This office interior involved the design of a continuous floor plate of the 10th floor in a new office block and another portion on the 4th floor. The office building is a fairly typical linear block with elevator/ service cores in the middle, low floor heights and curtain wall glazing. It is oriented north-south, with one of the long sides of this glazing facing an outer ring road towards the west.

 

The design was developed with two important considerations. One was to take advantage of the existing ‘architectural’ conditions of the building (orientation, sunlight, structure, services). And second was to break away from stereotypical modular office designs. The plan layout that followed creates clusters of meeting areas and cabins, based on a detailed programmatic brief, along with zone-wise clusters of respective wet areas and toilets. This layout allowed the workstations to have larger open areas, arranged in linear groupings, with isles facing the full height glazing. It offered a more open, naturally lit, lively and desirable work space for such an office environment.

 

The design of the interior elements was guided by the idea of making a ‘robust’ interior with surfaces that create a more tactile character, as a contrast to the rather conventional glass partition systems, which are mostly smooth and reflective. The half height partitions between workstations have been made in exposed brick masonry, with a wood veneer top, and the flooring has been done with matte finish tiles. Another key idea for achieving the robustness was to avoid false ceilings in the main workstation areas, with the slab surface and the beams becoming part of the interior volume.

 

The design of individual work-stations was developed to offer customized sizes and layouts, along with the need for a consistent look and fast off-site modular production. This was achieved with a powder coated M.S. frame, laminated plywood and teak wood borders, again following the idea of achieving more tactility. A few other elements like the vertical plywood panels between glass doors that accommodate switch boards have been done in select colours and further help in breaking the surface monotony.

 

The lighting design of the work areas follows the linear configuration of work-stations, with carefully calibrated illumination levels. The distribution and layout of electrical and HVAC services were meticulously planned and integrated with the movement areas/ passages, keeping in mind their service requirements. This distribution of services also helped in modulating the ceiling profile.