The USP of the project: The location of the project is in a remote small town. They wanted premises which have modern amenities with ultra modern look and feel.
Total Area: 1, 25,000 Sq ft.
Total time involved in completing: Four and Half month.
Location: Valapad, Thrissur, Kerala
The office is divided in to 5 floors with each floor approximately 25,000 to 30,000 Sq Ft with 3 lifts in the centre and 2 fire escape stairs – cases adjoining. The amenities such as Toilets, AHU room etc., are placed behind the lifts making the space spilt in 3 parts connected with lift lobby corridor. In our initial assessment, we found the space to be spacious and had a lot of opportunities to play around with the design. The brief given to us was quite unique to the location it is. We had lot of challenges in terms of getting local supports. As being, in a small town the brief itself been challenging and also the usage of the material played a very critical role in shaping of the project. There were a lot of materials that we used or expected to use had to eco the local taste. Being a corporate office, there were certain things we were not able to use such as carpets, fabric walls etc.
The use of the material in terms of flooring was vitrified tiles, also used a lot of wooden panelling, wooden ceiling, gypsum ceiling etc. We have used lot of gridded aluminum ceiling in the office area to have a perception of openness.
In office staff area, we have taken modular workstation with use of veneer and melamine polish. One of the floors is exclusively for senior management wherein the directors, chairman and other senior visitor’s cabins are placed. This floor is exclusively designed for the senior management with the taste of finesse in it.
There are approximately 1500 people working in the premises. We have designed a very large reception with a curve table and walls to break the monotony of the squarest place.
This reception is kept specifically spacious to take such a large crowd and an alternate entrance has also been created for the staff to ensure easiness of access during the pick hours.
Reception has been designed with lots of artefacts and murals. This has been specifically madeto show a sense of history of the company. The director floor has a very large and beautiful lounge next to the main conference. This allows a breakaway space for large conference with an attached pantry to it. The lounge has lot of curve panelling with diffuse lightning so that the illumination of the light can be managed to suit the function.
The challenges faced by us during the building construction and interior execution. Been a state, with heavy monsoon and a location with lush green environment; it is always a challenge to do a building with a glass facade, which stands out within the environment. The interior materials has been very carefully selected in a manner that it works with the exterior environment such as wooden flooring, ceiling etc., which behaves good in a moist environment.
The look and feel within the premises has been carefully articulated to ensure that the modernism of the 21st century corporate environment has been captured with a sense of local taste and is acceptable.