This interior by architecture firm CREA International looks like it might be a lobby in a cutting-edge hotel, an ultra-mod living room, or a still from the set of Stanley Kubrick's 2001, but it's none of these things. Click below to find out where this room resides...

These interior shots are from a banking branch, specifically CheBanca! in Milan, Italy. It's rare that we look to a bank for design inspiration, but the new CheBanca! interiors present some interesting design ideas.

Offices are treated like "pods" that look out onto a central open area. (We saw the same concept used to make the most of small spaces in Copenhagen's DanHostel.) We love the color combo: bright yellow (the hot color of 2009) paired with ivory.

To create a sense of flow throughout the space, the designers based their floorplans on the concept of a solar system, with recessed lights that define the "orbit" patterns. (Maybe that's why we're picking up the 2001 vibe.) For more information, see CREA International's project page.
Photos: CREA International, Found via Contemporist

Comments (11)
Bank?
First thing I thought of was Dentist Office or Plastic Surgeon...
It reminds me of the Smithsons house of tomorrow, from '56 I think.
It looks like you stepped into an iPod or a Mac, like in Tron.
And while I'm sure it stands for something else too, CheBanca! means 'what a bank!'
Boy, I'll say!
Wow. I think I would feel a little intimidated banking there. Not to mention working in those pods. Where do they put all their clutter?
Chilly and imposing. God forbid anyone but the sleekest, trendiest, most plastic people occupy that space.
is the moon station in kubrick's space odyssey
Very cool looking, but I must admit that I could not live with it...one magazine on the table would ruin the whole look.
luv it!
I bet when you make a withdrawal the money is nicely laundered (for sanitation purposes) and crisply pressed and handed over on a silk cushion by a teller wearing immaculately white gloves....
Do you think the ATMs speak in HAL's voice? If you don't have sufficient funds, it would say, "I'm afraid, Dave ..."
It would be really cool if different areas had different accent colors in primaries and the sign at the entrance, instead of having arrows, would just have a legend of different regions and their respective accent colors.
Stunning.