The client, Bhairav Shanth (co-founder of ITW), a super driven entrepreneur, brought us on board to redesign & transform the public areas of the company viz., the large reception area, the ground floor work station area, and the first-floor lounge area.

His brief to us was to break the mould and create a high-energy, unconventional workspace, which stimulates minds, inspires innovation and impresses visitors & clients, without making any alterations to the existing layout.

After some careful thought, we decided to create a futuristic world for ITW – not your usual cold, sterile, & impersonal environment but a future that is immersive, intimate, and beaming with all shades of warm colours.

The world we envisioned was divided into 3 separate futuristic zones, each inspired from a different sci-fi movie:

‘Blade Runner 2049’s’ unique dystopian future for an impactful & engaging reception area,

Retro-futuristic sets of movie ‘Her’ for a fun & playful work zone, and

Luxurious art-deco elements of ‘Passengers’’ spaceship bar for a classy & captivating lounge area.

With the sheer size, height, and abundance of sunlight, the main open-plan area of the reception area almost mimics the feeling of a central ‘courtyard’.

It serves both as a waiting area for visitors and an informal brainstorming/working area for the employees.

This central ‘courtyard’ area is illuminated from above by custom made conduit ceiling lights in a geometric pattern that extend along the length of the space.

Pale grey wooden flooring signifying concrete, geometric patterned walls, inverted boxy bay windows, and perforated metal railing, all make subtle references to the futuristic theme of the space.

The reception area was an excellent opportunity for us to set the tone for a spanking new identity by taking risks and thinking about brand in a non-traditional way.

The client had asked for the names of all its affiliate companies to be displayed in the reception area for both branding & functional purposes.

Instead of a plain display of company & its affiliates’ logos, we took a cue from the Bladerunner 2049 and designed a 20-feet-wide by 22-feet-tall multi-media mural, with an upbeat take on dystopia, where the different verticals the company focuses on are embedded into the architecture & ITW & Affiliates are the pioneers of the business world.

This larger-than-life mural, adds a streak of creative energy to the company’s aura of serious, fast paced business and demonstrates that engaging, artistic concepts with a narrative, can also effectively achieve a brand’s communication goals.

The artist has envisioned a giant futuristic two-tiered city split into ‘the upper’ and ‘the lower’.

The upper is alive with glittering lights and rivers of traffic, a bustling megalopolis that refuses to sleep. Promising fame, wealth, and the fulfilment of dreams, ITW & Affiliates is the powerhouse that fuels this universe!

In the lower, where sunlight never reaches, is a haze of artificial lights and flickering holograms, promising entertainment allsorts. It’s where the common people tend to live and go out, partake in the offerings of the countless establishments promising escape, anonymity, jubilation and more than just a hint of danger.

Inspired from the retro-futurism of the movie ‘Her’, the work area gets updated to a colourful, evocative, and friendly workspace.

A mix of private and open-plan workspaces are decorated like a community room, featuring an eclectic range of graphic art in contrasting pastel and bold tones.

Ceiling lights are fluorescent Plexiglas boxes in a simple geometric form lending an intense fluorescent hue to the workstation passageway.

This mural feature graphic novel style panels, embedded into and around the existing wall space, so that each panel is a window into a future experience, from cyber-cricket to space-age holographic concerts, representing the various verticals handled by ITW.

The individual scenes combine to form a new collage that is exciting yet familiar, for the employees stationed in the room.

These high-production snippets of exciting moments create an energetic environment encouraging the team to strive for excellence.

The wall of lockers is converted into a giant viewscreen which looks out onto a vista of future India.

Using elements from our culture and from science fiction, we’ve indulged in a bit of speculative design. The architecture is an amalgamation of traditional religious structures, modern office complexes and postmodernist buildings.

The scenic view balances out the high-production snippets of exciting moments on the opposite wall, by offering a peaceful window into an intriguing world.

This balance lends fluidity to the energy in the office, allowing you to switch between upbeat and meditative, depending on the view you choose to take in.

The glass-walled telephone booths have been outfitted with custom graphics and organized into 3 separate pods called “DECODE’,‘PROCESS’, & ‘UPLINK’.

The signages are acrylic lightboxes and the glass structure is custom gradient films.

The high gloss wooden cladding in bright orange lends a punch to these private booths.

In line with the retro-futuristic theme, distinction between the men and women’s restrooms is depicted through renderings of future men and women.

We’ve toyed with fashion and grooming, as well as with the idea of gender roles: the man is decked out in a svelte outfit that takes inspiration from Starfleet uniforms, and the woman is wearing action-ready power armour.

Inspired by the grand and luxurious art deco-style bar & lounge of the movie ‘Passengers’, the lounge area is designed as a warm jewel box that contrasts with the other spaces on the ITW mothership.

The lounge is set out like a large, open-plan living and dining room, and intended for a plethora of uses.

It features an eclectic mix of furnishings, from plush leather sofas to create a lounge set-up in the centre for informal conversation & meetings, a long art deco style wooden desk with leather chairs for the employees to work on their laptops, and a giant screen to watch live streaming of the events.

The lounge area also houses a formal conference room for client & business meetings.

The character and warmth of wood is given a graphic art-deco punch with a geometric wall installation.

An old corian conference table refurbished in polished wooden finish paired with stylish leather & wood finish arm chairs create a welcoming and warm ambience.

The intimate mood of the room is heightened with vintage wall sconce & filament bulbs which provide a soft glow.

Tucked away in the corner is a big refrigerator stocked with healthy choices for the employees and guests to indulge in. To demarcate the area, we created a façade with an eclectic edge using a full height wooden French-style glass partition, retro wallpaper, engraved wooden signage, and antiqued mirrored glass diamond pendant light.

Adjacent to the nutrition nook are high breakfast counters made of wood & cast iron grills with casual wooden step seating for the employees to have a bite. During game screenings, these auditorium style steps also provide extra seating.

All doors have been designed in an art deco style to suit the theme of the floor, and the bathroom door has specific minimalist elements such as faucets, hand towel rings and abstract flowing water patterns to reinforce its identity as a bathroom without being too heavy handed about it.

Artist put his own playful spin to the art deco style resulting in “Futuristic Deco” restrooms.