Dhruva Kalra of Ravish Mehra Deepak Kalra, along with his team has recently completed the renovation of a 2 leveled office in the depths of Connaught place, one of the most important heritage sites of New Delhi. Designed for an eminent businessman, the existing was re planned with the view of housing 30-50 persons with an emphasis on spacious look and feel and of course efficiency.

Owing to its location and historical importance, to give the space an entirely new look without touching the structure or the heritage elements was a real challenge. As per the brief given by the client, attention was paid to create a low maintenance contemporary interior in an old setting.

Earlier what was only small rooms with lack of natural light and dilapidated mezzanine were now transformed into open and airy spaces bathing in light. The central design idea behind the transformation of the office was to keep the scale, transparency and lightness in place and to visually connect most parts of the office.

With this in mind walls were removed or replaced with glass wherever possible, materials were chosen to be able to create a bright and lively space within the given setting and restrictions. One can see a playful use of wood, stone veneers and colour inserts of yellow throughout the space.

In older times, these were houses build around courtyards. After generations of change, offices took over but the setting remained. This courtyard was now designed as a dry garden, that would invite people in their breaks. The design succeeds in giving the space a new energy that raises the efficiency of the office as a whole.

Photography by Saurabh Suryan, Lokesh Dang