These are the offices of the upper management of a pharmaceutical company and the design intent was to ensure that their office reflected what they do. Our designs are always inspired by the two “c”s of context and the client. This is the office floor for the chairman of a large pharmaceutical company which was the context. Form was the starting point of the design process inspired by the two most common pharmaceutical products – a capsule & a pill started it all.
Our brickwork design ensured that all the corners were softly rounded. The receding arches create a perspective in one of the long corridors leading to both the wings. The ceilings dip, curve and vault.
Two significant spaces have a round niche that houses art and lends a nod to the form inspired design.
The doors have moldings that show two halves of a capsule broken up. Small inlaid pieces of bronze on either sides of all doors show a pill and a capsule. These pieces are deliberately positioned at the skirting level so as not to be obvious.
The design is bespoke and contextual in more ways than one. The flooring inlay pattern seen across the corridors of the space is derived from the company logo.
We worked with various designers to create custom pieces for the office. The custom designed massive board room table in leather has colors that are taken once more from the client’s logo. It also playfully interprets the cross form from the client’s logo in multiple ways, from bronze inlays to sculpted 3d forms.
The division that works on developing products which are totally organic and natural has a custom designed table in their meeting room where the base mimics a rock. The curved corners of the walls have a handmade custom installation of porcelain art pieces that are an abstract representation of all plants etc. that go into the products.
The materiality of the space is crisp and balanced. Warm dyed oak veneer on the walls is offset by sharp black and white of the flooring stone inlay. The pale warm grey stone of the balance flooring softens and warms the space. Wooden floors in a darker tone form a subtle contrast inside the individual offices. Subtle strips of bronze draw sharp lines to accentuate the spaces. The dining room table has a top with dried flowers that have been lacquered.
Detailing is vital to the space. An interplay of various materials like thin bronze colored metal sheets that wrap around the arches and conceal a gentle light that leaks out, to various plaster finished ceiling forms, details make the space.
The space has two distinct different moods during the day and the evening. Lighting plays a vital role, whether it is the professional Erco lights or the decorative lamps that play a sculptural role.
Art played a significant role in the design. Works by significant Indian artists like Atul Dodiya, Arpita Singh etc. have been lovingly collected. We love the role art plays in our spaces. Damien Hirst’s pill series is the piece de resistance in this office and so apt.
