Concept/Philosophy
The client gave us a functional brief with the freedom to imagine the future home of its India operations. We interacted with the client groups and departments to convert the functional brief into an organizational and operational solution. These were derived from a detailed understanding of several quantitative and qualitative aspects of their work environment. One of the primary observations was that the advertising sector allows for highly interactive work zones which foster creative thought processes.
Program and Organization
An investigation into the identity of the company and their work patterns allowed us to evolve a concept of thematic spaces which have been choreographed to express a vibrant workspace. Spaces such as ‘Event Street’ to disseminate program and news of the ad world; the notion of a ‘Town Hall’ in the form of a bridge used for announcements; the ‘Tree House’ in the form of a floating island was conceived for Ideation; an ‘Amphitheatre’ that allows for unexpected interaction and to foster spontaneous performances along with immediate viewership spaces have been created.
The industrial nature of the north light space has been enhanced by suspended mild steel structures like stairs, bridges and mezzanine levels in the large volume. The large open workspace interspersed with several meeting spaces creates an energetic, highly interactive and creative work field. An old industrial goods elevator has been revived to form the gateway into the creative world.
The stepping up of the amphitheater helps camouflage the toilet areas under it, the bridge conceals the storage spaces of the office thereby segregating service spaces.
Special features
The material palette is primarily derived from industrial materials. Raw Mild steel collapsible walls, Concrete (tremix) floors, Colored epoxy flooring, exposed air-conditioning ducting, cement boards and found industrial objects all help curate a new work landscape. Exposed cement boards work as doors and opaque partition panels. Mild steel folded plate garage doors are used as expandable and collapsible spaces such as meeting rooms. Mild steel coated customized cylinder fittings with CFLs reinforce the industrial character. The organization’s identity has also been captured by the use of their corporate vibrant colors red and yellow which get interspersed in various zones.
Reusing furniture from the existing office reduces the demand for virgin materials thereby minimizing the impacts associated with extraction and processing of virgin materials. A false ceiling of anutone along with Dupont heat insulated layer below the existing roof truss insulates the workspace from external heat gain, thus reducing air conditioning loads and electricity consumption. Anutone is a wood wool board which is biodegradable, recyclable and is a green building certified material.
Several environmental concerns have been addressed such as
Day lighting: The layout for the office responds to the natural light available, wherein all the work spaces are designed to receive natural light from the north and the areas such as IT room and electrical room are placed in the darker zones of the office. Cabin partitions are made of clear glass to maximize natural light within partitioned spaces. This helps reduce the dependence on artificial lighting during the day.
Energy efficient lighting: fixtures such as CFLs have been used for the entire site. Localized control for the lights allows for customized individual use hence reducing power consumption.
Insulation: A false ceiling of anutone along with Dupont heat insulated layer below the existing roof truss insulates the workspace from external heat gain, thus reducing air conditioning loads and electricity consumption. Anutone is a wood wool board which is biodegradable, recyclable and is a green building certified material.
Air conditioning: To optimize cooling loads, the entire office space has been divided into smaller zones with local controls.
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