Bureau Xuan

The floor is treated as a single long room. A continuous worktop, cast in pale render, runs from end to end and takes six workstations; its frank thickness makes it read as a plinth rather than as furniture.

Light is carried by the ceiling. A deep cove runs the whole length on the wall side and washes the render with a warm light that stands in for direct lighting. A recessed line repeats the same run in the oak niche, at eye level.

Two storage systems answer each other. To the left, a black steel shelf cut on the diagonal, its backs faced in coarse grey terrazzo; to the right and at the far end, a pale oak wall pierced by niches lined in the same stone.

Three materials are enough for the floor. Waxed pale render for the ground, the walls and the worktop, oak for the joinery, grey terrazzo for the backs. The grey mesh chairs and the black monitor arms are the only added objects.