The Fatboy headquarters is an ode to junk. It is an exercise in working with existing materials, recycling what is at hand to create something new.
At the time, Fatboy was a furniture label that has achieved success with a beanbag of the same name. Looking to expand its collection, the company wanted a place in which it could discover and develop its identity.
Bas van Tol responded by taking assorted items accumulated by Fatboy over time and forming spaces out of them. The interiors he created not only document the client’s history but also express its identity.
The building is a nondescript two-floor industrial structure on a business park. Bas van Tol removed the first floor at both ends of the oblong structure to create two double-height volumes, between which is a two-level core containing some partitioned rooms for quiet work. A large timber fence stretching along one side of the building conveniently conceals service spaces such as cloakroom, storage, kitchen and so on, freeing up the rest of the interior as one continuous space.
Openness, informality and transparency are the key qualities of the interior. MüllerVanTol took many elements that were once part of Fatboy trade-fair stands and combined them with assorted secondhand finds and just a few specially designed elements — all set off by a grass-green floor that reflects the youthful and dynamic character of the firm.
The result is a cacophony of fragments that matches the personality of the occupant, a company that can change character when it needs to, all contained inside a raw industrial box.