LOFTwall Separation Wall

Several months ago when we moved into our work/live loft, we realized we wanted to screen off certain areas from the view of clients visiting the architecture studio. Since the loft is mixed-use and houses an office, a mezzanine live space, a storage area, and my pottery studio, we needed several walls and screens. We built walls around the storage room and we put up corrugated metal to screen the mezzanine 'live' space. 

We decided, however, that we only wanted to partially screen off the pottery studio. A pottery workshop shares some similar characteristics with an architecture studio and proximity to someone working on clay or tinkering in a workshop can be an interesting concept for visitors and a motivating force for employees. But workshops are often cluttered and can't always be cleaned up when an unexpected visitor arrives. The logical solution for a partition was a lightweight, partially translucent, room divider. While searching online for room partitions, we stumbled across LOFTwall - a company that makes mod-looking movable separator walls that could be customized through the selection of different color panels and wall sizes. The walls are also VOC-free and the frames are made from recycled content and the wall components are recyclable.

It just so happened that at the time we discovered LOFTwall, they were having a contest to design a wall - the winner would receive a free LOFTwall! After consulting the architecture firm's design team and being advised that people get excited by red, I submitted my contest entry - a red and black wall with a translucent white panel in the center.

The LOFTwall Design Contest Entry

Voting was conducted on LOFTwall's facebook page and, thanks to the support of friends and fans, my entry made it through three rounds of voting and ultimately won! Now I could design my very own LOFTwall to use as a partition between the architecture studio and the workshop. 

We knew that the LOFTwall might have to be moved in the future for use in a reception area or to screen the conference table during meetings. So we decided that the wall should blend in with the overarching grey and white color palette of the office, let light filter through to the workshop, and not clash with the red kitchen. So we designed a grey, black and white wall with translucent panels and a two-sided dry-erase board that can be used for doodles in the workshop on one side and to convey ideas in the conference area on the other side.

Drawing on the Wall is Okay!

The LOFTwall arrived in three boxes with simple instructions on how to assemble the rails and panels with the provided allen wrench and screwdriver.

Unpacked & Ready to Assemble

First Row of Panels & Rails

Assembled and Ready to Move

It took all of 10 minutes or so to assemble and tighten the entire wall. Then we placed it next to the workshop. The modern materials and neutral colors blend perfectly with the space and the clear textured panels allow light into the workshop without revealing exactly what's behind the wall.

LOFTwall view from Conference Table

LOFTwall view from Workshop