The importance decorative and functional of the ceilings is beyond any doubt but, nevertheless, its full potential is not always maximized. In the design of modern offices in recent years, it has acquired such relevance that, in many cases, it surpasses vertical pavements and walls. A good design on the entire surface covered by the ceiling can create an aesthetic impact that defines the entire personality of the project. But it's not just about creating a visual effect. The roof fulfills support functions as fundamental as lighting, sound and thermal insulation.

In the examples that we have sought to demonstrate the importance of ceilings, these three characteristics are intrinsically linked to their aesthetic value. The question is based on how to solve a surface with so much visual weight and, in turn, that serves as a support for the luminaires and lighting systems, that offers a good acoustics and adequately insulate the space. Here are some success stories, where the great variety of solutions surprising offered by architects and interior designers. So much so, that we have dedicated two posts to the extraordinary (and incomprehensible) topic of office ceilings.

acoustic ceilings

We want to start our tour of the acoustic ceilings, since it is the most used solution in current office spaces. The great malleability of acoustic materials allows an infinite number of designs, which adapt in color, shapes and textures to every type of office: in slats, circles, perforated panels, geometric shapes... nothing resists this material with a matted felt appearance that emerges as one of the most interesting architectural solutions in recent years. Another of its characteristics is that it adapts perfectly to any lighting Project, either serving as a support for hanging lamps, or hiding the light rails.

exposed industrial roofs

The big trend in office ceiling solutions is the option that we could call “everything in sight”. Given the desire of modern companies to settle and rehabilitate buildings of industrial typology (ships, warehouses, factories or old workshops), the height of the ceilings gives the possibility of carrying out all the electrical installations, ventilation and lighting ducts in sight (or leave the existing ones), without the need to place a drop ceiling to hide them. In fact, therein lies its fun: the tangle of ducts and pipes looming overhead create a relaxed and informal environment,  as if it were an unfinished or meticulously “shabby” office. Many companies seek to create precisely one image of closeness and cordiality through their offices, which reduce their seriousness and rigidity by incorporating this type of solution. We also have to take into account that leaving the facilities in sight It usually has an impact on the project budget, lowering the costs of installations and materials.

In the case of old buildings, the same structure of the building, with roofs, trusses and classic beams, give such character to the office that it is necessary to maintain or restore the original ceilings and incorporate that architectural richness into the project, as in the two top images, which are precisely the offices of two architecture studios, where the original structure has been left under the roof.

In many cases, for improve acoustics of these spaces with great amplification of sound, are introduced sound absorbing panels between the facilities to mitigate the strong acoustics due to the height of the ceiling and the metallic elements that constitute it. It is also common for work areas or meeting rooms, that require better soundproofing and insulation, have ceilings made of acoustic materials.

When the lamps are the protagonists

La lamp-ceiling ratio is an inseparable union, especially in the office spaces, where pendant and recessed lighting is much more frequent than auxiliary lamps, more common in the domestic environment. Many office projects start from a special treatment for the roof, as if it were almost a light showcase, where the luminaries are absolute protagonists. This can be done in multiple ways, as we will see later, where lighting plays a key role, thanks to the games of light figures that can be created. In this case, however, the interest is focused on the Lamps and their placement.

Let's analyze these two cases. In the top Image, is profusion of cylinders in white enameled aluminum, placed with rigorous symmetry, which gives prominence to the ceiling area and distracts attention from the facilities in sight under the covers. The choice of this design is not accidental, since it is the headquarters of a pharmaceutical company and the lamps subliminally refer us to medicine capsules.

In the case of the bottom image, It is a design and communication office, a creative space that modulates depending on the needs. This work, consultation or study area, which can be isolated thanks to the curtains, has a ceiling design with pendant lamps Linear lines of great power, which form various perpendicular lines and at right angles. What is striking here is that, on the white ceiling, what stands out is the metal profile in fluorescent yellow that makes the luminaire have an amazing embossed effect.

Visual ordering: grid structures

In many projects, office ceilings have a ordering Macrofunction, that visually delimits and orders the space from top to bottom. There are many cases that we find with large wooden structures grid-shaped, like those in the two images above. These hanging structures also serve to hide or conceal the installations seen from the ceiling. It is an aesthetic resource that provides harmony, volume and also serves to reduce ceiling height if it is excessively high.

in both bottom images, We observe that the grid structure has been used, giving special focal interest to the luminaires that are repeated sequentially, unlike the previous cases, where the luminaires merge with the structure. Two very similar ideas, with the same function and different focus, and great visual effect.

Laser beam effect ceilings

We have called this arrangement “laser beam effect” since the arrangement of the linear luminaires inserted in the slats or slats create a very “Star Wars” lighting effect. This has not only been achieved thanks to the linear LEDs, but to the same roof structure, where they are inserted, which can usually be of wooden toothpicks or cut slats of sound-absorbing material.

It is important to point out that, in the same office project, it is common for different types of roof, depending on the location or functionality of the space. We have found offices, not excessively spacious, that can have up to 10 different types of roofs; the most spectacular are in entrance areas, hall or social areas, where you want the imprint of the corporate image to be more powerful.

Light geometries

Perhaps this is one of the largest groups in our typology of office ceilings. It is because here reigns the creativity and free design, where acoustic or plasterboard materials, lighting and surprising geometric shapes are mixed to produce visual effects that flood the entire interior. The techniques of assembly and realization vary depending on the effect you want to achieve.

So, in the first group (upper images) are the “streets” of the ceiling those that mark the design as a whole. In the office on the left, the crack in the ceiling it is illuminated from within, creating an overlapping effect throughout all the rooms. in the of the right, the bottom dark blue (the corporate color) gives relief to the wooden platform and creates a game of depths, where the point lights mark the different intersections.

In these two cases, they have played with the plasterboard sheets leaving space to install hidden LED lights, which create illuminated lines, angles and trapezoidal figures, which help to define a certain area.

Finally, in these two social areas, the set of luminaires and sound-absorbing plates define a set of geometries (triangles and sexagons) placed as a hanging structure under an industrial roof in sight.

Signaling and delimitation

Another of the great functions that the ceilings in a good project is signaling and delimitation of spaces. Other physical supports are usually used for these tasks, such as signage and posters on walls or iconographic elements on floors and walls, as we saw a few months ago in our post about graphic elements. But why not on the roof? That must have been asked architects and interior designers who designed these offices, in which the ceiling fulfills these functions.

Up to the left: This office and conference center, located in a commercial space with no natural light, used light boxes that mimic the skylights to create the axis that leads to the four cardinal points of the facilities.
Top right: this is a good example of how a micro habitat can be created within an office space, through a singular roofing system, that delimits this work space, as if it were a kind of open tent.

Top left: The entrance to the CVO office, a company specializing in automotive technology, welcomes the visitor with a spectacular wooden ceiling with lights that remind us of the car signal lights and that lead directly to a corporate video wall and access to the offices.

Down right: Welcome from above is not frequent, but without a doubt, it will not go unnoticed at any time. The ceiling is a wonderfully wide, clean and visible to create verbal or iconographic messages of great impact.

This does not end here! Next week we have even more examples of extraordinary and amazing ceilings in store.

Photos: OfficeSnapShot