Monday, September 29, 2014

Infres Methodex Office


InfresMethodex is an organization specializing in niche office automation products like shredders and currency counting machines. They needed to comfortably accommodate their current team in a new location while providing sufficient scope for future expansion. The only brief from our clients was to create an office space that would foster the values of the organization – quality and efficiency.The site was in a generic office building located on the main highway to Agra, just beyond the city limits of Delhi. A peculiar characteristic of the space was the presence of a large atrium that virtually divided the space into three distinct zones.





The challenge was to create a unified office atmosphere while dividing the space programmatically into the three zones. The first part of the office was laid out for the reception area and the marketing team since they would have the most interactions with visitors. The accounts and technical section were positioned on the other side of the atrium while the main management area acted as the bridge between the two and enjoyed the best views out towards the highway. Services were consolidated and pushed to the lightless areas of the building footprint, where they could be easily ventilated into the building air conditioning system.





As a planning strategy, it was decided that enclosed cabins would face the atrium and the open plan workstations would face the curtain wall at the periphery, thereby allowing a better overall distribution of light in the space. The movement corridor divides the two spaces, allowing for a sense of privacy while still providing opportunities for mentoring. Even the walls between the cabins stop short of the glass doors of the corridor, enabling wider views from within and better transparency while walking. A sophisticated energy saving air conditioning system that allows for efficient zone-wise cooling was adopted to ensure to differentiate between occupied and unoccupied areas. Adopted from the hospitality industry is an idea to combine and divide meeting rooms by silent top hung acoustical panels. These can be stored away when a larger training session is required and pulled out for smaller discussions.


A light oak colour is used to offset the crisp white surfaces in the open plan areas and a darker, more mature oak is used in the cabins of the senior management and the board room. The reception area features a continuous ribbon of panelling that envelops the entire space while illuminated by an architectural fabric ceiling. A raised seating area is enclosed by a series of wooden beams that provide a fleeting glimpse of the interior from the entrance, carrying forward the overall theme of transparency and lightness.


Location
Faridabad,
Haryana
Client   
InfresMethodex
Typology
Commercial
Climate
Composite
Built-Up Area                
12000 Sq.Ft.
Completion
2014


ArchDaily