MULTIFUNCTIONAL ROOM AND COWORKING SPACE

The social cooperative Il Germoglio develops personalized care, education, training guidance, and job placement projects, with particular attention to people in vulnerable situations. Its goal is to trigger positive change through relationships and innovative solutions, helping to build a cohesive community that is attentive to the needs that arise within the community.

"One must firmly believe in a sprout in order to one day rest in the shade of a tree."

Within the cooperative, the project Officine Ricicletta was created: a professional training pathway for people at risk of social exclusion, based on the recovery, reassembly, and sale of refurbished bicycles. This project, in addition to its social value, has a strong environmental commitment, as it promotes sustainable mobility and the reuse of materials that would otherwise become waste.

In this context, Plam Studio designed a Multi-functional Room, dedicated to emotional regulation, slow work, and group moments, and a Co-working Room, intended for the work of educators and support staff. The design of both spaces was based on a participatory, neuro-inclusive, and relational approach, resulting from a process of observation, research, and dialogue with workers and educators.

Both rooms lack windows facing outside. For this reason, the design aimed to reintroduce a symbolic connection to nature and give the spaces a sense of openness and lightness through materials, colors, wall graphics, and plants.

Birch wood formed the sensory and visual foundation for all custom-made furniture. It also served as a neutral and calming base upon which layers of color palettes were added to create neuro-inclusive spaces, reduce anxiety, and enhance people’s comfort.

Multi-functional room
In this space, the need emerged to accommodate three different functions:

→ Emotional decompression
A soft and welcoming area where individuals can retreat for a break from work or from particularly stressful emotional situations, away from noise and interruptions.

→ Focused, unhurried work
A well-organized workstation inspired by a workshop setting, where people can calmly and without judgment learn key steps in bicycle repair.

→ Meetings
An area dedicated to small, medium, and large group meetings, where members of the cooperative can come together and exchange ideas.

To meet these needs, it was essential to design durable furniture suitable for a workshop environment, modular and mobile so it can easily adapt to different spatial configurations.
The furniture was built by combining birch wood and metal profiles, and lockable wheels were added where needed.

The color palette of the multi-functional room supports emotional balance and clearly defines the different areas. Sage green, applied to the back wall, evokes a natural sense of calm; the soft furnishings upholstered in terracotta-colored fabric introduce warmth into the space, encouraging physical relaxation; while blue characterizes the workstation dedicated to slow work, fostering concentration.

In the decompression area, where tactile sensory experience plays a key role in promoting mental and physical relaxation, a series of tactile sensory cushions called Brutti ma Buoni (“Ugly but Good”) was designed. These cushions vary in shape, texture, and weight, while the fabrics, offcuts from upholstered furniture production, were selected for their pleasant tactile qualities. They can be stroked, squeezed, held, placed around the neck, or used by placing hands inside them: a gentle sensory stimulation that helps release tension, slow breathing, and restore a sense of well-being. The Brutti ma Buoni are objects designed to foster a sense of connection, offering comfort in moments when a person needs to feel held and at ease.

Co-working room
The room dedicated to the organizational work of educators and staff follows the same design principles as the Multi-functional Room, adapted to the need for individual workstations and meeting space, an area dedicated to storage, and a small break area.
For the co-working room, a medium-sized table was built with integrated electrical connections for powering computers. It features a removable central divider that evokes the symbolic image of a forest through an interweaving pattern of stylized leaves.
The storage system was designed with both open and closed compartments, while the relaxation area includes an upholstered bench and a tall cabinet for the coffee station.
The color palette of this space once again reflects the intention to create a neuro-inclusive environment that supports concentration and dialogue, using light and natural tones such as powder blue and sage green, known for their calming qualities.