A Transparent Office Design Giving Notional Enclosure | Forum-Advaita

CLIENT BRIEF

The clients who are real estate property consultants, unlike regular, wished to have an aspirational office experience, Their idea was to reflect the function of the office, which is to be transparent in approach and also in the system of interaction with the clients. The brief was to have space for 5 workstations, a big personal cabin, a conference room, a space to have lunch with the staff, a pantry, and a waiting area. This project was completed with a budget of Rs. 2200 per sq. ft. The floor plate available was 700 sq. ft.

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CONCEPT PROPOSITION

The idea of transparency was transcribed via picking up one of Mondrian’s artwork and bringing in narration to it. The offering of layering of being able to walk through a volume that Mondrian would design thus gave it the title of Mondrian Volume. The spatial distribution was inspired by this artwork. To inhabit multiple requirements in a tight space we decided not to create rooms divided by a solid wall, but to have notional enclosures.

Hence, we positioned 6 planes inside the space such that each plane defines very strongly the distribution and separation of one function from the other. These planes are tinted laminated glass planes which not only function to create enclosures but also define the system of the office which is “ Transparency “. The colored transparent planes bring a lot of vibrancy to space. The juxtapositioning of these planes creates sub-layers in the form of colors that engages one into a world of their own.

COLORED  PLANE 01

This plane separates the waiting area space from the pantry which becomes very discreet from the spaces abutting it .

 COLORED  PLANE 02

This plane separates the main circulation spine from the conference and lunch table.

COLORED PLANE 03

This plane separates  the  LCD WALL  plane from the workstation area.

COLORED PLANE 04

The story of this plane is only to add interest in the space. This plane just got engaged with the continuous Grey wall showing the nature of planes becoming plastic in character.

COLORED PLANE 05

This planes separates MD cabin from the remaining part of the office.

COLORED PLANE 06  – Ganesha

This terminating plane is called Ganesha. This is where the identity of the office and the Indian setting of the project is conveyed, A Mondrian Ganesha created by us in a geometric form allowing the south sun to brings diffused colored lights into space. The last plane of the office space was to connect back to the Indian traditions, rather than having a sidelines pooja space in the cabin, we decided to celebrate the imagery of Ganesha by syncing it with the vocabulary of Interior Design. A 7’x7’ sized art installation was created out of stained glasses, with a lead soldering finish.

GRANITE TEXTURE  – The arrival into space is supported by a continuous wall so that one disconnects from outside and engages with the space offered. Also to keep the tinted glass planes as the only expression in the space, we kept the peripheral color pallette very understated. Hence, granite stone cladding on the wall was chosen. The clients wanted a wall to display their awards, so we created open shelves in curvilinear form finished in teak ply against hammered finish granite stone cladding on one out of the two walls. 

FLOORING  –   Black matt finish vitrified tiles were decided for the flooring. This helps create diffused colored reflections of the glass planes adding layers into space. The wooden flooring of grey finish inside the personal cabin was decided to bring the warmth of the wood. The back drop wall of the client’s personal office had Gloss finish white Lacquered finish.

STORAGE SPACE  – The left continuous wall had low height storages extending towards the pantry area, creating a scattered system of file storage in contrast to a formally dedicated storage room space.

FURNITURE DESIGN  –  The idea behind the conference table and MD table were to extend the idea of color in the form of epoxy infill table design. The hardwood log was cut into linear pieces and blue resin inlay was applied to create this metal frame supported conference table.

Space is meant to add vibrancy and inspire the users within. A 3D experience is given to the image of Mondrian’s artwork, which not only connects you to art but also aspires you to become one.

Fact File:

Designed by: Forum-Advaita

Project: Mondrian’s Volume

Project Type: Office Interiors

Year of completion: 2020

Area: 700 sq. ft.

Location: India trade tower, Omaxe, New Chandigarh

Project Cost: 22 lakhs

Principal Architect: Ar. Aman Sohal

Design Team: Munir Ahmed, Rajan, Jaskirat

Photography: JeevanJyot

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