The Philips office in Gurgaon is high on cheerful hues and energy-efficient lighting

Beanbags aren’t usually considered integral pieces of office furniture. But Directi, an Internet products company in Bangalore has what it calls a ‘beanbag policy’. Employees who feel they would be more comfortable — and able to work better — sitting in a beanbag, can order one for their workstations.

Step inside the Philips Electronics office in Gurgaon and you’ll find yourself in a sprawling reception area with high-definition screens on display and LED lights which double up as an installation on walls.

Once upon a time offices were severe ‘desk and chair’ places where employees went to put in their regular eight hours a day. But times have changed and working hours have increased and companies are looking at how to make the workplace an area from where employees never feel like going home.

“Given that we are a generation of workaholics it’s important that going to work is something that one looks forward to — at least from the interior space point of view,” says architect Anjalee Wakankar of Kaaru, an architectural and design organisation.

(From top) Benetton has introduced cutouts so that people from one floor can stay connected with colleagues working across various departments on different floors; The gym at Cisco boasts of the latest fitness machines; Kaaru introduced a wooden light fixture embellished with patachitra art to brighten up the Petro IT conference room , Pix courtesy: Kaaru

Of course, Indian companies don’t offer the facilities that are laid out at the Google head office in California. Google has heaps of facilities including two swimming pools and a ‘stress’ capsule that shuts out light and sound where employees can retreat when they feel excessively overwrought. But companies around the country have realised the importance of offering friendly surroundings that employees can be proud of — and which makes them feel like putting their best foot forward for stress-filled hour after hour.

Says S. Nagarajan, vice president, human resources, Philips Electronics: “Feel-good interiors help to enhance employee motivation. They create a more conducive ambience to foster better efficiency and productivity. All these things have great positive rub on the psyche of the employees.”

“A workplace’s environment and feel reduces absenteeism. It also identifies how long we will stay in the organisation, how engaged and how disengaged we are with our work,” says a Nokia employee.

But the architects and interior designers and office planners have focused specifically on certain areas that receive special attention when doing an aesthetic makeover

The reception

An office’s reception is the area where visitors step inside and where first impressions are created in a flash. “Warm and welcoming interiors signify a healthy environment,” says architect Lipika Sud.

Architect Anita Kataria has given the reception of the Benetton India Gurgaon office a highly individualistic look, in keeping with the company’s laidback image. She used a material called Fun Wall (a textured board) and combined it with plain white walls for a funky look.

In the Dollar General office (it’s an American discount retailer) she has combined a wooden false ceiling with columns that are clad in yellow lacquered glass for a brighter look. Kataria was given a brief which instructed her to design the area in such a way that it united the reception and the meeting areas around it.

And even away from the reception, innovative ideas are being put to use. For instance, in Benetton, in some of the open office area cut-outs on the floors have been introduced in order to connect the people working across various departments in different floors.

“It’s also a prestige issue and people like to be ‘office proud as much as they like to be house proud,” says Wakankar.

Conference rooms

The colourful lobby at Directi creates a pleasant first impression

Though conference rooms usually have a formal feel to them, they can still be made to look interesting. Kaaru has done the conference room of the Petro IT office with organic wood (which hasn’t been treated very much). A large wooden fixture with a patachitra painting on it hangs over the conference table and encloses the lighting.

Wakankar of Kaaru stresses that the design of the conference room depends on the company. But all conference rooms must have the essentials like a projection system, well-concealed wire managers, large tables, comfortable seating and audio video conferencing.

“A conference room’s interior design reflects the aesthetic sense of the management. In addition to the aesthetic qualities, a few other factors work in the back of the minds of interior designers. They try to design in a pattern which will make the conference participants comfortable as well as keep them energised,” says Sud.

At NSN soundproof conference rooms have borrowed names of well-known personalities like Edison, Einstein, Aryabhatta and names of cities like Lucknow, Shimla and Jaipur so that it becomes simpler to identify the meeting or conference room for the employees.

For the Havell conference room, Sud has gone for soothing and relaxing aqua hues. “It is very important for every working environment to have the correct interior design to improve morale and productivity,” she says.

At a slightly different level, the Philips office has touchdown seats for its employees who are on the road a lot and who don’t spend much time in office. These temporary workstations which are shared by several employees have computers and telephone and Internet access.

