SOLITARY SPACES
WHAT?
Solitary Spaces aka Solitude Seeking Spaces is a design objective where we specialize in designing spaces for introverts (also some extroverts) so that they can seek solitude, at the desired scale ranging from a cozy corner to a campus. Today, office spaces and schools, both have become mundane open-plan spaces that lack character and allows over-stimulation.
Solitary Spaces is a specialized consultancy that helps you design spaces for sensitive individuals which increases their productivity and creativity. Someone said, "Humans evolve and to evolve we need to create" and someone said, "Creation happens in Solitude." So when we combine these two, "Solitary Spaces" is born.
WHO?
SOLITARY SPACES came into existence from an architectural thesis of ANKIT GOGLANI. It is a contemporary solution to a contemporary problem that stands on the pillars of RESEARCH & DESIGN.
ANKIT GOGLANI
ARCHITECT
The idea is pretty simple, you give the required ambiance/space as per the needs of users and users tend to vary individually. Isn't it the basic principle of design? But we have lost it to some leaders/giants who think that individuality or embracing your personality doesn't matter. Many have rejected the idea of contextuality and embraced what works for the masses.
Solitary Spaces is solving a problem of increasing productivity on the individual level along with the happiness index of workers. 30%-40% population is introverted and they feel irksome and drained out at the end of the day due to overstimulation in their working environment/spaces. This clearly is a design issue and can be solved with adapting adequate planning principles, materials, managing visual and auditory stimulations.
Though we cannot change the capitalistic mentality or change existing infrastructure overnight but we can surely infuse solitary spaces in the existing environment and make things better, starting right from your room to campus or city.
WHY?
Since childhood, I had been an introverted individual and during college, I became an ambivert. I didn't understand the influence of spaces on our lives before studying architecture. There's a famous quote by Winston Churchill "We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us." But when I understood, I connected it with my life observed how the open office spaces during my internship stole my productivity and how the overstimulation in school drained me completely. All these spaces were designed to accommodate more people on the floor plate and it struck me all this is happening to save money. Much research has already been done on why these open spaces are not efficient but it is still marketed well in the name of collaboration and giggling happy extroverted culture (very few actually like it).
People like me (which are many) like to work alone or at least in a segregated space which has some boundaries to stimulation. This promotes our productivity and boosts creativity. After all, solitude is a catalyst for creativity. This doesn't mean these spaces should be totally isolated, because, the extremes are obviously harmful in any case. I, as an architect, know the sweet spot where I can amalgamate the spaces with the right balance. So, I researched this in-depth by studying psychology and philosophy along with architectural theory, interviewed a few people and counselors and carried out some surveys. This gave me a few strategies to design SOLITARY SPACES aka SOLITUDE SEEKING SPACES. It is validated research, since, I published a research paper in a journal.
HOW?
The process is simple, like you hire an architect/designer for designing a space/s, you can approach us. Post that we analyze the site and start with the design process. Mind it, every site will be different, so the design cannot be copy-pasted because it will be inefficient then. The planning, stimulation generators, availability of material, everything matters along with the aesthetic preferences. So, a complete design/makeover.
OR
You can engage us as consultants along with your preferred designer.