Why Concept Matters Even for Law Firm Interiors - The STAR Law Firm Project ①

“Make it a workspace that feels like a cafe.” If you heard this single line in a request for a law firm office interior, what would come to mind? It might be a picture that’s hard to imagine. The protagonist of this project is STAR Law Firm, which is building a new legal culture. If you want to communicate with clients through a fresh image, take a look at this article.

Law Firm Interior: Imagining a ‘Cafe-like Office’

When people think of legal consultations, they often feel a sense of distance because of the stiff atmosphere and difficult terminology. STAR Law Firm (hereafter STAR) wanted to break this mold and pursue a consultation service that anyone can approach comfortably. As STAR planned its new Seoul office, it hoped this value could be felt naturally in the space as well. Unlike conventional law firms, they wanted an office with a young and flexible sensibility, and a warm, cafe-like atmosphere.

SPACEBASE found that answer in ‘concept and story’. Designer Kim Young-eun, who led this project, puts it this way.

“In the end, I came to understand that the reason STAR wanted to create a new space was not to show off luxury, but an intention to move away from the stiff atmosphere of a law firm.”

We found the client’s true intention and steered the direction to match it. And so, instead of a stiff legal consultation space, a warm space that welcomes a new beginning was completed.

STAR Law Firm’s Seoul Office Project

STAR Law Firm’s Seoul office was its first branch expanded into the greater Seoul metropolitan area.

What concerns did STAR Law Firm have when they commissioned the project?

STAR Law Firm’s design team saw the SPACEBASE website and inquired about whether they could take part in the interior bid. STAR is a law firm that started in Daegu and expanded to Busan and Daejeon, and at the time they reached out to us, they were planning to expand to Seoul.

Since they were opening an office in Seoul for the first time, they had a strong desire to work with a partner who communicates smoothly and can be trusted.

During their visit to Seoul, two representatives from STAR’s management team and design team personally visited three interior companies. It was to feel each company’s atmosphere firsthand. At that time, they said our work atmosphere was the most lively and bright, so they trusted us first.

STAR wanted to move away from the stiff law firm image and communicate with clients in a ‘cafe-like space’ that could give a new impression.

Even back in its Daegu days, STAR already had a clear direction: a desire to shed the image of a ‘stiff law firm’. It was a place that wanted to show clients a space with a new feel. So this Seoul office, too, they wanted to create a ‘cafe-like space’ rather than something that feels like a company — that was the core request.

Shedding the Stiff Image and Wearing a Warm One

You mentioned they wanted to move away from the existing image of a law firm office. I’m curious how SPACEBASE unpacked that point.

STAR Law Firm’s existing offices used gold as an accent color and had a classic atmosphere using molding and black.

During the branding research process, we at SPACEBASE learned of STAR’s core value, the ‘Reborn’ spirit. It carried the meaning of overcoming together those difficult situations that are hard to get through alone. In the end, the reason STAR wanted to create a new space was not to show off luxury, but an intention to move away from the stiff atmosphere of a law firm — we came to understand that. So we put the story of ‘Reborn’ into the space and made it convey a warm atmosphere overall.

The spatial concept narrative was planned from STAR’s core value, the ‘Reborn’ spirit.

Another interesting point was STAR’s website. The website was designed so that success cases were composed like posters, allowing anyone to approach them comfortably. ‘a fresh and young law firm’ the impression of being, which felt appealing. We wanted to naturally weave STAR’s unique sensibility into the space as well.

STAR Law Firm’s website is composed so that success cases can be viewed like posters. (Photo courtesy_STAR Law Firm)

Please introduce the main concept of STAR Law Firm’s office interior.

Overall, it was completed by embedding symbolic meaning derived from the word ‘STAR.’ Within that, we tried to express a warm space that is open to people.

From the name ‘STAR,’ we naturally the image of galaxies and stars thought of. Among countless galaxies, we imagined a galaxy named ‘Reborn Galaxy’ and used it as the motif. It carries the story of “a shining star that points the way to a new direction and embraces you warmly.”

Part of the concept narrative of the STAR Law Firm project. SPACEBASE searched for a concept that suited the brand and built a detailed worldview.

The detailed concept narrative is impressive. Through what process did you plan a story like this?

While planning this project, I often thought about the meaning a ‘star’ holds. As I thought about twinkling stars, the story of The Little Prince suddenly came to mind. ‘Yes, let’s also a story of a young person who helps someone living on a star — put it into the space’: that’s the idea it led to.

The image of galaxies and stars, conjured from the name ‘STAR,’ became the motif of the concept.

