Reklam Üssü Office

At the onset of the Reklam Üssü project, we began by engaging directly with the office employees to analyze their current working habits and lighting expectations. The feedback we gathered highlighted a chronic issue inherent in conventional office lighting: as most employees worked intensively at their desks focusing on computer screens, they frequently kept the office lights turned off due to the eye-straining glare and high contrast generated by the existing fixtures.

This crucial data defined the core strategy of our lighting design. Protecting the ocular health of the creative team working in front of screens, eliminating reflections entirely, and going beyond merely “illuminating” to establish a deep, integrated lighting scenario became the primary goals of the project.

“The worst light in an office is the one that forces the user to turn it off. Our goal at Reklam Üssü was to create a glare-free, eye-pleasing, and invisible light ecosystem that adds depth to the space, seamlessly integrating with the architecture.”

The existing architectural structure of the space featured a highly characteristic waffle slab (coffered ceiling) structure that reflected the raw strength of exposed concrete. Instead of concealing this powerful ceiling structure, we chose to utilize it as the primary carrier and central element of the lighting design.

We resolved the general lighting of the entire project using 80x80cm square fixtures custom-integrated into the coffered ceiling. These fixtures were engineered to deliver an indirect light effect, preventing direct eye contact with the light source. Consequently, instead of casting light directly downward, the illumination gently washed the inner surfaces of the coffered ceiling, providing a homogeneous, glare-free, and shadowless ambient light.

The deep structure of the waffle ceiling also presented acoustic challenges that could lead to sound reverberation (echo) in an office environment. To address this issue and merge visual comfort with acoustic comfort, we clad the outer surfaces of the square fixtures in an acoustic felt material. Through this integration, the lighting system transformed into a functional element that dampens acoustic reverberation throughout the office.

To foster an industrial and modern atmosphere within the architectural concept of the office, the design team opted for a custom textured, cracked concrete-look wall finish. To support this vision and achieve a unified design language across the space, we applied a matching color discipline to the lighting elements.

We selected the color of the acoustic felt used on the outer surfaces of the fixtures in matching gray tones that are fully harmonious with the textured concrete walls. This tone-on-tone approach allowed the ceiling elements and walls to merge, enabling the fixtures to be perceived as a natural extension of the architecture itself.

In response to the employees’ desire to manage their own light levels, we incorporated gold-finished task lamps on the open-office desks, individually controlled by each user. While this localized task lighting offered employees the freedom to create their own micro-comfort zones, the warmth of the gold finish introduced a highly elegant, warm, and luxurious contrast to the industrial atmosphere dominated by raw concrete and gray tones.

Concealed linear strip lights integrated into the underside of the storage units located in the corridors and open-office areas directed light straight onto the micro-concrete floor. This created a “floating” effect for these massive volumes while establishing an elegant wayfinding path.

Additionally, we framed the outer panels of the open-office desks with concealed lighting to achieve a soft halo effect around them. This detail lent a dramatic volume to the space and offered a comfortable, low-brightness background contrast without unnecessarily raising the overall ambient light level.

In the executive room, a magnetic track lighting system was selected to deliver both a prestigious aesthetic and functional flexibility. This system allows the occupant of the room to easily detach, slide, and reposition the spotlight or linear light modules on the track within seconds—without requiring any electrical renovations—should they decide to change the layout of the desk or the placement of objects. This adaptability instilled a timeless and living design character into the executive room.