A celebration of beats and bass that started as a ‘stupid loop’ for a series of Levi’s commercials, ‘Flat Beat’ by Mr Oizo is the unlikely inspiration for a new workspace, Flat Office, in Western Australia. It is the latest project from local studio State Twenty Eight, whose team includes lead designer Sean Chan and directors Miriam Terry and Kate McGee.
Their client’s brief was to create ‘a professional workplace with an edge’ in the vibrant Perth suburb of Subiaco. It contained a single creative reference: to the 1990s French Touch classic, ‘Flat Beat’, a global hit thanks in part to its video featuring a cute head-banging yellow puppet sat behind a deep green, space-age ‘Boomerang’ desk, smoking sausages (instead of cigars) in what looks like a gilded presidential office.
But rather than these visuals, it is the electronic instrumental track’s sound – and in particular, its ‘glitchy, repetitive rhythm’ – that provided the key to the design inspiration. Simple but effective, State Twenty Eight’s approach was to echo the song’s repetition and offbeat character in an elegant spatial framework.
‘What we found intriguing was not the song itself but the way it behaves. It is repetitive and controlled, and the small amounts of change feel amplified and memorable,’ explain the architects. Translating this into a visual language, they created a ‘composition that unfolds over time’, with carefully placed interruptions to spark curiosity.
‘A detail I particularly love is the vivid green work point, which takes its cues from a children’s play table,’ says Chan. ‘Set against the warmth and formality of the timber panelling, it introduces an unexpected sense of joy and informality. It is a small gesture, but one that perfectly captures the spirit of the project, balancing professionalism with fun curiosity.’
Also included are a series of cinematic references, reflecting another passion of the client. ‘The client is an avid film enthusiast, and we wanted to embed subtle nods to some of these worlds without allowing them to overwhelm the central concept, explains Terry. ‘Upon arrival, visitors are immersed in an all-encompassing field of light, creating a very surreal atmosphere which helps set the tone for the space, reminiscent of the ceiling light panels found in the dramatic otherworldly bat bunker within Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.’
Elsewhere, rich wood panelling and midcentury-inspired pieces such as Gubi’s ‘F300’ chair and Hay’s ‘Rey’ chairs pay homage to Mad Men, while the bathrooms are darker and more immersive, with orange-toned lighting and a futuristic theme drawing inspiration from Blade Runner 2049. Each area offers new moments of discovery, ‘giving the clients something different to notice each time they return’.
Although playful, the space is also a celebration of careful planning and precision, as apparent in the meticulous coordination of junctions and lines throughout the interior. ‘Achieving this level of precision required countless hours of testing and refinement,’ says Chan. ‘While these details may sit quietly in the background, they establish the sense of order that allows those moments of disruption within the project to feel impactful.’
The resulting workplace carries a sense of character that reflects the energy and confidence of the client, a longtime friend. ‘The space defines the character that is its muse, the music and video, but also manages to capture the client himself,’ says Terry. ‘An effortlessly cool human, the man you want to find yourself sat next to at a bar deep in a conversation where the hours float away. There are so many moments in the space that feel refined and classic but also a bit cheeky, should you stop to ponder them.’
‘Innovation does not always come from new materials or technologies,’ conclude the designers. ‘Sometimes it comes from looking at familiar things differently and finding unexpected ways to translate them into a space.’