The name of the character born that way is Astra. It’s a name that means ‘star’ in Latin, and he runs a small cafe on a star called ‘Reborn.’ That cafe, where the lights stay on late into the night, was actually an office for finding people in difficulty. Astra is a being who borrows the power of the universe to help people in difficulty, and we took this story as a symbolic motif for the space.

A concept plays the role of setting an important direction throughout the long design and construction process. STAR’s office space, too, holds a consistent concept and mood.

Along with the image of a ‘star,’ we embedded a detailed concept and character within it and expanded it into a single narrative. This story is also connected to STAR’s actual service. Drawing on the fact that STAR operates 24-hour real-time consultations, we completed a story about a star’s office that offers help anytime.

Turning Imagination into Reality: Realizing the ‘Reborn Galaxy’ in the Space

A reception that reinterprets the symmetrical column structure of Rome in a modern way. In ancient Greece, two columns signified the entrance of a temple, and symmetrical columns symbolize strength and stability.

The concept you described naturally reveals itself in the space as well. Please explain how you realized it.

Of course, you can’t put every element of the imagination into the space exactly as is. But this kind of concept is important because it serves as a ‘rudder’ that sets the direction throughout the design and construction process.

In this project, taking a space with a mythological protagonist as the motif, we reinterpreted the symmetrical column structure of Rome in a modern way and applied it to the reception. We expressed, through a contemporary lens, a column structure that looks like it would appear in Greek and Roman mythology.

We planted lavender throughout the space to express STAR’s key symbolism.

We also lavender, which symbolizes healing and purity, planted throughout. By expressing STAR’s main color, purple, through lavender, we tried to express it in the space by matching the concept narrative with the flower’s meaning.

In line with the need for ‘an atmosphere more like a cafe than an office,’ we arranged a space like a cafe bar. Located at the center as you enter the office past the reception, it expressed the cafe run by Astra in the concept narrative.

Finally, we used round shapes to express ‘starlight’. The shape of round doors, round floor lighting in the elevator hall, and even semicircular Barrisol lighting above the town hall and reception. Overall, we completed a spatial flow in which round shapes connect smoothly.

We used round shapes throughout to realize the image of ‘starlight’ in the space.

When designing the shared cafeteria space, what point did you focus on most?

A cafeteria, used together by many people in a professional cafe and an office, has a different basic structure and circulation, so realizing a ‘cafe-like atmosphere’ was not easy. So we hid the shared snack bar, refrigerator, and so on behind the bar wall, composing it so that the form of a ‘bar’ stands out more than that of a cafeteria overall.

A reference image consulted when designing the cafeteria space.

By appropriately arranging the mood of a hotel lounge and STAR’s branding, we created a calm yet comfortable space. In this way, even within the workspace, we tried to make a cafeteria with an atmosphere where rest and exchange naturally blend together.

The meeting zone gives a different impression from a conventional office in both color and composition. In what direction did you design it?

What we considered most important in the meeting zone was a ‘meeting space that doesn’t look like a meeting room’. So we used a variety of colors and applied a fabric material with strong texture to the walls. We composed the chairs as built-in sofas and added table lamps to complete a comfortable yet upscale atmosphere.

We completed an upscale meeting room space using strongly textured material walls, built-in sofas, table lamps, and more.

STAR wanted a structure where internal members and visitors could naturally blend together. So we created a coworking space where teams or small groups could collaborate, along with a comfortable, cafe-like workspace.

At the same time, we proposed a seating arrangement that could be used functionally. A big table that can be freely used in front of the cafe bar, a space for collaboration, and even half-wall single seats where you can focus alone. We naturally connected seats that let you work in a variety of ways.

Finally, we mixed and arranged the office chairs with a variety of colors and shapes appropriately. In between, we mixed in comfortable chairs rather than office chairs. a balanced atmosphere where the workspace and the rest space connect naturally — we created that.

By composing the workspace with a variety of colors and shapes, we created a structure where visitors and members could naturally blend together.

Now, even a law firm office may no longer be sufficient with just a tidy desk and a consultation table. If you want to offer clients both trust and comfort, you need a thoughtfulness that goes beyond a good-looking interior to understanding a consistent concept and the company’s philosophy.

`SPACEBASE focuses on making a space not simply ‘decorated,’ but a place where a company’s message naturally resides. `This time, we introduced the process of grasping the main needs and concerns and planning the core concept. In the next post, we’ll tell you in detail how each space was realized, a story that added a new sensibility to law firm office interiors. Look forward to the next story on the SPACEBASE blog as well!

*Photos and design courtesy_SPACEBASE

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