adapting to post-pandemic life
in west bengal, the team at abin design studio designs its happyworks working pod in a response to the shift in working culture that the world faced following the COVID-19 pandemic. with‘work from home’becoming mandatory at the time, the perception of a viable workspace has found various interpretations. reducing the current office infrastructure to a space which would only be used for collaborative work, a lot of industries have acclimated to their employees working off-site long term.
with many offices normalizing, and even preferring, the work from home ethic, the responsibility of equipping one’s home to suit this mode of employment falls on the individual. in a developing area, it is not always possible for everyone to sustain a comfortable working space within their homes.

images by suryan & dang | @suryananddang
abin design studio’s smart pods at happyworks
abin design studio (see more here) responds to the pandemic with its happyworks working pod — the structure is integrated with‘smart pods’to provide a formal working environment for those looking for such a solution. the pod houses different types of work stations ranging from small groups to individual stations. to balance the work areas, break-out zones with indoor screening, dry café, and warming stations, an outdoor courtyard and amphitheater have been incorporated.
all of these programs seamlessly flow into each other, giving one freedom to choose and maneuver easily. the natural lighting, the shaded courtyard, connects the users to the natural elements and aids in invigorating them. being modular in design, the pod has been planned at various nodes in newtown. all that is required is a small parcel of land.

an outdoor amphitheater sculpts the volume

the modular design means the compact workspace can be built almost anywhere

a vertical row of windows lets in natural lighting and greenery

workers have a new, remote space to operate remotely, when a home office is not possible

the project marks abin design studio’s continued attention toward community
project info:
project title: happyworks working pod
architecture, interiors, landscape: abin design studio | @abindesignstudio
location: kolkata, west bengal, india
client: HIDCO
principal designer: abin chaudhuri
design team: angshujit mazumder, monomita banerjee, shubham majumder
built area: 1,000 square feet (93 square meters)
completion: august 2021
photography: suryan & dang | @suryananddang










