graphic studio thonik presents its first work of architecture in amsterdam

graphic design studio thonik presents first work of architecture in amsterdam. the new self-designed studio is built along the city’s wibautstraat, marking its first exploration of three-dimensional design. thonik’s co-founder thomas widdershoven worked in collaboration with MMX architecten, generating a spatial manifesto of thonik’s design philosophy characterized by social commitment and a playful take on modernism’s heritage.

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thonik founder thomas widdershoven comments on the design of its newly completed amsterdam studio: ‘designing and building your own workspace is still an experimental alternative in the current economic reality. for thonik it meant operating within a tangle of rules and constraints and having to soften up institutions and experts to get the right support. and it required a completely different attention span to a communications campaign. in fact, the process, from start to finish, took 12 long years.’

celebrating the graphic roots of amsterdam-based studio thonik, the lines on the facade recall ‘mexcellent,’ a typeface designed for the 1968 olympic games in mexico. the combination of horizontals, verticals and diagonals attests to radical simplicity. the graphic cladding consists of one centimeter-thick panels of trespa® meteon® lumen mounted directly on to the insulation material. the mixed-use development, designed in collaboration with MMX architecten, is home to thonik’s new office space arranged over two floors alongside a sake bar on the ground floor leading to a japanese omakase restaurant on the first floor. an event space dubbed the ‘thonik loft’ is located on the top floor and a rooftop terrace, open to the public, offers 360-degree views over amsterdam’s inner city and the financial district, and seeks to be a hub for the local creative community.

the large windows of thonik’s amsterdam studio stand out from its neighbors, welcoming curious pedestrians inside. an external staircase, balconies, and corner windows project onto the street, connecting the interior and exterior. studio thonik is an all-electric and zero emission building — its floor-to-ceiling windows are triple-glazed and layered with a special UV coating while the indoor temperature is regulated with an air source heat pump. the space also features additional solar and wind energy, high-quality insulation and smart ventilation.