Retro-futuristic coworking community full of surprises
We designed the newest location of Mothership of Work, a fun-loving coworking hub focused on the future of work. MOW Supernova is located in an old car showroom and service station from the 1930s in Tampere. Our design mixes vintage functionalist style with space-age vibes in our retro-futuristic concept. The space is full of intriguing and unexpected surprises that allow the community and users to build their own experience.
Sponda PLC
Ratina, Tampere, Finland
~2080m²
Old 1930s car showroom
9 different themes
Unlimited popcorn
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.
Environmental, socio-cultural and financial sustainability are important guidelines during the design process. Our purpose as a design agency is to serve as the link between the business strategy, the users' needs and sustainability goals. The building was designed according to the BREEAM sustainability Very Good-certification. We chose ecofriendly materials like Durat composite, Econyl recyled nylon flooring, and utilised vintage furniture, local artisan work & young entrepreneurs.
Our aim was to create 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. We also styled a couple office rooms to support sales and show off how users could decorate their blank canvases.
The MOW concept 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 as an old gas station and car showroom, to create an intriguing retrofuturistic concept.
Art is a major part of the MOW concept, and we took it to the next level by merging art with interior 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 concept choices.
Toilets 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. We designed bathrooms that are diversely accessible and inviting. The unisex and disabled bathrooms have a galaxy theme with a space chimpanzee (obviously), while the boys & girls bathrooms have colourful themes to pick according to your mood.
MOW is a pioneer in its field, and they were eager for many of our wild ideas to be implemented. 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.
Photos by Esa Kapila
