A movement far important and penultimate in creating a positive dialogue towards the environment is reducing the carbon footprint over the life-cycle of a building. Designing for the environment requires a focus on environment-first steps.
Moreover, customers across India are now more conscious towards the environment, and are seeking a reflection of their values amongst CRE occupiers.
IDEASHACKS Co. is a pioneer in this movement in India in upcycling and designing innovative sustainable buildings keeping all the luxury needs of its patrons in mind. Be it a polluting factory converted and transformed into a luxury workspace that is sustainable in its character. Or be it shipping containers upcycled and planted on an off grid green expanse surrounded by jogging tracks and organic farming.
The impetus comes from the co-founder of IDEASHACKS Co., Arjun Veer Chadha when he says “The customer is now evermore conscious about how and what impact their business activities have on the environment’. Moreover he adds “Customers now want to associate with brands that align with their own values of sustainability and positive environmental impact.”
According to him, there are a number of positives in planning and designing for upcycling legacy buildings instead of occupying a newly built building.
Upcycling not only recycling
With a clear vision of designing with a conscience and aligning with the goals of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle), IDEASHACKS Co. has designed two luxury workspaces that are repurposed from a different legacy use. Their ‘The Unit’, a factory converted to an upmarket workspace on Mathura Road, and ’10Gulmohar’ an off-grid, self-sustained and upcycled container-based workspace designed within a farm.
Brand Upliftment
The way customers perceive a brand is impacted by its ability to positively impact the environment. Keeping this in mind IDEASHACKS Co. has designed its spaces keeping environment consciousness at the forefront when it comes to finding and upcycling a building and or expanse. In both of their initial proofs of concept, they have optimised the use of solar panels for electricity, designed water harvesting systems, and used natural ecology to create ambient comfort. Reducing the use of carbon-emitting assets is their core vision, visible in their spaces in Faridabad and Gurgaon.
An opportunity to design creative spaces offering unique experiences
Creative spaces that keep the community at the centre and balance what the building has to offer in its legacy design creates the right constraints to design truly creative experiences. In ‘The Unit’ in Faridabad, IDEASHACKS Co., the holding company of ‘The Unit’, has legacy designs of 24 feet high ceilings, machine ramps, and carefully segregated halls as base to execute on human-centred design principles. On the other hand, when it came to the ground-up approach in Gurgaon (10Gulmohar), IDEASHACKS Co. designed a space that perfectly brought the outside greens within by designing workspaces out of upcycled discarded shipping containers.
Easy on the Pocket
Cost of upcycling a building is way lesser than demolishing and reconstructing a building. IDEASHACKS Co., has used a highly polluting Industrial Building and repurposed it for low carbon footprint IT startups in Faridabad, a quintessential Industrial Town. The cost of renovating the structure was 40 percent less than if the building had been demolished and reconstructed.
Ease of Building Vision Alignment with local groups
IDEASHACKS has involved local NGOs, the likes of Daksh Foundation and Save Aravalli Trust to positively contribute in creating a movement around planting trees and designing green spaces within the compound of the building. This helps in reducing electricity bills in the summer as well as create motivating spaces to positively impact the overall productivity of its inhabitants.
