Shashi Industries is a Bengaluru-based company which manufactures raw materials for incense products like Agarbattis. They are located in the Rajajinagar area, with a manufacturing unit and an office workspace, surrounded by a foliage of trees.

The client’s dream workspace was to have an office amidst the green. The director, Ms Amita Vadhar is an environmentally conscious person, who wanted to be close to the nature while working. What we created was an eco-friendly office surrounded by a beautiful foliage of trees on a 650 sq.ft. space, which brought out a vibe that enhanced focus, concentration, and supported the overall health of the employees.

These are the major challenges we faced, followed by the solutions we came up with to tackle them.

• We were asked to construct an office within a garden space on an existing plinth, which had an old tree growing on it. The client insisted on keeping the tree intact.
• The brief was to create a formal office that will be connected with the nature at all times. Now this meant bringing together polar opposite aspects into one.
• The budget was among the other big challenges, as we were instructed not to go overboard anywhere.
• With a factory unit of the company on the same premises, maintaining privacy in the space was one more challenge.

• Instead of avoiding the beautiful old tree, we decided to build around it and pass through the roof, as a part of the office. The thick, leafy foliage acted as a great shade to the interior spaces. This was done to fit the client’s ideology and our conceptual vision of building an eco-friendly workspace.
• Mangalore tiles were used for the sloped roof. We strategically split the roof into two to allow natural light to seep into the office. Mangalore tiles were used for the sloping roof. This gave the space natural ventilation by pulling out warm air, while cool air seeped in through the louvered windows.
• All the materials we used were locally sourced, like the Sadaralli stones which were used as pillars to hold the roof.
• To maintain visual privacy along with a cozy environment inside, black granite stone verticals were created overlapping with one another, leaving small air gaps to allow cool air to pass through.
• We built a series of decks leading to the office, which gave a good layering from the factory unit to this office. Surrounded by a thick plantation of trees, it provided the requisite privacy to space.