This style controls colour, pattern and finish — timber tone, cabinet finish, stone pattern, metal, glass and hardware. It does not fix your floor plan. Layout, dimensions, openings, circulation, storage and M&E are adapted to your actual property.
Corporate finish direction
This is a corporate finish direction, not one of the five residential design languages. Commercial projects choose a system, not a style — the operating model comes first, the finish second. See Purpose-Fit Commercial
What you see · what we specify
Corporate & Commercial · OfficeConcept study
06
A look you choose. Details we make buildable.
What you see
PaletteCharcoal, warm grey and off-white · Dark stone or restrained light stone · Controlled timber
Wood toneWalnut, smoked oak or controlled medium timber
Stone patternDark or restrained light stone
Aluminium finishMatte Black
GlassClear, smoked or fluted privacy glass
HardwareMatte black Gola
What gets specified
Cabinet materialby moisture zone — dry to branded P6, wet to ACP / honeycomb aluminium
Lightinglayers and colour temperature, room by room
Sockets & M&Eswitch, socket and appliance positions
Appliance gapsclearances and servicing access
Layout & dimensionsadapted to your actual property
Essential in this collectionConcept studies — not photographs of completed projects.
Dark timber against dark stone works for a reason unrelated to taste: an office is lit by artificial light for the whole working day, at levels no home reaches, and mid-tones go grey and flat under 4000K. Depth is what keeps a surface reading as material rather than laminate. It survives the traffic too — a reception counter is touched by every visitor and every staff member arriving, which is a rate of contact no domestic surface sees, and dark, low-movement surfaces absorb that wear instead of recording it.
Full-house finish schedule
Every trade, in this style.
The fast track for a home with limited customisation: one decision per trade, who supplies it, and the phase it belongs to. Codes are ALUMAX finish-library codes; a specialist row is ELS-specified and trade-supplied; a client row is bought by you to the direction given.
Room shell
CeilingPhase 2Specialist trade
Paint, off-white, mattConfirmed
Wall paintPhase 2Specialist trade
Paint, warm off-white — the charcoal is carried by the joinery, mattConfirmed
Clear glass on a matte black base channel, capping rail in the same finishConfirmed
MirrorsPhase 1ALUMAX supplies
Plain mirror, no frame, in washrooms onlyConfirmed
Metalwork
Cabinet handlesPhase 1ALUMAX supplies
Edge or bar pull, matte black; one base finish across all seatingConfirmed
Door / window hardwarePhase 1ALUMAX supplies
Matte Black lever and window hardware, one colour across connected roomsConfirmed
Aluminium profiles and exposed trimsPhase 1ALUMAX supplies
Matte Black on every exposed aluminium profile; one declared shadow-gap dimension held throughoutConfirmed
Fixtures
SanitarywarePhase 2Specialist trade
White vitreous china, wall-hung, concealed cisternConfirmed
TapwarePhase 2Specialist trade
Matte Black tapware, matched across kitchen and bathroomsConfirmed
Lighting housing and CCTPhase 2Specialist trade
one colour temperature in the 3500–4000K band and one CRI across the floor; light faces, keep light off screens; matte black or white housings, recessedConfirmed
Switches and socket platesPhase 2Specialist trade
Matte black plates, one system across the floorConfirmed
Soft finishes
Curtains / blindsPhase 2ELS Source (materials) · installation as named in your quotation
chain-operated roller blinds; solar-control or low-e glass; no fabric drapesConfirmed
Loose-furniture timberPhase 3Client purchase
one task chair, one colour, across every workstation; upholstery charcoalConfirmed
Upholstery and rugsPhase 3Client purchase
Charcoal, never a second brown; one fabric family across the floorConfirmed
Equipment
Visible appliance finishesPhase 3Client purchase
Stainless or black glass, one family per pantryConfirmed
AC grilles and ventilation coversPhase 2Specialist trade
Linear grilles in the ceiling white; any visible frame in matte blackConfirmed
Angle valves, traps and drain covers in matte black or brushed stainless, one choice per room; linear drain covers tile-insert where the floor allowsConfirmed
CCTV, alarm and intercom housingsPhase 2Specialist trade
White housings on white surfaces, black on dark; placed to the joinery module, never centred on a feature wallConfirmed
Conditional exterior
Façade / claddingPhase 3Specialist trade
Aluminium composite cladding in warm grey with expressed joints; timber-look fluted feature columnsConfirmed
Exterior framesPhase 3ALUMAX supplies
Matte Black aluminium exterior door and window framesConfirmed
Gates and fencingPhase 3ALUMAX supplies
Matte Black aluminium, matched to the exterior frames — range and finish to confirm with ALUMAXTo confirm with ALUMAX
Exterior shading and screensPhase 3ALUMAX supplies
Matte Black aluminium louvres and screens, matched to the frames — range to confirm with ALUMAXTo confirm with ALUMAX
Glass balustrade on matte black channel outside as inside; metal-only railing in the same finish where glass is not wantedConfirmed
Exterior coatingsPhase 3Specialist trade
Exterior-grade matt coating in the wall tone family, one step deeper than inside; matte black trimsConfirmed
Product Specification Levels
Same look, Essential to Bespoke.
