PATHFINDERS
54 | September 2019 | Commercial Design
NAGARAJ KULKARNI
National director – Corporate Real Estate, Flipkart
T
o ensure that Flipkart’s Bengaluru campus
functions as a well-oiled machine, Kulkarni and
his team manage it with foresight and passion
for e[cellence. +e says, ́The overall design was meant
to be a true reÁection of life at Flipkart. $ll spaces are
designed to be functional, both in their planning and
aesthetics. The idea is to have smart spaces, void of
any unnecessary ornamentation. Design detailing and
materials selected ensured that the facility wears well
over the tenure of the company’s occupation of the buildings.μ
Involvement of FM teams in the design stage proves to be a crucial step to
incorporate functional requirements, ease of maintenance and enhancement of
efÀciency of service. $ signiÀcant amount of time was invested in preoccupation
planning to achieve the desired employee e[perience from day one. ́The
e[ercise of compiling learning and insights from our earlier ofÀces and the
project team’s own foresight based on observations of employee behaviour,
usage patterns, etc, directly helped increase employee productivity at our
facility,μ points out Kulkarni.T
he aspirations and demands for
a *oogle-inspired ofÀce, which
was dominant over the past
few years, have diminished and ofÀces
are now reÁecting a speciÀc approach
tailored to their industry, employees
and company culture. Technological
developments and innovations in the
workplace such as building automation,
virtual ofÀces, hot desks, data-based design, intelligent building
controls, etc, helps Narasimhan rethink traditional concepts
around ofÀces. ́Technology now provides an all-new level of
communication. Companies can now connect to any of their
employees, suppliers, clients and co-workers anytime, anywhere.
Many innovative ideas are born not only during scheduled
meetings but also at impromptu gatherings. +ence, while
workstations are being slimmed down in number and size,
space for meetings and informal interaction is growing,μ says
Narasimhan.
:ith e[perienced hands retiring later and more *en-=
employees starting their careers early, today’s workplace is
increasingly cross-generational. Narasimhan lays more stress
on factors that appeal to all employees and works on providing
settings for different workstyles across different generations.
VA employs a highly eclectic workstyle of knowledge building
in allied Àelds, a workforce with core strengths in varied sectors
and e[tensive client research and Àeldwork.NARESH V NARASIMHAN
Managing partner, Venkataramanan Associates