Didn’t think you would find a bear’s cave smack dab in the urban landscape of the second arrondissement of Paris, France, did you? Well, Paul Coudamy, French architect, has re-envisioned the urban jungle to include the wild of the forest with the Bears Cave, a revamped office space for his client, an internet company called Bearstech.
In what appears to be several hundred wood boards nailed to the ceiling in a kind of natural, flowing pattern, Coudamy claims, "the idea is to reflect
Bearstech Company innovative and animal image in order to promote the
wild and raw aspects of their approach of virtual technology and
communicate a feeling of strength." In fact, the lair becomes more and more insulated as the pieces of wood are collected daily from wooden floors, dumpsters or other areas of refuse.
Hrmmm… Who knew bears collected planks of wood to insulate their abodes?
The project is essentially a rehabbed shop in a covered alley, refurbed into Beartech’s headquarters. There are three different areas: work space, meeting space and an area for leisure. In one area, the brick remains exposed and there’s a more austere ambiance, perfect for those heavy ‘working’ sessions. A low-slung, honeycomb bench separates the meeting room and work spaces, and according to the artist, "the meeting room wood structure intends to translate the chaotic
mass power dynamited in an uncontrolled energy : a wood vortex out of a
natural disaster."
Holey moley. How’s that for creative energy? The folks at Bearstech should have no problem brainstorming new ideas with that kind of maelstrom in the background, wouldn’t you agree?
Paul Coudamy via Contemporist
Photos by Benjamin Boccas