Final materials depend on technical suitability, moisture zone and current availability.
01
Essential
Starts with ALUMAX's preferred entry-value cabinet platform where appropriate, with other materials specified where the space, exposure or product requires them.
Entry-value approved cabinet platform for appropriate dry zones
Cost-controlled approved finishes
Practical, reliable hardware
Standard glass and aluminium selections
Substrate by moisture zone — wet zones use ACP / honeycomb aluminium at any level
Curated SPC and WPC samples, each matched to this design language and to the surface it was chosen for — so the finish direction above resolves to a real code you can raise in an ELS+ enquiry.
Confirm colour, grain, gloss and profile depth against a physical supplier sample before ordering — these are application references, not exact colour proofs. ALUMAX supplies, installs and prices these products.
Style specification
The technical layer, in full.
Palette
Charcoal, warm grey and off-white · Dark stone or restrained light stone · Controlled timber
Wood tone
Walnut, smoked oak or controlled medium timber
Stone pattern
Dark or restrained light stone
Aluminium finish
Matte Black
Glass
Clear, smoked or fluted privacy glass
Hardware
Matte black Gola
Lighting
3500K–4000K, neutral
How it is built
Lighting strategy
Hold one colour temperature in the 3500K–4000K band and one CRI specification across the whole floor; a 3000K "lounge" reception inside the same sightline as workstations reads as a lighting fault, not a mood. The work is vertical: faces need light for video calls, and screens need it kept off them. A downlight directly above a monitor lands as reflected glare in every seat behind it.
Industry standardColour-rendering behaviour is established lighting science, not one product's test.
Windows & curtains
Sarawak office floors are usually taken as-built with whatever glazing the shoplot or tower came with, so the west elevation is inherited rather than chosen, and the driver is air-conditioning load, not privacy. Solve it at the glass — solar-control or low-e, with external shading where the facade allows — and let chain-operated roller blinds handle only the last hour of afternoon sun. Avoid fabric drapes: a space cleaned under contract gets floors mopped and curtains never washed. Keep fluted glass internal.
ELS field guidanceHow fabrics and finishes behave in Sarawak's unconditioned humidity — ELS field experience.
Furniture language
Task chairs are the most numerous loose object on the floor and the one most often carried over from the old office. Specify one chair, one colour, across every workstation; a floor of mismatched chairs cancels the joinery from the door. Meeting and executive seating may differ but must share the base finish — chrome legs against graphite aluminium read as two projects. Upholstery stays charcoal, never a second brown.
Handles & hardware
The finish follows the palette, so the choice is only Essential or Bespoke.
Essential
Matte black Gola
Bespoke
Matte black integrated edge pull
Why Matte black: Black aluminium windows · Black-framed sliding doors · Black appliances, sink or tap · Black lighting · Dark stone countertops
Depth & layering
After the style, we match the depth.
Corporate & Commercial decides colour, pattern and finish. Depth is separate — it is built, not chosen — so ELS matches it layer by layer against your actual ceiling height, walls and floor.
The one rule
Depth comes from a plane change — shadow does the work — or a material change — contrast does the work.
Plane changeshadow does the workMaterial changecontrast does the work
Do both at one junction with no functional reason and they cancel: the eye stops reading either.
Plane ✓Material —
Sculptural depth
One material, a level change — the shadow reads the form.
Plane —Material ✓
Graphic depth
Two materials on one plane — contrast draws the line.
Plane ✓Material ✓
Reserve for a hard boundary
Different material AND a level change together — only where a real boundary changes: wet/dry, indoor/outdoor, public/private.
