Rather than adhering to the client brief of designing the open office with meeting rooms in the 4 corners of the floor plate, we decided to try and offer a design that could provoke though in a different direction.
The central space has been designed for the core staff so that they are in a position to interact with the entire floor very easily. A small reception and waiting with attached meeting rooms has been designed in this space.
Providing meeting rooms at the corners is problematic for a couple of reasons- meeting rooms themselves do not need a lot of natural light and they are not occupied all the time. The light coming in from the large perimeter windows is better utilized for the working staff. The design was thus inverted so the meeting rooms were placed in the center of the left and the right wing with the open office on either side. This would enable a more conducive environment for the staff. The meeting rooms then face the entrance door leading from the lift lobby. These rooms are then designed with space for branding of the startups- the first thing the visitor sees while entering the space. The space below the branding has seating that could be used to meet with visitors who walk in without an appointment. The branding itself orients the visitor and gives the tenants a sense of ownership of the space.
The meeting room module has been clad in timber and would act as the design element in a floor space with a lot of constraints owing to the existing conditions. The design input has been concentrated on the organization of the desk units, providing cabinets for storage wherever possible and also designing the mail room and the breakout space where the food could also be stored. A warm colour palette has been used throughout.
On the left wing, MDF / glass hush rooms have been designed that fit snugly in the storage cabinet walls. On the right wing, it is proposed that the existing stores be turned into hush rooms. This has been done to avoid crowding in the plan which has to house about 125 workstations.
