Photos of the central hub for Perth Design Week, the eight-day event taking place now in the Western Australia capital, have been revealed by OMA to go along with the start of festivities.

Their colorful design for PRINCIPLES Square is located inside Cathedral Square in Perth's city center and features the Australian debut of the firm's office furniture collaboration with UniFor, which first premiered at Milan Design Week in 2022. 

Intended as the main gathering space for Design Week, the concept creates a variety of socializing and spatial scenarios. For the event's second edition, no less than 20 events will be hosted there. Philippe Braun, the project's associate-in-charge, told the press that its realization "stimulated us to further explore how the collection can be applied beyond the typical."

OMA says of the arrangement: "PRINCIPLES Square is the manifestation of the potential of the collection. The installation takes advantage of the flexibility offered by PRINCIPLES to support different activities. At the center, the ‘donuts’ and the ‘soft islands’ — with playful colors — create a lively core space for lectures, panel discussions, and performing arts."

"On the two sides, the ‘spines’ define zones for interactive workshops and a cosy reading corner. The ‘soft islands’ and sofas form lounge areas where film screenings take place. When there are no events, PRINCIPLES Square is an outdoor public co-working area with a relaxing atmosphere."

Partner Rem Koolhaas, invoking the beginning of the firm's creative relationship with UniFor, said finally: "The Axel Springer campus where about 3,000 employees work every day prompted us to experiment with how architecture and furniture can create work environments that promote new ways of interacting and communicating within the office." 

The furniture is composed in the same S, M, L, XL categorizations used to fete its founder’s conception for an adaptable architecture, bolstered throughout by soundproofing materials and featuring double-layered surfaces that can be used alternatively for eating and drinking.

This is the second OMA design in Perth, following the WA Museum Boola Bardip in the city's Cultural Centre. OMA is also collaborating with WITH Architecture Studio for a renovation of the aging Perth Concert Hall that is expected for the end of 2024.