Indian Office Interiors have metamorphosed over the past decade. With functionality and space utilization being the focal objectives, cutting-edge, cost-effective, high-performance and sustainable are the new buzz words for office interiors. Sanjay Puri Architects, with their innovative and trendsetting solutions, has always been at the helm of change, in Indian architecture and interior design. The Head Office for Market City in Mumbai is one such path-breaking interior from the studio.
A 15000 sq. ft. derelict factory warehouse with a large volume offered an opportunity to create an office with a distinct identity. Volumes based on functional needs were created within the large original volume, each with a clearly discernible character. Juxtaposed against each other, they add a dramatic nuance, and form a coherent whole.
The office opens up into a voluminous and dramatic space with a clear height of 30’. The main circulation spine flanked by double-level fluid structures on either side, leads the eye further inside. One of these enveloped by a free flowing punctuated skin of stacked plywood, houses the corporate departments; while the other side is the legal department, sheathed in a kaleidoscope of colored glass.
The main staff seating is within the large volume. Suspended over one side of this central office space, is an egg-shaped conference room. Glass bridges connect the three volumes allowing each its own visual and physical identity.
The original cement sheet pitched roof was removed and a curvilinear roof was added to complement the fluid character of the interior spaces. A transverse skylight of varying width was added to the roof, directly over the main circulation spine accentuating the main path of movement while allowing natural light to illuminate the office throughout the day.
The design achieves an architectural overture to the interior spaces creating a unique assemblage of smaller volumes within the large original volume and creating the feel of walking through an interior street where the visual perception is always dynamic.
