The Godrej township in Vikhroli, an eastern suburb in Mumbai, reflects many of its owners’ attributes. It respects the unique ecology of the place—the mangrove wetlands—echoing the industrial group’s century-old reputation for ethical business practices. It is vast and disjointed, consisting of offices, warehouses and manufacturing sites, in keeping with a Rs12,000 crore conglomerate whose disparate products include forklift trucks, animal feed, padlocks and hair colour. Several of its buildings are decidedly old-fashioned, correlating with a corporate reputation that rests on lineage rather than dynamism.
Refreshed by youth
(left) Employees from across the group can experience a moment of tranquillity in the “hammock”. (Right) The “square”. Photograph courtesy Godrej Industries
However, the new Space office—a suite of ground-floor workspaces in one of the cluster of buildings on the Godrej campus—offers a sharply contrasting view. With its gleaming white surfaces, cutting-edge gadgets and open-plan layout, the 8,660 sq. ft workplace is more Google than Good Knight. Part office, part showroom and part lounge, the multi-purpose space is the brainchild of Nisa and Navroze Godrej, two of the family’s younger members. They hand-picked existing in-house talent—industrial designer Darshan Gandhi and architect C. Satyanarayanan—to design and execute the project.
“We wanted a showroom where we could explain the language of the brand and showcase our products in a more consumer-centric, design-oriented way. This is a different way of representing ourselves, built into the office. Space is a working office and also a central point where people can meet and brainstorm in an open, collaborative way. It’s a prototype of a future Godrej,” says Nisa Godrej, executive vice-president (business development).
The area comprises 10 zones, connected by a stream of white moulded Corian, a high-end material which functions as both architectural device and work surface. Employees from any part of the group can sit cross-legged in the “baithak” seminar room, brainstorm in the informal “bodhi tree” lounge or confer in the “tool shed”. They are free to grab CDs and books from the “oxygen bar”, recline in a “hammock”, or step outside into the “square”.
There has been substantial investment in technology—lighting and projection facilities can be controlled by individual laptops in meeting rooms. The “polo room” facilitates video conferencing, and digital writing screens are placed in the “exchange”. The liberal use of Corian binds the different zones, and its stylized curves balance the starkness of the white floors, walls and ceilings.