United Breweries Limited Office, Bangalore

While redesigning their existing headquarters, United Breweries Limited wanted to create an environment that is light, bright and fresh while taking advantage of the fantastic panoramic views on all sides. The new workplace had to be an amalgamation of two distinct brands – Kingfisher and Heineken.

The design brief was to create an office that supports its rich history, workplace culture and is aligned with company values. However, the need for more diverse work settings was clear from our workplace strategy study. A range of team meeting styles and personal preferences came to focus. The best solution was to enable an ‘activity-based working (ABW)’ that helps support different types of work.

Spread across three floors, the new office also reflects the company’s passion for brewing great beers and cultivates a unique experience inside the office. The redesign saw 140+ staff move from a traditional office layout to a more flexible one. The employee centric design features an open plan with a central lounge area that allows for employee engagement and interaction along with spaces designed to drive collaboration. Doing away with cabins at the glazing led to more daylight penetration in the floor. Use of exposed ceiling in majority of the areas utilised the height available onsite and

helped integrate the charm of the waffle slab as part of the overall design.

A bar setup on the corporate floor helps create a sense of place and community and showcases the versatility of the company. The CXO cabins serve as anchors on the floor while the open expanse sees a mix of linear height – adjustable workstations and hotdesking. A dedicated war room has been provided for teams to come together, catalyse and work on full fledged campaigns. Focus rooms have been placed at key areas on the floor to help drive impetus and productivity.

The workplace’s visual identity borrows values from the brand identities and corporate identities of two historical brands – Kingfisher and Heineken. Both have been integrated into the design along with Vaastu principles. Vaastu was used to place the various spaces on the floor and to guide the overall palette. Although it is quite minimalist and serene in nature, the colour palette draws upon the dynamism of the brands to ensure that discrete pops of colour have been spread throughout the floor. Sustainability and use of locally manufactured products was of paramount importance to United

Breweries Limited. Products used here include carpets with recycled backing, adhesives with low VOC along with materials with recycled content such as wood wool boards, acoustic PET panels, etc. Natural plants have also been provided to aid in creativity, morale and help boost the indoor air quality.