A Conversation Between Growth and Design

When this e-commerce company approached us with their office project, they were still in the early stages of growth. They had no formal brand guidelines or established team structure. What they did have, however, was a deeply rooted philosophy—delivering safe, organic, and halal food to their customers. That clarity of purpose became the conceptual foundation of the project. The space we were given was previously used as a community center, housed in a building originally designed for residential use. It came with significant structural issues—frequent water leakage, damaged walls, and poor acoustic control. But it was the only space available to the client. Our task began not with design, but with making the building functional again.

We conceived the project as a dialogue between two distinct spatial identities. The ground floor had a fixed program: a high-density call center along with a prayer space and necessary support functions. In contrast, the upper floor was left intentionally undefined, as the company was still shaping its organizational structure and planning to expand into areas like IT and media. This duality—between what was certain and what was evolving—became central to the design. Each floor had a different atmosphere, yet they shared a visual and spatial continuity through light, proportion, and materiality.

The call center design focused on spatial efficiency and acoustic performance. Workstations were custom-designed with acoustic foam partitions, providing both privacy and sound absorption. Each desk offered enough space for a keyboard, personal belongings, and a pin-up surface for notes. To bring a sense of calm and connection to nature, we introduced green walls and plant pockets between desks using species like snake plants, money plants, and ZZ plants—chosen for their air-purifying qualities and low maintenance. Understanding the mental fatigue of call center work, we added relaxation corners near the greenery, where employees could pause and reset. Natural ventilation and light were carefully managed—especially since we sealed off the highway-facing façade to block out road noise and kept the rear façade open for daylight and airflow.

The upper floor, in contrast, was more sculptural and open-ended. At its heart is a fluid reception desk that doubles as a visitor’s seat—blurring the line between host and guest. This gesture mirrors the company’s belief in treating customers like family. The open-plan layout encourages collaboration while maintaining layers of privacy through green elements, partition placement, and lighting. A studio for ad shoots was added, with the creative team positioned nearby to encourage synergy. Lighting was zoned carefully: cool, white light supports alertness and task work, while warm spotlights offer contrast and calm, allowing visual hierarchy to form organically.

Though we typically favor neutral palettes at Chinta Sthapatya, the client team strongly requested a more colorful environment. We embraced this shift, introducing vibrant tones in communal spaces while retaining calm greys and whites in work areas. The final result is more expressive than our usual work, but no less intentional. It reflects the vibrant spirit of a growing team and their optimism.

Material choices were driven by local availability and cost-efficiency. We used plywood, foam boards, and easily accessible indoor plants—reducing budget without compromising design quality. Sustainability wasn’t a slogan here; it was a quiet, embedded choice—using what was available, sourcing locally, and designing for durability.

Perhaps the most meaningful part of this project was its unfinished nature. We weren’t just designing an office—we were helping define a company’s spatial identity in real time. The organization was still changing, and our design had to remain responsive. Every layout decision—from workstation zoning to meeting room orientation—was made with the assumption that it might evolve. And that’s what made the project exciting. It wasn’t about perfection. It was about creating a space that could grow, shift, and breathe along with the people inside it.

In the end, Ghorer Bazar’s headquarters stands not as a finished object, but as a flexible system—two different floors speaking two different moods, yet tied together through intentional architecture. It’s a space where density meets calm, where efficiency coexists with possibility. And in that conversation between two identities, we—Chinta Sthapatya—were the ones holding the dialogue.