Swing back to work: Office inspired by the Outback

In the ever-evolving cycle of life, the concept of a room has transcended its traditional boundaries. No longer confined to a single, static purpose, rooms nowadays are increasingly designed to be versatile, adapting to the diverse and dynamic lifestyles of their inhabitants.

Yakka, which translates to “hard work” from an indigenous Australian language, is the name of an office created from the fusion of Filipino and Australian culture made by Kharen Urbano, Franchesca Eunice Co, Kristine Sempio, and Kat Challoy. This is one of the exhibits featured in the latest "PHusion" exhibit by the graduating students of the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) - Ahlen Institute at Greenfield Tower in Mandaluyong City. This multifunctional office not only serves as a place for productivity but also provides comfort whenever you need to take a minute away from work.

To enhance productivity, the office’s layout was designed making use of natural sunlight and ventilation. Curves can also be seen incorporated in the interior to “stimulate the organic and picturesque shapes of Australia’s landscape.” There's also a backlit rock, which serves as the backdrop of the whole design, mimicking the formation of mountain ranges.

With their design, the group focused more on the Outback and wildlife in Australia but still incorporated the Philippines’ natural resources as design elements in an open layout office space. 

“We added a cowhide, deer antler droplight, and various animal decor to pay homage to Australia’s hunting culture. We also have an Aboriginal painting made by one of our members, Kat, [which is] a backlit stone wall representing the blue mountains in Australia, and a boomerang desk. Moreover, we infused Filipino elements into the mix, such as having [a] hammock for siesta time, a mother of pearl or capiz backlit panel, banig textures, and pivot windows inspired by the jalousie."

One of the challenges that the group faced is the limited time, though it made them learn the value of time management. Nevertheless, they persevered as they wanted to showcase their creativity as aspiring designers. 

“It has given us relief and pride to see all the hard work that we have put become a reality in Yakka. During construction, every small progress gave us so much fulfillment already, so imagine when the lights were finally complete and turned on, and then we got to see all the textures work out in the end. It was so fulfilling to finish this after everything we learned from school applied in this project; it is indeed a very good training for us, students, before going out into the real world.”