The architectural office is located in the basement of an apartment building also designed by the same firm. The soffit of the basement roof is flush with the surrounding ground level. A prime objective at the conceptual design phase of the structure itself was to mitigate constraints of being located in a basement by maximizing the penetration of sunlight light through the office space by sensitively placing and orienting skylights over the work areas and incorporating a sunken court into the layout.
The office has a reception cum waiting, a principal’s cabin, main work space, a small conference area and service spaces. The layout weaves the work spaces around the sunken court which doubles up as a miniature landscaped break out area. The centerpiece of the court is a 40 year old wooden archway gifted by an appreciative client. The demarcation of the different activity areas has been thoughtfully executed to facilitate the penetration of light from the sunken court and skylights through the expanse of the office without compromising on the functionality of the spaces. Medium height floating partitions, vertical and horizontal glazed slits and perforated and pivoted screens allow for a seamless contiguous visual experience of the entire office.
The design palette in terms of materiality has been kept architectural and minimal. Exposed concrete ceilings, exposed brick walls and varnished ply of various thickness for the furniture and partitioning. Design decisions pertaining to the execution and finishing help augment the textural quality of each of these materials. The imperfections in the concrete shuttering have been left unsmoothed and a floral motif incorporated during the casting process adds a decorative dimension to the concrete. The exposed brickwork has been laid to precise courses but without pointing in order to accentuate the rawness of the brick. In the main work areas the brickwork has been painted white, whereas in the court and its adjacent wall extending into the principal’s cabin it has been left untouched. The ply used across the entire office is calibrated birch ply of two thickness. Edges of the ply have been highlighted though a rhythmic vertical fin detail worked into the paneling and by strategically replicating at different scales the motif from the concrete roof into select furniture pieces like table tops and privacy screens. The flooring of the entire office has been done in tiles of 2 sizes, whose neutral shades help reinforce the design language pervading through the office.