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'Elevating workplace experience not a luxury anymore, but a necessity'

Covid has managed to bring ‘employee well-being’ to the forefront of every organisation’s list of priorities far more emphatically than pre-Covid times

Priyanka Bhat,  Director, Space Matrix India
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Priyanka Bhat, Director, Space Matrix India

The gap between designing an innovative and effective office space and recreating the design into reality by building quality workplaces led to the growth of service providers offering design and design-build services. Founded in 2001 by architect Shagufta Anurag, Space Matrix Design Consultants Pte Ltd was born in Singapore and simultaneously in Bangalore as Space Matrix India. After starting out as a design firm, Space Matrix realised that designs alone cannot complement a client's expectations unless the total project is managed too. The company, a pioneer in India, brought in a new service model as that of a consulting design firm delivering projects in office sector. Now, the service provider has a project experience in over 80 cities with 15 global presence in Australia, China, India, Thailand, Singapore (HQ), and the United States. The firm has over 500 professionals globally working for them. Space Matrix acquired a company in China to mark significant presence in that country. In India, they have offices across six cities - Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi. The firm consistently ranks in Interior Design Magazine's Top 100 Design Giants and has won multiple International Property Awards. Space Matrix India has the credit of launching an experiential facility in Gurgaon, called BLab, a combination of multiple work environments offering clients a real-time experience of possible workspace design solutions and alternatives. Priyanka Bhat, Director of Space Matrix India, in a conversation with Bizz Buzz speaks about workspace design evolving post Covid and its trend in Hyderabad


How has workspace design restructured post-Covid period?

Covid has managed to bring 'Employee Well-Being' to the forefront of every organisation's list of priorities far more emphatically than pre-Covid times. Organisations are reassessing not only their hybrid work policies and onboarding processes for new hires, but also employee performance metrics and behaviour guidelines. Enabling team engagement and putting choice in the hands of the employees is gaining traction. Elevating workplace experience is not a luxury anymore, but a necessity.

What is the design trend for workspaces in Hyderabad?

Technology integration to enable hybrid work and remote collaboration is a trend here to stay across India, in general. Hyderabad, in particular, has always had a unique social vibe revolving around food, music and sports. With offices emerging as a new social destination for hybrid work environments, organisations are looking at integrating these social aspects more and more into their workspaces. We have added themed cafes, music jamming rooms and indoor cricket pitches as part of the collaboration spaces and social amenities for some of our clients.

Which industry in Hyderabad are you looking at as prospective clients?

IT/ITeS has been the largest industry in Hyderabad for many years. Alongside, we are now seeing the emergence of global capability centres and group business services of large multinational conglomerates choosing to make Hyderabad their home. The government is also focussing on incentivising Pharma City, SpaceTech, Gaming and Animation sectors.

How does the client profile of Space Matrix India look like?

In Hyderabad, for several years we have been associated with esteemed clients like Legato Health Technologies, ServiceNow, Verizon, Epam, Eastman to name a few. Our strength lies in creating unique and immersive workspaces that inspire people and impact client's business growth. Having served these clients over several years and through different challenges in their growth story, our endeavour is 'to transform the workplace into a positive catalyst for people to thrive, business to grow and to collectively protect our planet.'

How is the market demand for workplace design here compared to other cities?

Hyderabad recently accounted for 34 per cent of total new office supply across top seven cities of India and has been a strong market for Space Matrix. We recently designed and built Yext's first office in India at Hyderabad in association with our global partners IA. Space Matrix has also designed and delivered state-of-the art facilities for Garmin Technologies, MAQ Software and Vitech in the recent past.

How has the journey of Space Matrix India been in Hyderabad?

Space Matrix started Hyderabad operations in 2004 and has one of the largest workplace design and build set-ups in the Hyderabad market. We have delivered over six million sft of projects, a large part of which are repeat orders from our existing clients. We have been associated with clients like Legato and Yext since their inception in India. We engage extensively with various stakeholders in our client teams to understand their pain points and strive to make the workplaces we design to be enablers in achieving organisational aspirations of growth, brand infusion and attraction and retention of talent.

Which is your most challenging and satisfying client in this city?

We have had several interesting and challenging assignments that not only push the heights of our creativity, but also provide our clients with great places to work. We have designed and delivered over a million sqft for Legato and nearly half a million sqft for Service Now in Hyderabad. The workplaces we design stand the test of time on the parameters of timeless design, quality and value for money which is why most of our clients choose to work with us again. At Space Matrix, we provide integrated solutions ensuring a delightful experience to our clients through the project cycle starting from workplace strategy, design, project management and post occupancy services.

How do you draw data-driven insights? What does the data trend indicate?

We conduct frequent focus group surveys to keep ourselves abreast of evolving user needs. Employee wellbeing is a key driver of performance, productivity and engagement across all industries. Biophilic design, zero waste and carbon neutral/ carbon negative solutions are recurring toppers in the post Covid era as new normal trends.

Two years from now, what would be the next design to look out for in office space?

'Integration of technology and enhancing workplace experience' are here to stay. Workplace setting is a key driver to thriving company culture and will continue to impact how culture evolves through remote and hybrid work environments. Sustainable and environmentally responsive design solutions will continue to gain eminence.

Is workspace design in India on par with offices abroad?

Workplace design has seen a steady growth over the past two decades and offices in India are on par with global offices. A lot of our projects compete and win at international award forums regularly.

Divya Rao
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