When Olga Bogdanova’s creative team moved to their newly-designed office in Kyiv’s Tereshchenkivska (known as ‘the street of museums’), they had emerged from a pandemic year of remote working and were ready to return to real-life interaction. After six months in the new space, Russia invaded Ukraine and the office, they note, became empty again. ‘Some of us remain in the surrounding Kyiv, some of us went to serve the Ukrainian army,’ reads a statement from the studio. ‘The majority of Bogdanova Bureau managed to evacuate outside the country. We are now ready to continue our work and move forward to do the things that we can do best of all. To withstand, to support those who remained to protect our homeland, to pay taxes and help the economy of our country.’
They shared their office project, photographed shortly before the war, to celebrate this meaningful space in the hope to return to it soon.
Window of Hope
The view from Bogdanova Bureau's window includes Kyiv's Shevchenko University
The office project was dubbed ‘Window of Hope’, a nod to the team’s hopeful look to the future. It is also inspired by the view from the office’s windows: the central park of Kyiv and the legendary red building of the Shevchenko University – landmarks that have remained untouched for over 100 years. ‘Every day with shaking hearts we read through news articles to make sure that everything remains unchanged.’
The building was completed around 1914 merging modern and Neoclassical architecture; the building’s owners, Ukrainian art collectors Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko, used it as a gallery and rental house. After being nationalised and badly damaged by bombing in 1947, the house was restored and its interiors transformed into a series of apartments – one of which hosts Bogdanova Bureau.
The office's furniture includes prototypes by Bogdanova Bureau, such as the armchairs, shown next to a coffee table by Hay
‘When I first entered this space, my heart stopped. I was astounded — the view from the windows was incredible. It is a real pleasure to gaze at the sunset at the end of the working day in the walls of my favourite office with a team of like-minded people,’ says Bogdanova. Her vision for the space was that of a blank canvas to promote the team’s creativity, with a design based on a neutral palette of greys.
RELATED STORY
The focal point of the office is the large tables for meetings and team lunches, designed by Bogdanova and made with travertine and steel, serving as the central island of the space and accompanied by Marcel Breuer chairs. Across the office, armchairs and acoustic panels are Bogdanova prototypes created for Ukrainian brands, to be launched soon.
A bespoke desk by Bogdanova Bureau with chairs by Marcel Breuer (left) and &Tradition (right). The painting is by Viktoriia Shkliar
Pieces by Ukrainian artists adorn the space: ‘The Space Around’ by Nazar Bilik catches the light and changes during the day, while a kinetic sculpture by Ukrainian designers Smith & Winken symbolises the passing of time.
The office’s balcony is described as ‘a point of intersection between the office and historical Kyiv’. Says Bogdanova: ‘it is well known that the most interesting things are born in locations that intersect each other’.
The office’s desks and chairs are by Polish brand Nowy Styl
‘The space around’ sculpture by Nazar Bilyk
The office’s balcony overlooking the city
The communal table and kitchen
A private office space with Marcel Breuer chair
The office’s windows overlook Kyiv’s central park
INFORMATION
-
Four under-the-radar travel destinations to book in 2026 – before everyone else doesYou'd be forgiven if none of these locations are on your travel bingo card – yet
-
Estudio Ome on how the goal of its landscapes ‘is to provoke, even through a subtle detail, an experience’The Mexico City-based practice explores landscape architecture in Mexico, France and beyond, seeking to unite ‘art and ecology’
-
Charlotte Chesnais brings her distinctive sensuality to sculptural new jewelleryDefined by curving shapes and luscious pearls, the jewellery designer's new collection, 'Joaillerie', has sculptural allure
-
15 years of Assemble, the community-driven British architecture collectiveRich in information and visuals, 'Assemble: Building Collective' is a new book celebrating the Turner Prize-winning architecture collective, its community-driven hits and its challenges
-
Meet Studio Knight Stokoe, the landscape architects guided by ‘resilience, regeneration and empathy’Boutique and agile, Studio Knight Stokoe crafts elegant landscapes from its base in the southwest of England – including a revived brutalist garden
-
Tour this compact Kent coast jewel of a cabin with StudiomamaJack Mama and Nina Tolstrup take us on a tour of their latest project – a small but perfectly formed Kent coast cabin in Seasalter, UK
-
Boutique London rental development celebrates European courtyard livingLondon design and development studio Wendover unveils its newest residential project, 20 Newcourt Street, comprising nine apartments; we toured with co-founder Gabriel Chipperfield
-
A refreshed Fulham house balances its history with a series of 21st-century interventionsA Fulham house project by Bureau de Change creates a 21st-century domestic haven through a series of contemporary interventions and a deep connection to the property's historical fabric
-
The Monthly Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July housesFrom geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
-
Visiting an experimental UK home: welcome to HousesteadThis experimental UK home, Housestead by Sanei + Hopkins, brings together architectural explorations and daily life in these architects’ own home
-
A house in Leamington Spa is a domestic oasis infused with contemporary sensibilitiesThis house in Leamington Spa, by John Pardey Architects, brings together flood risk considerations, a conservation area's historic character, and contemporary sensibilities
