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Guests gravitate to the library; some are even using it as the backdrop for new headshots, Lisa says. The walls are painted Sherwin-Williams Muddied Basil, and the sheer drapes were made by U-fab.
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In the enclave, the walls are painted Sherwin-Williams Shiitake, and the handwoven pendants were sourced from Rwanda.
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The walls in the back meeting space are painted Sherwin-Williams Moth Wing, and the custom modular sofa is Hinchada by OSF.
Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.” He channeled that thought into his architecture, creating structures in harmony with their environments and human residents. Biophilic interior design practices echo those principles, drawing on our innate need to connect to nature in our homes and workplaces.
Elements of biophilic design drove the aesthetic Lisa Markow created for Lost Office Collaborative, a new meeting space her husband, Christian Markow, and his business partner, Mark Brown, recently opened in Rocketts Landing. The idea came about during the pandemic, Christian says, for a space designed to help put people in the right mindset to collaborate with others and give them the tools and support they need to work together.
Before planning the Lost Office interiors, they studied neuroscientific research regarding the ways an environment can provoke different states of mind. “We felt there were more organic things that we needed to think about that were actually effective at influencing the way that our brains work. So, that’s everything from biophilic [elements] to scent and sensory design, to [overall] comfort and the types of furnishings we use,” Christian says.
The team chose the location, on the banks of the James River adjacent to the Virginia Capital Trail, for its proximity to the natural world. The raw industrial space was large enough for them to carve out a coffee bar, library and two flexible meeting spaces.
A palette of leafy green paint colors — from a mild, earthy green in the social spaces to a deeper hue in the library, an area for reflection — provides peaceful transitions from one room to the next, enveloping the space in a feeling of calm. Key elements of biophilic design, such as the repetitive use of wood millwork, dimple lighting and arches, are incorporated throughout. Draping vines and plant-filled nooks and crannies add to the lush environment accentuated with woven pendant lights; layered textures of leather, stone and steel; and furnishings sourced from makers around the globe.
“This is not your standard white, rectangular, sterile room where you meet and you’re uninspired,” Lisa says. “[Lost Office] is a new experience. ... We were intentional about using those deeper, richer colors to pull people in from the coffee bar into the library space, and it kind of cocoons you. And with all the natural light coming into the space, it just pulls you in and makes you feel reflective.”
