Corporate Office for Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson’s foray into the Indian market necessitated the establishment of a marked presence of the brand which would imbibe individuality and create an office that complements the altering Indian work culture. The office is located in India’s Millenium City, Gurgaon; being the country’s industrial and financial centre, it was an ideal setting for the launch of the first Harley Davidson office in India. The preliminary objective was to create an indigenous space using traditional materials to customize and personalize the office in a way that it blends into the Indian context. The workplace was intended to be more than a corporate office; as a space that would provide for multiple space utilization for various activities such as events, workshops, and parties. A training centre for the maintenance of the Harley Davidson Bikes was to be included as well.
In order to create an interactive working atmosphere, the office space was conceived to be a single, unified, significant space with compact enclosures that would open up and transform into gathering spaces. The overall design intent has been kept minimalistic and contemporary, to focus on the blend of the brand identity and the work ethos. The reception is the main highlight of the entire office space with an installation of a tank wall equipped with various Harley Davidson fuel tanks, painted by special artists. To add an informal nature to the space, lounge seating is accommodated. In addition to this, a graphic wall with inscriptions of the notions and ideologies of biking and adventure run along the reception area and along the corridor. The wall has been fitted with black lacquer modules with bookshelves for the informal casual beat within the official environment, making it employee-friendly. A few Harley Davidson bikes are set up on display along the circulation space to complete the ambience to augment the office space with the notion of adventure. Perforated jaalis, a traditional Indian embellishment, derived from the abstraction of the Harley Davidson logo are used to segregate the multiplicity of the nature of the office spaces and creating a transparent vista which also enables the trend of an open workspace where privacy is not a major concern.
Most of the detailing in design, both minute and large, has been inspired from motorcycles and biking. The handles for the toilet doors are the actual handles of the Harley Davidson bikes, the table in the pantry space has a set of supports that resemble the side stands of a bike, and the rear view mirrors of a motorcycle are used for signage. Basic and simplistic materials such as cement board and textured granite are used in combination with the Harley Davidson colour palette (orange, black, and grey) to give a constant, singular, contemporary character to the office space. Overall, the office sets the atmosphere of a contemporary workplace that is unique in design and inimitable in expression while symbolizing the advent of innovation in corporate offices in India.