MOW Supernova’s Retro-Futuristic Coworking Space in Tampere

Michal
Coworking
5 years ago

A team of designers from interior design firm Mint & More Creative have a recently completed a new interior for coworking space MOW Supernova, located in an old car showroom and service station from the 1930s in Tampere, Finland.

“Our retro-futuristic concept mixes vintage functionalist style with space-age vibes. MOW is focused on the future of work with brand imagery revolving around outer space, tech and pop culture. We counterbalanced the future of work with vintage elements to show off the building’s architecture and history. The space is designed to be full of different, interesting details and surprises around each corner, as well as uniquely themed meeting rooms. This gives members of the community the ability to create their own experience using the space, and allows for the spaces to have personality while serving differing needs. The spaces are experiential and perfect for sharing on social media. Our aim was to design a better future of work by creating solutions that support all the needs users may have during their day, as well as facilitate community activities like shared breakfasts, board game evenings, team yoga or weekly Friday beers. We designed wooden dividers to give freelancers privacy for their work, without boxing them into cubicles. The main meeting room is designed so that the tables and chairs can easily be moved around to accommodate anything from a yoga session to a corporate workshop. We also styled a couple office rooms to support sales and show off how users could decorate their blank canvases. We helped them create a space that fosters creativity and their sense of community, as ultimately the atmosphere is not created solely by the interior design, but by how the people use and breathe life into it. Design is at its most valuable when it integrates sustainability and strategy without compromising style. Environmental, socio-cultural and financial sustainability are important guidelines during the design process, and the designer serves as the link between the business strategy, the users’ needs and sustainability goals. Choices made represent one’s values. At MOW Supernova, we chose ecofriendly materials and utilised vintage furniture, local artisan work & young entrepreneurs. The carpet tiles are made of recovered waste materials such as fishing nets. Kitchen- and bathroom tabletops are made of 100% recyclable Durat, which contains 30% recycled plastic. Art is a major part of the MOW concept, and we took it to the next level by merging art with interior design. In MOW Supernova, art is an extension of design. We created a custom artpiece of aluminium sheets for the MOWtrance and amusing tapings of pop culture references. We partnered with a regional street artists’ collective, who created large-scale artworks to match the furniture, colour and overall concept. MOW is a pioneer in its field, and they were eager for many of our wild ideas to be implemented. For example, bathrooms deserve more attention .They are often an overlooked space. We believe they should have soul. Often they are the only place, where people spend time alone. It can even be a sort of hiding place. MOW Supernova’s bathrooms are diversely accessible and inviting. The unisex and disabled bathrooms have a galaxy theme with a space chimpanzee (obviously), while the boys & girls bath- rooms have colourful themes to pick according to your mood”, says Mint & More Creative