Apalya is the brainchild of Vamshi Reddy and his long-time friend Shiva Bayyapunedi, who kicked the business into gear in 2005.
- What OTT-enabler
- Where Jubilee Hills
- Area 66,000sq-ft
Considering the essence of Apalya as an OTT-enabler is to optimise multimedia content for devices around the world. Currently, they’re working on the responsiveness of Sun NXT, the streaming service launched by Sun Network. So naturally, one can expect the space to be reflective of this. “With the city changing very quickly and the Internet culture changing at a faster pace, we often find ourselves moving offices about every three years.” And the team spent quite a bit of time perfecting their current space which became operational in February.
Mind on design
The working areas have a typical open desk environment and the large area available gives the 100 employees room to walk about for a quick power break.“We wanted as few cabin spaces as possible,” explains Vamshi, “so by breaking down these boundaries, we reduced the illusion of hierarchy and increased approachability for everyone.”
The space also smartly eliminates the irritation of wires cluttering everything up by arranging them in neat steel casings which suspend from the ceiling to the ends of each desk. The red brick appearance on the walls adds that loft-style facade; a pleasant contrast to the metallics. Large monitors sit on the other end with enthusiastic people testing the responsiveness of Sun NXT. “We are doing a lot of testing of the streaming service in terms of mobile responsiveness,” adds administrator Srini Patnani, “so days get long. Comfort is key.”
Vamshi adds that the space used to be a restaurant so when Apalya shifted over, there was a full-on ripping apart and design consultation with P Jaganmohan of Green Space Studio for the initial concepts. The key ideas behind the space involved simplicity without excessive effort and complication while catering to the comfort of anyone who steps foot into Apalya. And of course, there’s plenty of emphasis on natural light.
The recreation room boasts a fun wall of splayed art courtesy Vydika Rao Katragadda — from a sunglass-sporting Shah Rukh Khan to a fury-filled King Leonidas. With bright green lounge sets worthy of a good power nap, the space is the ideal ‘zone out zone.’ A table-tennis table is also open for those wishing to shake off any oncoming carpal tunnel. Vamshi is particularly proud of the conference room, not just for its connotations of unity but also for its quirky designs of the steel lamplights.
