2024 Winner
Category - Architecture – Commercial
Sabyasachi Routray & Anisha Menon
ma+rs
ma+rs is a multidisciplinary architecture and design studio led by architects Sabyasachi Routray and Anisha Menon. Based in India, the firm is known for its contextually responsive, climate-sensitive, and detail-oriented design approach that spans across architecture, interiors, and furniture.
Founded on a shared passion for crafting meaningful spatial experiences, ma+rs brings together diverse professional backgrounds and hands-on experience from renowned firms like Vastu-Shilpa Consultants, Flying Elephant Studio, and Mathew & Ghosh Architects. With project experience ranging from large-scale institutions like APF School and IIIT-Bangalore to deeply personal residential and memorial spaces, the studio’s portfolio reflects a thoughtful blend of technical rigor and design sensitivity.
At ma+rs, every project begins with an exploration of place, purpose, and memory—whether it’s through earth-bound materiality, finely tuned spatial proportions, or a strong connection to local narratives. Their design ethos lies in creating timeless environments that are emotionally resonant and ecologically grounded, with a strong emphasis on detail and craftsmanship.
From adaptive reuse to new builds, the studio’s work challenges typologies and reimagines everyday spaces with restraint, honesty, and precision.
Area: 13000 sq ft
What began in 2018 as a refurbishment and extension of a modest single-storey office transformed into a full-scale architectural redesign—driven by context, climate, and function.
Set on a 50’ x 80’ plot, the original structure had once been a home repurposed as an office. Meeting rooms occupied old bedrooms, a server room took over the storeroom, and the patio functioned as reception. The initial brief requested a floor addition and updated interiors. But a structural revelation—the absence of beams supporting the slabs—led to a bold decision: rebuild the office from the ground up.
Rethinking Office Architecture in India
This project posed vital questions: Why are most office buildings in India modelled on western glass façades? Why are they so rarely responsive to climate or context? Why does swank often take precedence over sustainability?
Our approach aimed to address these questions through a building that harmonizes with its surroundings. Landlocked on three sides and facing a green buffer along a service road, the new structure draws inspiration from domestic forms to ensure it blends seamlessly into its neighbourhood.
Form, Function & Flow
To resolve the varied daily movements of staff, visitors, and collaborators, the building is structured into three key zones:
The building uses a slab-beam-column system with rigid cores for flexibility and durability. Facades were designed according to orientation. The side and rear walls remain solid for privacy and insulation, while the front façade embraces a grid of deeply recessed windows. These 600 mm-deep setbacks allow for continuous planters—introducing greenery, reducing solar gain, and creating a verdant skin that reflects the site’s natural context.
This office is not just a workspace—it’s a response to its environment, a challenge to conventional norms, and a model for climate-sensitive design.
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