The cafeteria

Philips has a casual beanbag sitting arrangement at the coffee break areas

Another key chill out zone in the modern-day office is the cafeteria. “Cafeterias are being designed as functional and comfortable so that people can unwind without hanging around too long,” says Kataria.

Designers are keeping the mood in cafeterias cheerful by using bright colours and fun artworks so that it offers a nice break from the rest of the office. Kataria generally combines a café with the entertainment zone keeping the interiors bright and colourful.

Bangalore’s NXP Semiconductors cafeteria has different segments with differently shaped tables — round tables, bars and regular rectangular tables. This facilitates lunch meetings with teams. Similarly, at the Philips office in Gurgaon apart from regular chairs and tables, the cafeteria also has a sleek and high table accompanied by bar stools.

Sud who did the interiors for Havells designed the cafeteria in a very colourful, non-corporate and creative fashion. “Reds and yellows are used liberally in a large expanse to produce a relaxing and cheerful environment,” she says. The ceiling has splashes of yellow and orange which brightens the space even more.

Break out area and entertainment zone

The chessboard is the focal point in the NXP Semiconductors street area and sit out space; (top) Architect Lipika Sud has played with hues like reds and yellows at Havells cafeteria to produce a relaxing and cheery environment

An important section of modern-day offices is the break out zone where employees can relax a bit. These spaces have lounge-like sitting arrangements and at times casual bean bags. But don’t think that these are just for pure relaxation. Sometimes they are used for collaborative team working. They make it easier for cross-functional teams from different departments to come together for specific projects.

Bangalore based NXP Semiconductors’ office has introduced a street area on the ground floor which has greenery and sit out places for relaxation. There’s even a giant chessboard in one corner. According to Neeraj Paliwal, managing director, NXP India, the chessboard was introduced in the street area as a symbol of motivation for the employees.

“Chess stimulates the mind and symbolises intelligence and collaboration. We introduced this game at the street area to foster teamwork,” says Paliwal. This eye-catching installation was created by the company’s global design team. The chessboard is made of vitrified tiles and the chess pieces are made of fibre-glass.

Greenery is also crucial for employees who work in urban surroundings. While working on the India Glycol’s office in Noida, architect Sonali Rastogi made sure every room of the office got its share of greenery. “The windows were done in such a way that executives could see greenery even while sitting in their chairs,’ she says. Rastogi also put in a lot of water-bodies in the office.

At Cisco in Bangalore the breakout zones have been structured based on the employee inputs on the usage of space. For instance, when feedback from the employees indicated that there was very little green cover inside the buildings, an indoor garden breakout zone was immediately introduced.

New age materials

The focus is now on recyclable materials or other New Age materials that can stand the heavy wear and tear of modern-day offices. For instance, mineral fibre ceiling tiles (made of high-density board) absorb sound and also reduce light reflection. And sports flooring is a synthetic floor material which can take the weight of heavy duty machines or furniture.

At the NSN office in Noida the focus is on recycled materials. “When we talk about materials of the moment, the trends are moving towards green architecture and interiors. We use a lot of glass as fixed partitions in our designs to get maximum natural light,” says Kataria. She adds that carpets are used, firstly because they absorb sound, and also because they are made of recyclable material,”

LED lights have made their appearance in most office because they consume less energy. And some newer offices like Philips have intelligent and energy-efficient lighting. Highly efficient sensors detect whether there is a person in the room or not and accordingly switch the lights and air-conditioning on or off.

Then there are industrial materials like laminates, steel and glass which are here to stay according to Wakankar. The Cisco office in Bangalore has energy efficient and environment friendly fluorescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), street lights running on solar energy, occupancy sensors in enclosed spaces and many other energy-saving systems.

The Cisco Globalisation Centre East campus in Bangalore also has rain and sewerage water harvesting for landscape irrigation and solar energy harvesting.

Fitness and recreational rooms

Offices are increasingly becoming concerned about the health of their employees and not only have gyms with the latest machines but also group classes. The gyms are again done up in bright energising colours and usually use sports flooring. Some offices even have flat television screens in the gyms.

Offices like Philips and Nokia in Gurgaon allow their employees to hit the gym any time of the day. The gyms have showers and changing rooms. In many offices a big effort has been made to make the gyms both functional and funky with good music. In some they even overlook an outdoor green area.

At Cisco an informal cricket pitch and a basketball court are adjacent to the clubhouse. At Directi office in Bangalore the latest addition is the weekend stress-buster which includes ballroom dance sessions like the foxtrot and rumba as also rock ’roll.