The Think Tank

Designed by Malik Architecture, Thinqbate is a 4000 sq ft collaborative workspace in Mumbai for start-ups to innovate and build solutions. An incubation venture by the Marwah Group, it has the perfect open ambience to breed futuristic ideas.

- Ramya Srinivasan

In a way, this is similar to the traditional model of towns where people live across streets in their own cocoons but step out frequently to interact and socialise. This analogy is put to effective use in Thinqbate. Arjun Malik, Architect, Malik Architecture, explains this connection, “If you look at any traditional development in Indian architecture, it looks at the street as a hub of social activity and courtyards as spaces to mediate between private and public spaces.

This is how old communities functioned. At the time, there were economic, cultural and social aspects to it (the model), but even today, these are good devices to explore contemporary spaces, understand how they mobilise and connect them, and create different situations for collaboration.” Using this design concept, Thinqbate is anchored around the central amphitheatre kund that flows around to island meeting room parts and finally steps upwards leading to the mezzanine lounge.

At the centre, there runs a wide corridor that acts as the street bridging the formal and informal spaces. To the right, there are regimented formal workspaces arranged as a linear grid and to the left, the amphitheatre is positioned in the middle with fluid spaces around it that can be interpreted as needed.