# Reflected Topography

Bearys Global Research Triangle, Bengaluru. Bengaluru, India, 2014. Design: Collaborative Architecture.

Reflected Topography is the public lobby of the Bearys Global Research Triangle, a research and development campus in Bengaluru housing facilities for international companies. Within a 32 × 32-meter hall, the project integrates reception, waiting, relaxation, circulation, and private meeting spaces into a unified architectural experience. Conceived as an extension of the campus’s research-driven ethos, the design explores how structure, light, and spatial organization can transform a multifunctional interior into a coherent and dynamic public realm.

## Key facts

- Location: Bengaluru, India
- Client: Bearys Group
- Typology: Workplace, Research campus
- Status: Completed
- Year: 2014
- Area: 1,200 m² public lobby
- Certification: LEED Platinum (campus)
- Lighting design: Collaborative Architecture
- 32 × 32 m column-free lobby under a waffle slab
- 53 custom-designed lights

## Light as an extension of structure

The existing waffle slab provides the generative pattern for 53 custom-designed lights, integrated into its coffers to unite architectural structure and illumination. Radiating from a nine-meter-high central column clad in Corian panels, the lighting creates an overhead landscape that gives the interior its defining identity. Glazing along two sides draws daylight deep into the space, while a building management system with DALI lighting controls responds to available daylight to reduce energy consumption. The result is an integrated system in which structure, material, and light are conceived as interdependent elements.

## Furniture as a spatial landscape

Custom-designed seating clusters translate the geometry of the ceiling into an undulating landscape at eye level. Beyond furnishing the lobby, these formations establish informal meeting places and encourage social interaction, extending the architectural concept into the experience of occupation. Cantilevered meeting rooms added to the existing mezzanine accommodate private meetings while optimizing the available area and creating additional revenue potential for the client. Recognized for its integration of workplace functionality and architectural expression, the project won the international workplace category at OFFICE NEXT in 2016 and received recognition from the IES Illumination Awards and the International Design Awards (IDA) in 2015.

## Awards and shortlists

- 2016: OFFICE NEXT, International Workspace category, Winner
- 2015: International Design Awards (IDA), Honorable Mention (https://idesignawards.com/winners/zoom.php?eid=9-8849-15)
- 2015: IES Illumination Awards, Section Award
- 2015: IES Illumination Awards, Merit Award

## In print

- 2013 May: Society Interiors, studio profile (concept stage) (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2013-05-society-interiors-studio-profile.pdf)
- 2014 Mar: Indian Furniture Journal, studio profile (concept stage) (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2014-03-indian-furniture-journal-studio-profile.pdf)
- 2015 Jun: Lighting (UK) (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2015-06-lighting-uk-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2015 Jun: Mondo*Arc International (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2015-06-mondo-arc-international-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2015 Jul: FX (UK) (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2015-07-fx-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2015 Jul: Hinge (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2015-07-hinge-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2015 Sep: 2A (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2015-09-2a-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2015 Oct: GID (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2015-10-gid-studio-profile.pdf)
- 2015 Dec: Domus (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2015-12-domus-india-46-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2016 Jan: LD+A, IES Award issue
- 2016 Jul–Aug: Mondo*Arc India (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2016-07-mondo-arc-india-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2016 Jul: Inside Outside (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2016-07-inside-outside-interview-with-the-principals.pdf)
- 2017 Jun: Interiors & Décor, 50 Architects
- 2017 Jul: Buildotech
- 2018 Apr: Interiors & Décor
- 2018 Jun: MGS Architecture (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2018-06-mgs-architecture-reflected-topography.pdf)
- 2018 Dec: Insite
- 2019 Feb: Architecture + Design (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2019-02-architecture-and-design-global-dynamics.pdf)
- 2019 Apr: Indian Furniture Journal, Workspace (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2019-03-indian-furniture-journal-workspace.pdf)
- 2019 Sep: iDecorama, interview (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2019-09-idecorama-interview-with-the-principals.pdf)

## Online

- 2015 Apr: e-architect (https://www.e-architect.co.uk/india/reflected-topography-in-bangalore)
- 2015 Apr: FX / DesignCurial (http://www.designcurial.com/projects/bgrt-offices-bengaluru-accept-an-unusual-challenge-from-collaborative-architecture)
- 2015 Jul: Stroiteli (http://stroiteli.elmedia.net/smt/en/2020-5/index.html)
- 2016 Apr: OFFICE NEXT (https://www.officenext.ru/projects/project-20305-bearys-global-research-triangle/)
- 2016 Sep: Desi-Built (http://desibuilt.ru/677-ofis-reflected-topography-bgrt-bangalore-gde-svet-zadaet-prostranstvo.html)
- 2020 Apr: BluPrint (https://bluprint.onemega.com/collaborative-architecture-key-projects-of-the-decade/)

## Books

- 2017: Creative Indian Offices, Interior Architecture Group (IAG) (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/books/2017-creative-indian-offices-iag-reflected-topography.pdf)

## Credit for publications

Reflected Topography, Bengaluru. Design: Collaborative Architecture (https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/reflected-topography/)

Page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/reflected-topography/