When vCustomer (short for Virtual Customer), a multi-national $100m eCRM (Customer Relationship Management) firm approached 3DA to design their corporate office in Jangpura, New Delhi, India, they had a clear brief. The covered area of 25,000 sq. ft. had to incorporate agent workstations, LAB rooms, formal and informal meeting rooms, a reception area, informal cafeterias and a sophisticated server/network facility to support digital internet-based requirements.

The instructions were explicit especially for the reception area – the formal space should elucidate and bring forth the company’s strong global IT presence through futuristic visual connotations and symbolic representations while retaining its customer-friendly face of being easily accessible and comprehensible. The firm did not take long to emerge with a singular concept. They decided to use the term ‘virtual’, which is part of the company’s name, as the design metaphor. This found expression, among other aspects, in the ‘V’ shaped recess in the reception area.

As a solution to the paradoxical thematic requirement, beige Italian marble was used for the flooring and the reception table. This combined well with the textured walls to impart a warm, inviting feel. The Indian red rosewood columns and furniture added a design element that carried forward the inviting ambience.

The ‘V’-shaped recess carries the logo of the firm mounted on clear-transparent acrylic which is in turn affixed to a tapering duco-painted base. Concealed computer-controlled colored halogen lighting at the bottom of the recess adds to the visual enigma by making the logo appear to be “on fire”. Signatured paintings by veteran artist S. Krishan provide a striking contrast in shades of blue.

The warm-but-business-like mood of the reception area gives way to one of unabashed fun in the cafeteria. The architects invited the agents to give vent to their creativity through graffiti on the walls. At once, the space ceased to be an impersonal work area and became a personalized nook to relax in during breaks. The walls and the ceiling have been dressed up in off-white textured paint to hold up the outburst of brilliant graffiti.