The ground floor contains a reception and waiting area, conference room, cabins and pantry while the first floor has the executive cabins, workstations, waiting area and conference room. The terrace is accessed from a separate service staircase.

The ground floor contains a reception and waiting area, conference room, cabins and pantry while the first floor has the executive cabins, workstations, waiting area and conference room. The terrace is accessed from a separate service staircase.

Extremely simple in its design, the overall architecture is a play of spaces, pure volumes, materials and light. The structure was designed in prefabricated bolted systems in steel, so that the whole structure, apart from the foundations and the civil works, if required could be reused for other projects. The interior design doesn’t detach itself from the architecture, rather is a free-flowing extension of the outside to the within.

The language of the building is inspired from Balinese architecture and is defined by a sloping roof covered in Mangalore tiles over the closed areas, while the sloping roof over the semi open deck area is a combination of glass and wood. The rooms on the ground floor, accessed from the deck, have large floor to ceiling windows to provide panoramic views of the surrounding lawns as well as the main residential block. The basement uses a clean palette of muted colours with a play of materials to create the spa area.   

They wished to showcase their strength in building construction and finishing, evolving from their humble roots as a construction company to a reputed development company of the future. The result was an 8-storey building block encased with an exoskeleton designed to hold the glass façade in place with a suave contemporary interior design language rendered luxurious with the use of plush finishes and furniture.

Looking at a company with a strong legacy firmly rooted in the present and creating for the future, the studio suggested a more daring route, one that would be inspired from the classic, but created with the technology of the present and be relevant in the years to come. A thoroughly intensive design exercise rationalized the geometry of classical Victorian interiors breathing life into the space with modern techniques and materials.

To incorporate an estimated 50 people office within an existing residential building, the internal layout was completely remodelled, leaving the external lines of the boundary intact so as to not disturb the surrounding fabric. Ample openings made on the North and the Eastern edges allowed as much natural light as possible into each interior space. The openings in the south were protected by the existing boundary wall and a metal trellis that acts as a shading device. Bamboo and wooden venetian blinds were used to control internal lighting levels.

All the internal partitioning was done in exposed 3”x 3”x 8” Fly ash Brick masonry which has a very low embodied energy. All the zones are divided with their own individual master switches for air-conditioning and electrical outlets which lets zones get shut off when not in use. All lighting fixtures are LED and have a very low combined electrical load. Lighting in the toilets is controlled by motion sensors to optimize the electrical consumption. The entire rainwater and air-conditioning drainage is fed to a harvesting tank which stores water for cleaning and landscaping.

The majority of the flooring and wall panelling is made from reclaimed wooden packaging material picked up from stone importers and put together in an intricate pattern which forms the character of the internal space. Reclaimed tiles from manufacturers and traders have been used for broken tile mosaic finishes, and cut tile patterns in toilets and pantry areas. Some of the furniture was reclaimed and remodelled from the previous premises.

The roof has been covered with two layers of 50 mm thick over deck insulation, protected by a reclaimed tile-mosaic floor which in itself reflects a considerable amount of heat. All the openings in the building are fitted with airtight UPVC windows and doors which restrict losses during the summer and winter months and are operable for the humid months when cross ventilation is a must to achieve comfort.

The design was conceptualized around creating a fluid space with a large open floor plan. The curved profile of the interior spaces evolved out of the existing outer profile of the building. This was achieved using basic building materials like Plaster of Paris and exposed bricks which would fit the budget of the clients. A glass cabin following the same profile was placed on one side to maintain transparency in the larger space.    

Inspired by a royal baroque aesthetic, the store owner believes in handcrafting each piece of furniture to suit their clients’ sensibilities. The design is aimed at creating spatial experiences centered around furniture settings. There is a recurring usage of mirrors across the store which are covered in film printed with graphics complementing the aesthetic of the furniture design. This creates an illusion of depth and provides visual relief to balance out the space constraints. An existing set of stairs in the basement have been turned into a mirror cladded stepped display while a new internal staircase has been constructed for optimum usage of space and better planning.