Flexibility Rules

Architect Kapil Sedani Designs a State-of-the-art Office for Software Company Tieto, Based on the New-age Concept of Activity Based Working Spaces.

- Marina Correa

The change in work culture has prompted many interior designers to think out–of-the-box; plus, the introduction of new technologies like smart phones, palmtops, tablets etc. are revolutionizing today’s office environments and workplace practices. Kapil Sedani, director and founder, Transitions Designs Pvt. Ltd., has based his design for the 30,000 sq. ft. Nordic software and services company, Tieto, located in Kharadi, Pune, on Activity Based Working Spaces (ABW) concept. Under this programme, there is a clear and marked distancing away from mere open plan offices to activity-based ones. It is an accepted fact that since work revolves around different types of activities; spaces too need to reflect these distinct and varied needs.

So with an increase in work that is fl exible and not tied to a single desk, new thinking has evolved that supports work activities optimally. For instance, under the traditional office concept employees have fixed workstations from where they carry out all their work, whereas under ABW they move from one desk to another (in a pre-determined systematic manner) based on the activities they are going to perform.

According to studies and research findings done on the ABW concept many benefits accrue: higher concentration levels leading to better productivity; more movement means less sedentary lifestyle; better collaboration amongst teams and an improved employee satisfaction rate. “Transitions Designs looked into the health, wellness and productivity of the employees of Tieto and that became the crux element for our design. Based on the ABW concept, we created different types of seating spaces along with activity zones spread all across.” says Kapil.