Tara, the book building

The book building is such an incredible space that this post will focus on it. The art on the walls and floor warrant a separate posting in their own right and equally so the remarkable individuals and office culture

This past week has been a glimpse into this happy space that is the Tara book building. All clean whiteness and light, tall ceilings and gorgeous leafy trees tinkling outside the breezy space, it is designed to most effectively use a very small footprint in a unique way by a local Chennai architect Mahesh Radhakrishnan who likened the grilles on the windows to musical notes: "In music, the notes come and the pauses follow. Here the pauses come first, representing spaces and everything is build around these creative spaces". The design was done with as much collaboration as possible, like Tara Books itself. Book Building's function is multipurpose, serving as a gallery, community gathering space, event and workshop classroom, offices and bookstore. Each area has a distinct feel yet each space flows smoothly into the next. It is ecofriendly, as very little of it needs air conditioning as the fans and breeze keep it cool. The lights are off all day as it is bright enough without. And solar panels on the roof mostly power the computers

Fully modern with nods to traditional Indian indigenous  and folk art in the art in the paintings and splashes of colour this is a welcoming and inspiring space and I was loathe to leave it after my research was done!

As you come from the noise and busyness of the street, the clean lines are  a beacon for serenity 

The first thing you experience is the delightful bookstore proudly displaying  one copy of each book (don't worry , you get a copy from their overstock when you make a purchase) 

There is a bright little nook for children overcome with creativity to draw whatever fills their imaginations 

My working space was the marvellous  two story courtyard gathering area with the beautiful tree art by the artist of Nightlife of Trees

Upstairs the offices lend themselves to collaboration  and openness with a sunny yellow kitchen space where staff share food and conversation and a lovely open central conversation hub  that invites the breeze to share and mingle with the voices 

The accounting and sales offices are open to the courtyard below. Design and editorial are in the loft at the very top of a swirl of spiral stairs

There are no walls separating the design and editors and this mirrors Tara's philosophy policy that the  book form is the perfect marriage of the design and language

All in all it is a happy place, the space is consistent with the values. There is no hidden curriculum  denoting power or exaggerating status differences between employees, the openness accessibility and clean design combining modern and traditional fully reflect Tara's  values as shown through its books. No wonder the employees all live coming to work everyday! As did I during my short stint here