Metcon Innovation Office

METCON is a leading professional fitness equipment brand from Shanghai, China. It is a new branding force coming originated in China that uses training equipment as a medium to connect professional physical fitness and sports competition, exploring the infinite potential between people and self-breakthroughs, and to provide athletes with high-quality training experiences. The brand's owner entrusts Encore Architecture to deliver a headquarters office that contains rich product attributes, and create a multi-dimensional space that jumps off the original framework and has the core of the brand spirit.

Our understanding of METCON products is based on the colourful barbells and hardcore training racks, and the spiritual attributes from the architect's view are a strong sense of power, and forms of certain modified brutalism. Through the extension of the product attributes, we chose to use common architectural materials - galvanised profiled steel, rough oak finish and metal bars for the combination of geometric blocks. We deleted other complicated decorative elements and retaining the authenticity and hardcore spirits conveyed by the materials themselves. At the same time, in response to the owner's request, we designed a long bar in the office that can be shared by more than ten people at the same time, with multiple functions including lunch break, presentations, and different states of office working scenario.

We try to build "boxes" in the interior by tectonic design methods, creating several functional volumes, and dividing different zones with diagonals and blocks. The overall space is divided into two main areas - the sales office area, which is formed by the structure of the entrance, and the general office area, which is formed next to the bar.