The Bikers Cafe Classic

Year – 2023

Category – Corporate Office

Location – Gurugram , India

Area – 1200 sq. ft.

Delicious grub, nostalgic rock music, and overall feel-good vibes summarise the infamous Biker’s Cafe in Gurugram. A popular eatery which gained critical acclaim, the Biker’s Cafe is one of the restaurants under a common brand umbrella. Restaurateurs must reinvent their spaces every few years to appeal to the masses and their changing needs. Similarly, the Biker’s Cafe required a formal workspace to conduct food trials and discuss restaurant logistics. The owners of the enterprise, are design enthusiasts whose experimental sense of style enabled Envisage to spread their wings and deliver an office to remember.

The office space dons an open concept with permeable and glass partitions or a mere difference in flooring dividing the areas. Upon entering, one gets an expansive view of the entire office space and is greeted by the reception console at the entrance. The unconventional office features a massive open pantry to the right of the reception, with a luxurious island and coffee area – ideal for chefs to experiment with recipes. Food takes centre stage in this reception cum pantry. Not only does the pantry work as a space to unleash culinary creativity, but it can be used as an informal discussion area when not “in use”. The reception foyer features a tall, standalone fluted glass partition as its backdrop. The partition does not extend to the ceiling, giving the visitor a higher sense of volume in an otherwise compact space.

Tall volumes are seen throughout the office. Behind the reception’s partition is a multifunctional terrazzo discussion table, the pièce de résistance around which functions occur. The conference room cited to the right of the terrazzo table is not walled off; instead, it has a collapsible curtain wall that is sound-absorbant and maintains visual connectivity with the rest of the office. To the left of the discussion table are compact work booths designed to accommodate two people at a time. The smaller spaces require a lower ceiling height to be proportionate, which is possible with custom wooden rafters designed by Envisage. The entire left stretch of the office wall has storage units built into the booths’ nooks. Magnetic lacquered dry-erase glass adorns the walls – to jot down quick ideas whenever inspiration strikes. The openness of the office makes it a shared space in its truest sense. The last two cabins along the left wall are Rakhi’s and Sanjay’s, respectively. The cabins are differently sized based on their user’s requirements, yet fit a comfortable program of formal and informal zones.

A soft monochromatic colour palette of greys and greens is seen across the office. Polished cement tiles in the common areas and similarly toned grey carpeted flooring in the conference room and director’s cabin, brings the space together. A neat black metal edge banding runs across the junction of two materials, which looks like an outline – imparting an almost drawing-like appearance to the overall visual. Pop art-inspired artwork depicting classical musicians such as The Beatles further emphasises such a sketch-turned-into-space aesthetic. Rustic and industrial lighting is used to complement the ceiling with exposed services. The roof is purposefully left bare to make maximum use of the heights and assign custom ceilings for areas in the room. For example, the conference room and director’s cabin are the only rooms with false ceilings, while the working booths in the shared office space feature artistic wooden rafters. The furniture selection is artfully made, treating each space as a collage of materials and colours. Sundry elements come together to create a timeless visual.

Interestingly the products are kept minimal and purposefully lower in height. Tall chairs tend to clutter sight lines and take over the space visually. Hence, every piece of furniture from SPIN in the Biker’s Cafe office is versatile and adaptive.

Defining elements inspired by the area’s architecture adds an identifying characteristic to a place. For example, the pantry area had an unsightly assemblage of services descending from the ceiling. To combat this, the designers created a screen out of PVC industrial pipes that hid the eyesore and became a quirky bespoke installation! The key to striking designs is making the most out of a space in making it highly transformative. A solid interior identity withstands the passing of trends and retains a priceless, timeless ambience.