2020年4月，在全球大流行的几周后，位于泰国的Enter Projects Asia公司收到了来自比利时布鲁塞尔郊区Waregem的意外电话咨询。
潜在客户有一个300平方米的混合用途项目，需要 “平衡和平静”。EPA得到了一个感觉像 “健康 “的空间简报，邀请自然和创意进入工业环境。当世界的帷幕落下时，EPA想出了一个清晰的概念来满足客户的要求。场地是一个制冰厂，所以设计要有流动性和液体感，就像纯净的泉水结晶的特性一样，尽可能地融入原材料和可持续材料。如果要在9000多公里后的最终目的地实现这一设想，一个高度创新的物流方案是必不可少的。
In April 2020, only weeks into the global pandemic, Enter Projects Asia based in Thailand, received an unexpected phone enquiry from Waregem, outside Brussels, Belgium.
The prospective client had a 300sqm mix-use project that needed ‘balance and calm’. EPA were given what felt like a ‘wellness’ brief for the space, inviting nature and creativity into an industrial setting. As the curtains came down on the world, EPA came up with a clear concept to meet the client brief. The site was an ice making factory so the design was to be fluid and liquid, like the properties of pure spring water crystallizing, incorporating raw and sustainable materials wherever possible. A highly innovative logistics program was essential if the vision was to be realized 9,000+km later at the final destination.
主要依靠Zoom进行所有客户会议和虚拟现场访问，EPA团队准备进行远程工作。项目经理在日本工作，设计师在普吉岛和悉尼，制造者在泰国北部。这个团队从未见过面。他们远程制作模板，交换数字文件，最终用天然、可持续的藤条制造了一系列雕塑元素，准备运往比利时。
Relying heavily on Zoom for all client meetings & virtual site visits, the EPA team prepared for remote working. The Project Manager was operating out of Japan, the designers in Phuket & Sydney, the fabricators in Northern Thailand. The team never met. They remotely made templates, exchanged digital files and ultimately manufactured a series of sculptural elements in natural, sustainable rattan ready for Belgium.
主要依靠Zoom来进行所有的客户会议和虚拟现场访问，EPA团队为远程工作做好准备。项目经理在日本工作，设计师在普吉岛和悉尼，制造者在泰国北部。这个团队从未见过面。他们远程制作模板，交换数字文件，最终用天然、可持续的藤条制造了一系列雕塑元素，准备运往比利时。
Relying heavily on Zoom for all client meetings & virtual site visits, the EPA team prepared for remote working. The Project Manager was operating out of Japan, the designers in Phuket & Sydney, the fabricators in Northern Thailand. The team never met. They remotely made templates, exchanged digital files and ultimately manufactured a series of sculptural elements in natural, sustainable rattan ready for Belgium.
“基恩说：”跨越两个大洲的工作总是有其挑战，”但这是另一个层次，没有人知道对方或确切地知道对方在做什么。这是一张白纸，所以考虑到结果，我相信这是最大和最好的挑战，它往往是从零开始的”。他还郑重指出，”作为这个项目的副产品，藤条厂在最黑暗的日子里得以维持下去：人们在为吃饭而挣扎，供应被切断，商店关闭。这个项目成为许多工匠的生命线，否则他们将没有工作。维持这些工厂确保了当地可持续的艺术和手工艺生产能够继续下去”。
“Working across two continents always has its challenges” states Keane, “but this was on another level, nobody knew each other or exactly what the other was doing. It was a blank sheet of paper so given the result, I believe it’s the biggest and best challenge which often starts from zero”. He also solemnly notes that “as a byproduct of this project, rattan factories were able to stay afloat during the darkest days: people were struggling to eat, supplies cut and shops closed. This project became a lifeline for many craftsmen who otherwise would have been without work. Maintaining these factories ensured local, sustainable arts & crafts production could continue”.
2022年4月，随着项目的完成，客户和建筑师终于在现场见面。在大流行病后的经济中，这些不断变化的工作实践已经成为未来的趋势，因为我们要学会适应，重新塑造远距离领导的意义。这个项目不仅是新的工作理念的先驱，而且还赋予了工厂作为一个创新和创意工作空间的新面貌。
In April 2022, with the project complete, the client & Architect finally met in person at the site. In a post pandemic economy these changing work practices have become the future as we learn to adapt, to reinvent what it means to lead from a distance. This project is not only a pioneer of the new work philosophy but also gives a new face to the factory as an innovative & creative workspace.
Architects: Enter Projects Asia
Area : 300 m²
Year : 2022
Photographs :Edmund Sumner
City : Waregem
Country : Belgium