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Interior

2022

Photographer : Ishita Sitwala

Spread across an area of 3200 sq ft, in the city of Ahmedabad lies the office of a philanthropist, who apart from funding young entrepreneurs runs a foundation which works to improve the quality of education. His brief was to design a workspace, which echoed his social stature and was warm and elegant. Further, he wanted to move away from a conventional office with closed cabins and workstations organized according to hierarchy. Hence, this Office represents itself beyond the limits of workstations and cabins; spaces where conversations happen, reflecting ideas of innovation and growth. Through the character of spaces, elements and their meaning, the project negotiates with the typology's limitations, inducing a sense of wholesomeness and inclusivity to the idea of work through its design. By rethinking the formalized setup, spaces try to break away from the conventions, blurring boundaries of demarcation and hierarchy.

The office is situated in a commercial development consisting of 16 individual blocks placed around a common plot, in the western part of Ahmedabad, The office is spread across two floors – the ground floor has a reception and meeting room near the entry, a larger conference room in the middle and workstations at the rear-end opening onto outdoor plantation; while the top floor has informal workstations and a recreation area with library and coffee bar at one end, while CEO Cabin and meeting room are at the other end looking onto the outdoor terrace.

As a design language, we wanted to break the conventional idea of an office which represents how we look at the work environment and culture around it. By questioning the use of partitions in offices, we introduced layers in space, through the use of Arched frames, which helped to achieve transparency between spaces. These frames were intended to keep spaces private up to a point, yet blur the line, allowing the visual connection to retain while maintaining their respective boundaries. Each Space contained within the frame has different experiences to offer. Layouts and design of working areas and meeting spaces are designed in a way that they are flexible and adaptable to incorporate functions differently. Eventually, depending on the use, a correlation between the workspaces and other elements like light fixtures, informal sitting areas, study space, and waiting was articulated.

The project's primary materials were used to create a neutral base, that binds with the texture of the wood. Using two dissimilar materials, by nature of expression and properties, the spaces try to highlight one in the backdrop of the other. Materials are used in different ways, some to fame spaces and others like a pattern, some to give demarcation of spaces and others just for the efficiency of utility. Brass is used as an element to bring things together, with standardization of the use of sections to the overall geometry, it acts as a highlighting element in the backdrop of wooden texture. It exhibits itself in diverse ways, through light fixtures and inlay patterns in furniture; complementing the reddish stone and wooden textures to accentuate one another’s presence. Meticulously designed lighting fixtures are integrated with different elements – wall, ceiling and furniture, keeping in mind the functionality of space exemplifies the complexity that explores the combination of two materials – brass and wood.