Designer Gabriela Marcella has transformed an industrial unit in Glasgow into a colorful and practical headquarters for her lithographic printing business.
Marchella is the founder of Risotto Studio, which uses the lithographic printing process to create brightly colored stationery and products.
Marcela, who has been based in the Glue Factory creative hub since graduating 14 years ago, was seduced by the opportunity to take over a 100 square meter space previously used as a screen printing workshop.
“It took a long time, but we finally created the open, flexible and colorful workspace of our dreams,” Marcela told Dezeen. “This project embodies the studio’s ambition and creative approach, and at the same time allows me to transform my two-dimensional patterns into three-dimensional forms, which is something I want to do more of.”
A key element of the project is the green room. The Green Room is a stepped space in the center of the space that houses paper storage and printers, with the exterior surface used to display sculptures.
Marcela used SketchUp software to model a structure similar to the tetromino blocks from the computer game Tetris. Designer and manufacturer Alexander Garthwaite assembled the unit to her specifications.
The green room is the only fixed element within the workshop and can be easily reconfigured by moving storage units and tables to suit different activities.
“We wanted everything to be flexible so that the space could adapt to the work we do, whether it’s holding workshops, commissioning, or making stationery,” says Marcela.
“Almost everything has wheels, so you can steer things even if there’s only one or two people in the space.”
The area surrounding the central printing room remained open, with storage units, desks and worktops surrounding it providing a practical area for project work.
Flap curtains separating the studio and green room allow light into the printing space, while also providing an acoustic barrier and introducing a playful and practical element.
“I love the aesthetic of old factories and workshops,” Marcela explained. “The visual vocabulary of these industrial spaces definitely influenced the use of details like flaps and ladders.”
Much of the storage throughout the studio is sourced from British brand Bisley, with whom Marcela collaborated on a capsule collection in exchange for providing the products she requested.
“We really wanted a good-looking modular storage solution based on the standard A paper size we use in our studio,” the designer explained.
“I already had some of their file cabinets and obviously the color range is great so they were the perfect partner for this project.”
Alongside Bisley units, Marcella incorporated vintage finds and off-the-shelf products in a standard palette. For example, a bright red ladder used to access items at the top of a high shelving unit.
An epoxy floor on one side of the space, along with white-painted walls, provides a neutral backdrop for the colorful furniture. Elsewhere, salvaged terrazzo tiles bring tactility and aged aesthetics to the material palette.
The opening of the Risotto workshop coincided with an exhibition of postcard designs printed as part of the monthly Riso Club subscription project in the adjacent Glue Factory gallery.
Founded in 2017, Riso Club is a non-profit postcard subscription project that allows independent artists to send colorful prints to members around the world.
The Riso Club 100 exhibition showcased 400 postcard designs created during the project, giving visitors an insight into the global community of artists and different approaches to Risograph printing.
“Riso Club has created a quick and accessible way to present alternative styles of Risograph artwork, such as photographs and paintings, that are different from the graphic images that people associate with this printing method,” said Marcella.
She has previously collaborated with brands such as Apple, Pinterest, Instagram and Mini, and created a series of balanced artworks for a 2018 exhibition highlighting the best of Scottish design.
Elsewhere in Glasgow, architect Lee Yvette, designer Simon Harlow and developer Duncan Blackmore previously transformed a 25 square meter apartment into a light-coloured space with no freestanding furniture.
Photographs are by Richard Guston unless otherwise noted.
#Gabriela #Marcela #selfdesigns #vibrant #risotto #print #studio