Spaces That Inspire, Encourage, And Care

The design of the Happy office in Mumbai by Studio Osmosis demarcates a definite shift in office space design towards multi-functional workspaces, driven by mobile technology and changing work styles, while also accounting for work-life balance and employee wellbeing.

- Sharmila Chakravorty

Office space design has changed drastically over time. From cold, grey spaces that resembled laboratories to funky, vibrant formats that look more like lounges, the humble office space has come a long way. Offices are now being customized around the requirements of the workforce, unlike in the past decades, where employees were expected to make the most of rigid, cookie-cutter office designs.

And it is a welcome change. With Millennials making up about 75% of the workforce by 2025, there was a strong need for multigenerational office spaces, driven by mobile technology and changing work styles, against the backdrop of work-life balance and wellbeing. Thanks to this, we now have an open floor office with flexible workspaces that break the hierarchy, silos and encourage collaboration in an almost informal, social setting. After all, given the increasing number of hours one spends in the office, it only seems fair if the office space was comfortable, stimulating and encouraging as possible, so as to inspire the best ideas to achieve the best results.

And proof that this approach slowly but surely becomes the norm is the design of the Happy office in Mumbai’s financial hub Lower Parel by Studio Osmosis. Happy is a new-age finance company with young, dynamic employees bustling with enthusiasm and ideas. So when Studio Osmosis set out to design the office space, their brief was simple. The client’s vision was ‘I don’t want to see typical work desks – it’s got to be unique and a Happy space’.