Workshop for Metropolitan Architecture pursue an industrial aesthetic with biophilic elements in this workspace

Architectural workspaces do not often need a lavish, multi-story office to encourage productivity. These spaces are rather expected to inspire the creativity of the architects. The design studio of Workshop for Metropolitan Architecture, put together by the dynamic architect duo Gagandeep Kapila & Bhuvan Kapila, is an unconventional shared workspace that liberates the definition of uniqueness.

The design follows an industrial aesthetic fused with biophilic elements and exposed finishes. The underlying concept is to create a welcoming work environment with a variety of workspaces that encourage creativity and promote productivity and efficiency. The office serves as a healthy space instilling innovation, fun, and learning, with collaborative working areas and individual work zones.

This cultured novelty and originality are nurtured through informal, social, and creative interactions among the team members. A keen sense of design is reflected in the spaces to impress clients and vendors who visit the office. The collaborative workspace provides its employees and clients with an appealing environment that makes it a perfect place to work and do business.

While the no-partition workstations create a perfect visual connection between the teams, the workspace is well-illuminated with continuous lighting fixtures above, effectively promoting concentration. Large bookcases and tasteful artwork against the brick wallpaper enhance the visual appeal of the ambience. The studio is a logical extension of skill, instilling a sense of comfort that is highly productive. The space with an international design approach constituting back-lit windows fabricated to become a scenery to the streets of Vienna dissipates the feel of sitting in a basement. These innovative attributes have been found to increase the use of the space. The inclusion of biomimicry through wallpapers has helped reduce anxiety, improve cognitive function, and enhance mood and creativity.

Adding a splash of cool, calm, and colour to the neutral palette, the blue brings vibrancy to the industrial theme of the office, while rendering creativity by opening the brain to newer and fresh ideas. The white brick wallpaper adds a visual texture and character to the office space. It lends a rustic and earthy charm to the space, working as an architectural highlight while creating drama in the environment, and elevating the bare walls.

The goal was to create an open and friendly workplace that encourages creativity. This office, which consists of an open-layout collaborative workspace, acts as a colossal setting for encouraging inventiveness, leisure, and learning. People here feel free to move around rather than being tied to their desks, creating more opportunities for creative collaboration. This boosts their morale and leaves them to do better and more each day, hence, creating healthy competition amongst the employees.

The open floor plan and workstations create a perfect visual connection between the employees, promoting coordination and instilling a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction. As a result, employees in this environment are more creative, different departments bounce off ideas, and people come together instead of working in silos to solve problems. In such a case, the mood of the workplace changes, and the people look forward to coming to work instead of counting work hours. This creates multiple learning opportunities, builds a culture of trust, balances a work-life fit, and provides people with autonomy and satisfaction with earning benefits, and advancement slots.

FACT FILE

Name of the Project: Workshop for Metropolitan Architecture Design Studio

Area – 4000 sq ft

Location: New Delhi

Photo courtesy: Vaibhav Bhatiya