The brief for an office space for Sapthagiri Hospitality, a developer of 5-star hotels, had an underlined need for a glamorous look and feel, that mirrored the values of their business. Thus attempting to break free of the common perceptions of office interiors, Ar.Shailesh Veera teamed up with Ar. Meetali Kamath Nerurkar and Jayaram Sharma, from his studio, to create a functionally efficient and state-of-the-art workspace – in the Banyan city of Vadodara. 

Avoiding clutter and colour in the name of glamour, SPIRIT chose to go with softly lit, straight-line interiors in monochrome. Having chosen ‘light’ as their central theme, they decided to enhance it with white reflective surfaces on the ceiling and walls. The plywood cut-outs that line the walls are finished in PU surfaces, while the gypsum board panels used for the ceiling are finished in reflective white paint. Though the ambient white light has a soft glow, brilliant white light is used sometimes as backlighting and at other times as streaks to accent these varyingly shaped panels. Using these elements, Shailesh Veera and his team have attempted to mould this 2000 sq ft of ‘boxed in’ space spread over two floors into a procession of white, lighted, flowing spaces. The entire scheme is completed by the choice of white composite marble for the flooring.

Large digital graphics and floral motifs, which are a trademark of interiors by the design studio, cannot be missed in this design as well. A wall-length graphic of a pond of pink lotuses welcomes visitors in the reception lounge.

The workstations of the staff area have a black leather lined backing, so does the partitioning panel. Glass shelves and chrome plated steel borders add to the corporate look. The main feature that sets  the mood in this area as well are the long lined, white, reflective ceiling panels backlit by brilliant white light.

Light again affirms the prevalent theme in the board room. Here a glowing linear light fixture running centrally along the length of the ceiling accentuates the linearity and the reflective white surface of the table beneath at which board members sit to confer. The ambient white light is enhanced by the contrasting black chairs.

In the director’s cabin, white spear-shaped wall and ceiling panels contrast with minimal spears of deep red to result in the aura of a futuristic space set like something out of ‘star trek’. The outline of this canvas is provided by the black seating the balance is created by the beige of the table top and cushy sofas. 

Overall, one observes a sincere effort to break away from angles and corners into flowing lines and curves. This can especially be appreciated in the rounded frame given to windows and even the curvilinear air conditioning vents within the design of the wall panelling. The pervasive use of white creates a feeling of spaciousness and the soft ambient lighting lends a feel of comfort to this workspace. One also notices the meticulousness in following the theme of ‘light’ through to the end while simultaneously complementing it with the sobriety and elegance of a monochromatic palette.

The MD’s cabin sees a culmination of sorts of the overall theme. Following a purely curvilinear scheme here, the reflective white panelling continues to be enhanced by brilliant white backlighting. The accents by curvaceous ice blue wall panels that continue into the ceiling dotted by white spot lights, result in creating an aura of open skies and limitless space. Here, as a central pivot to the entire scheme, a symbolic space-age Ganesha emerges from within the wall panelling to preside over the MD’s cabin, benignly blessing the proceedings in a futuristic workspace.