We would like to be known as people who come up with good ideas and then oversee execution to perfection, be it for a building or a city, a living room or the backyard, or just about anything. That is after all, the underlying thread that connects us all – the seduction of a good idea! We don't want to ever stop making mistakes, taking risks and living with doubt.
In the few projects that we have finished we have tried to be brave, bold, young and most of all, honest. Of course, the burden of practice is upon us all, but we have tried to shed this weight.
Our latest project reiterates these intentions and beliefs.
Our Client, CV India, was aspiring to establish a software development centre, in Bangalore. They presented us with a complex brief that had both functional and open-ended requirements to house over 20 employees involved in ideation and software development . We re-interpreted this with the intention of creating an open work culture that reinforced creativity while responding to a highly technical environment. Visualised with honest materials and exposed services, the space is intended to create an atmospheric setting that would enhance the experience of those within it, as well as their work.
The office is set around the idea of the city in miniature . It was our deliberate attempt to create a sense of arrival while entering the space. Once across the threshold, one left Bangalore behind, entering a microcosm where various built forms such as the 'office', the 'cafe', the 'library' and the 'bar', were interspersed within a an urban landscape all connected by a notional ' street'. At the centre of it all, is the grand object, a digital portal, through which the office connects with their international team across the rest of the globe. It acts as an urban marker, visually connecting all the components around through its sculptural energy.
The design process was firmly grounded as well as intuitive. We had to balance the functional aspects of the brief with the intangible. Though we enjoyed the support of an extremely liberal patron, we had to work with a conscious restraint since we didn't want to go overboard, thereby making our ideas too literal. A deliberate attempt was made to work with varying levels of abstractness and ambiguity. With a lot of our brain-storming happening on site, the design process itself was very organic and we had to improvise as the space kept evolving in front of our eyes.
Working with very passionate carpenters and contractors, the space finally achieved its atmosphere through their level of commitment and dedication. Our discourse with the client was also integral to negotiating both the brief and the site. As a rule we allow as many inputs as possible to enrich the design experience, after all, You never know where the next big idea may come from.