Forget the dusty files, cluttered tables, and shabby curtains. A modern office is a plug-and-play assemblage of digitised systems and glossy gizmos intelligently laid out in a plush workspace with state-of-the-art facilities.
With advancements in building technology and spatial design, office spaces are getting more and more sophisticated.
Planning and efficiency are the key words for new-age office designs as they try to squeeze out maximum benefit out of minimum space and also throw in space for malls, food courts, and entertainment options. All that without compromising on energy efficiency and technology.
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An 11-storey office-cum-commercial complex coming up on a half-a-hectare site of the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE) on S.S. Kovil Road at Thampanoor is a project aiming to balance modern design concepts and green building technology to create one of the sleekest buildings in town.
Joint venture
The building, a joint project of the KSIE and Infrastructures Kerala Ltd. (INKEL), will have a built-up area of around 2 lakh square feet, with separate access to the commercial and the office areas. The project, designed by the architecture firm Kumar Group, envisages a commercial complex with a shopping mall and a food court.
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While the first, second, and third floors will house the mall, the fourth floor will be provided with dining and entertainment facilities. These include a sky-lit food court, a children's play area, and an amphitheatre. The remaining seven floors in the central tower of the building are designed to have an office area, including a KSIE office.
Green features
The project, expected to cost around Rs. 40 crore, will include a host of energy-saving features.
The central tower housing the office block, in a north-south alignment, will have ample provision to let in natural light with the walls lined with windows. In the case of the commercial complex, a wide courtyard will ensure free flow of sunlight.
Separate entrance and exit will be provided for the floors accommodating the shopping complex and the office block so as to avoid mixing of shoppers and office-goers. Sufficient crowd-holding space will be provided on all floors.
A car park, another important requisite of urban commercial centres, will be provided on the basement and ground floors to hold nearly 175 cars at a time.
Use of rainwater
Plumbing will be done in such a way that the harvested rainwater will flow into toilet flushes and firefighting equipment. Water treated in the sewage treatment plant of the building will be used for watering the garden.
A biogas plant has been proposed for the food court, to serve the dual purpose of providing cooking fuel and treating the kitchen waste. All external lights will be solar-powered.
“Low-maintenance, permanent-finish materials such as glass and natural stones will be used for the external finish of the building, whereas cost-effective lightweight materials such as aerated concrete will be used for the interior wall panelling,” a project designer says.
Lighting
Sensory lighting and air-conditioning, touch-free faucets, dual flush in toilets for water conservation, and use of LED lights will be among the features of the complex.
“The idea behind this whole project is to create a cosmopolitan commercial centre with most modern facilities right in the city centre. Premium office spaces, with state-of-the-art facilities, are one of the key features of the project. Once the project is completed, the office spaces and commercial spaces will be rented out for entrepreneurs who wish to set up shop in the heart of the city,” an INKEL spokesperson says.
Target
While the target clientele for commercial space will be new-generation hypermarkets, boutiques, speciality outlets, and so on, the office space has been designed primarily for IT, ITES, and related companies and organisations.
The spokesperson says the project, approved in principle by the State government, is expected to be completed in two years.