When SJ Contracts, a two decade old construction company was looking to design their 4,000 sq ft office in Pune, their focus was on creating a state-of-the-art office that was built on their core values of innovation, quality and transparent business practises. Greatly inspired by their work story and the core of the practice and values, Studio Osmosis, the design firm behind the fabulous design of the office decided to use ideas, materials and construction techniques that were honest and true to their business of construction to achieve the desired look. The essence of the workspace is to educate the employee and visitor about maintaining high standards in their work and life balance.
A concrete wall was constructed on site with steel pipes punctured into it. The hollow spheres formed allow light to stream into the reception lobby and creates a unique play of light. The wall constructed by the company’s inhouse team is a fantastic display of their expertise in achieving superior construction finishes. To further add to the look, aluminium beams commonly used for slab shuttering on construction sites were procured and used on the ceiling of the reception lobby to create a pattern. The same slab was used on the reception table front to bring in a synchronised look and the raw look was complemented with bright blue and grey patterned tiles by Bharat Flooring on the floor.
The main work area is designed with an open staff seating, an exposed ceiling and monochromatic terrazzo flooring. The birch-ply modular furniture custom designed by Studio Osmosis keeping in mind the need for personal working space and sufficient storage, is executed beautifully by Craftred. One of the biggest highlights of the office is the shipping container assembled on site and retrofitted to be used as a conference room showing the very essence of any construction site in their practice. The basic form of the container has been modified by introducing glass to maintain visual transparency and the corrugations have been painted in bright blue, making the container the centre-of-attention of the general work area.
A management area has been separately demarcated using fine detailing, and materials like birch ply ceiling and herringbone patterned engineered wooden flooring. The glass partitions which forms the passage between the two spaces has an interesting grid pattern. The glass has been sandwiched with different textures of fabrics lending an interesting play of light and transparency. The cabins are all made in Birch ply and interesting mood lighting has been used to add energy and improve focus.
The company is run by a father and two sons, and the cabins are designed according to their personalities and likes. Thus the Managing Director’s cabin has a timeless feel with a metal and marble inset table while the Director’s cabins belonging the next gen are new age and have a more creative look and feel with 7 feet cantilevered tables made of moulded solid surfaces and slanting bold edges. One of them boasts of art from US-based Blackcrowstudio and the other has a personalised piece of art painted by the father. Everything is custom-designed by the Studio Osmosis design team headed by Shilpa and Sameer Balvally.
The management area also has a lounge room that combines an interesting grid patterned wall panelling with mood lighting to create a dramatic look. Dominated by greys and blues, the lounge also boasts of cushion covers custom designed by Shivani Shroff.
