Not your typical office space
Designed by: Dot Dimension Principal Architects: Sharmen Mehta & Heet Saliya Photograph Courtesy: Umang Shah
The aim was to break the stereotype of office architecture and spaces, connecting the user with their surroundings. An office that is not just surrounded by landscape but a part of it which in turn blurs the boundaries between indoors and outdoors. The ‘Deceiving Dimensions’ reception table is an embodiment of different possibilities in the field of construction.
Architecture
The office designed by Dot Dimension is for the Avadh group of developers in the prime of Surat City. The design aimed to break the corporate stereotype of office spaces and connect the user with its surroundings.
To achieve this, the footprint of the built mass was kept long and rectilinear, ensuring a continuous relationship between the spaces and the exterior. The surrounding groves became a key element of the project. They had to build the office within a strict time frame.
These systems provide organization and logic to the design which leads to quicker project construction and low maintenance. Workers premanufactured each building element and assembled them on the site. They construct the steel structure of posts and
beams using simple joinery. This in turn helps in the reconstruction or addition of the office module hassle free. The floor-to-ceiling stained-glass partitions allow a connection with nature.
The resulting form of the building is a simple transparent glass cuboid with a pitched roof resting amidst a grove of trees allowing for views from all sides. A long linear passage connects the entire office, the shadows created by the vine covered pergolas make organic patterns on that passage, adding an intangible element to the design.
Interior
The interiors are done in raw and rustic tones using shades of brown and gray. With an approach towards minimalism, we have linear solid walls that house the toilet blocks, cladded with ash gray stucco, serving as the backdrop for all the workstations in the entire design. This prevents any visual disturbance in between the different work areas of the office. We used solid wood for furniture and partitions. We inserted the interiors, including shelves, cabinets, and the restroom, along the short sides of office space.