The most significant factor influencing employee motivation, productivity, and happiness is the work environment. A healthy workplace improves efficiency and reduces costs related to absenteeism, turnover, workers’ compensation, and medical claims. In addition, employees spend significant hours of their lives at work, rendering it imperative to have a positive and healthy space for productivity.
A well-designed space feels open and energising as it improves indoor air quality and stimulates active habits. It inspires people to think freely and be more efficient. When you nurture a positive culture using practical architectural concepts, you improve every aspect of workers’ day to day interactions by promoting transparency.
NSR annexure is a real estate office located in a commercial building in Kokapet, Hyderabad, India, with a very cost-efficient design. At Urban Narratives, we believe that it is an element in an ever-growing network of commercial buildings in the city’s Financial District and must be designed responsibly. About 545 sq. m in size, the office is zoned into three parts based on three primary functions. The workstations are placed centrally, while the peripheral zone has discussion rooms, the kitchen and dining area, cabins, seminar rooms, and additional services, with space for circulation in between. Thus, users can observe a sense of distinction between private, public and semi-public activities.
The designers considered cardinal strategies to utilise the site’s existing conditions, such as integrating the structural columns in the space and providing fenestrations to admit natural light and ventilation. The material palette employed is simple - utilising glass, rubber-wood and concrete. The result is a clean, organised and serene environment.
The periphery of the floor plan relies primarily on natural light from the surroundings, but the central zone employs sustainable and bright lighting systems to maintain the luminosity. To enhance this effect, the central location is furnished with white finished floors that reflect light, and glass panels for partition, admitting and transmitting an ample amount of natural light into the interiors. The periphery is finished with grey tiles on the interior walls and flooring, minimising glare and heat from the surroundings and creating contrast between the spaces. The exposed ceiling in the peripheral zone is a unique element that displays the service ducts and units while adding detail and character to the roof.
The doors and furniture, designed with concealed handles to attain a flushed finish, are made of exposed rubber-wood with a polished finish; and the central zone, juxtaposed into what would otherwise seem an example of post-modern architecture, are the main features of the design. Tinges of greenery add to the contrast and persona of the space.