Marol, Mumbai

This private office building is sited in a mixed-use commercial and residential suburb of Mumbai. The surrounding buildings are concrete slab structures in the vernacular modern style of contemporary India. The building reflects on this context while not being entirely contextual.

This structure sits on a tight triangular site. Compositionally and functionally, it is divided into two parts, each bounded by an abstract plane: a curving, leaning, masonry wall at the front and a folded masonry wall at the side. On the interior, the alternating high and low windows in the leaning wall relate the scale of the individual workstations and the standing and seated eye levels of the employees. On the exterior, the windows create an ambiguity of scale that seeks to break the monotony of the repetitive structures around.

The interior palette and furniture has been kept light and ephemeral to play on the diffuse light quality of the interior. Certain areas are emphasized with strong colors typical of the Indian context. The ground floor is largely open to a small garden, creating an oasis in a chaotic urban setting.