CeilingSame material — depth from drops & coves
Default to one material and earn depth from drops, coves and shadow gaps — never a busy patchwork overhead. Height is the hard constraint: services claim the void before the design does.
Clear height≥ 2,500 mm (UBBL) · hold 2,600 mm under any drop
The habitable-room legal minimum, with comfort headroom kept below every dropped feature.
Industry standard
Slab to slab2,900–3,200 mm typical
What you start with — before any services are run.
ELS field guidance
AC plenumCassette/FCU 250–350 mm · ducted 300–400 mm
Air-conditioning claims the void first; the design works with what is left.
Industry standard
Condensate fall1:100
The gradient the AC drain line needs to run — it sets where the ceiling can sit.
Industry standard
Cove cavity150–200 mm
Depth to hide the light source and throw an even wash, not a hot line.
Design recommendation
Shadow gap20–30 mm
The reveal that separates ceiling from wall as a crisp, intentional line.
Design recommendation
Board for humidity12 mm gypsum at 400–450 mm centres
Sarawak's high humidity sags thin board on wide centres; this spec holds flat.
ELS field guidance
We askOnce air-conditioning and services are in, how much ceiling height can we spend on a dropped feature?
WallSame material, broken by a reveal
Default to one material broken by a reveal or shadow gap. A material change must land on a plane change or a shadow gap — never stop mid-plane, where a finish that just ends reads as unfinished.
Reveal / shadow gap20–40 mm
Enough shadow to read as a deliberate line, not a gap that looks like a defect.
Design recommendation
Where material changesOn a joint — never mid-plane
A reveal or a corner gives the change a reason; a finish that stops in open field looks unfinished.
Design recommendation
Socket box depth47 mm behind the finish
A flush socket sets the minimum a wall build-up can be — thinner reveals will not clear it.
Industry standard
We askWhere do the material changes fall — and does each one land on a joint we can detail?
FloorDifferent material, one flat level
Default to a single flat plane and zone with material, not level. A level change is either zero or a proper step (≥ 150 mm) — nothing in between, which trips.
Level changeZero, or ≥ 150 mm
Anything in between is a trip hazard; keep it flat or make it a proper step.
Industry standard
Screed load50 mm screed ≈ 110 kg/m²
A raised zone adds real dead load — the structure has to carry it.
Industry standard
Raised sub-frameSteel or aluminium — not timber
Termite country: a raised timber floor is a liability here.
ELS field guidance
Kerbless wet zone20–40 mm slab recess
Holds water in a level-threshold wet room without a step to trip on.
Industry standard
We askDo we zone this floor by material alone, or is a real step justified — and where does water need holding back?
Figures are planning guidance, not warranties. Real performance depends on the product, its installation and the site's exposure; the product datasheet and site measurement confirm it.
These are the standard rules and typical Sarawak figures. The exact heights, falls and build-ups are confirmed by your designer against the real slab, services and moisture zones on site.
Construction notes
Contract cleaners wet-mop daily, so every carcass must stand on a sealed aluminium or stone plinth — a timber skirting base wicks water and swells.
Cable routes for meeting tables and reception desks must be fixed at carcass drawing stage; grommets cut on site split the laminate edge and stay visible for the life of the fit-out.
Dark stone, glass partitions and plasterboard form an acoustically hard box — every enclosed meeting room needs one absorbent plane, or video calls clip and voices carry into the open floor.
ELS field guidanceClimate-durability timeframes ELS has seen on Sarawak sites; not a manufacturer rating.
Common mistakes
What goes wrong, and what to do instead.
Specifying a polished dark stone reception top
Use a honed or leathered finish — polished dark stone records every water ring, fingerprint and dust film under reception downlights.
Building the pantry to the same specification as the dry side of a home kitchen
There is no cooking but also no extract, and the air-con is off from Friday evening to Monday — so the sink run meets water without drying out; specify the sink run in a non-absorbent ACP / aluminium substrate, not an unprotected moisture-resistant board, and keep unprotected P6 board to the genuinely dry runs; protected P6 is allowed at the pantry sink only with ALUMAX's listed protections and where ALUMAX's site measurement finds P6 suitable.
Glazing every meeting room in full-height clear glass
Staff avoid a room they cannot sit in unseen — flute or band the glass at seated eye level and keep the borrowed daylight.
Final materials, finishes and availability depend on technical suitability, moisture zone, load and the current ALUMAX stocking strategy, confirmed on site measurement and approved scope.