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Kolkata: A city with rich history, now an urban jungle of office spaces.

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iparkskolkata
Kolkata: A city with rich history, now an urban jungle of office spaces.

The rich history of Kolkata has aptly brought immense glory to the city and transformed it into the modern day wonder that it is today. Its transition from a colonial port of commerce to a modern day urban hub has not been without its own set of challenges. These challenges have shaped the culture of the city and inspired the population to pursue intellect and creativity. Commonly referred to as ‘the city of joy’, kolkata has earned this title due to its diverse population that is made up of a number of faiths and personifies inclusion. Office spaces in Kolkata have also transformed over the ages depending on the era, nature of industry and the pace of doing business.  

 

Rising industrialisation and the investments of multinational IT corporations has indeed added multi-dimensional elements to the working ecosystem of the city. Furthermore, aspects like liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation have accelerated the rate of growth and brought it at par with other urban hubs across India and in some cases, the world. The rapid expansion witnessed by Kolkata due to investments from massive tech giants, coupled with an extensive inflow of migrants workers/professionals has excessively strained existing infrastructure. The city houses India’s oldest rail system and while it has been sustaining the lives of plenty, it fails to do the job in today’s time. New technologies such as the metro, electric buses and carpooling in personal vehicles or cabs have become the need of the hour and a necessity for individuals to continue their lives at a global speed of efficiency.

 

Just like any other developing urban centre, Kolkata has witnessed a massive gap between the rich and the poor of the country. Rising urbanization and an increase in earning potential has made many members of the middle class rich, while leaving the lower end of the class to fend for themselves. Public access to vital services such as health, education and food are scarce for the poor who have been on a downward spiral. This distinction between the two sections of society is visible on the streets of the city and has definitely created an imbalance in the functioning of society. Such a drastic change also prompted the real estate market to adjust or in some cases completely transform the way of existing operations. Affordable housing began to rise but not without an accelerated number of ultra-luxury projects that catered to the rich populus of the city.

 

The unplanned and seemingly chaotic growth of the city resulted in the encroachment of agricultural land as well as reserved spaces for economic development. Everything seemingly became cramped and all existing infrastructure had to be planned in accordance with this drastically growing population.

 

Today however, Kolkata has transpired into a beacon of corporate success, big money and inspiring innovations. Commuting for work and other necessities continues to be a major factor of life in Kolkata. This is because of scattered population densities with intense clusters at its core and smaller pockets across the periphery. Not only are property rates cheaper on the outskirts but they are less cluttered and offer some peace in life. Residents of the city who do not wish to completely submerge themselves in the urban jungle opt for such locations.

 

Commercially, Kolkata has also drawn in big corporations and investments to boost the morale of workers and bring stability to the economy. As a result, the demand for office space in Kolkata and newer commercial infrastructure grew exponentially. Companies gradually began to ask for bigger work spaces that can accommodate larger teams and promote operational efficiency. Not only MultiNational Corporations but even smaller to medium Indian companies began to raise similar demands in regards to the work spaces.

 

Since the entire sector is being revised as the time passes, it has to factor in new trends of working, co-existing and the nature of doing business. One trend that is currently changing the way we perceive offices is that of co-working. Co-working spaces in Kolkata are on the rise with an emphasis on collaborative spaces for employees to interact and work on projects. This is a form of office arrangement that works best in creative spaces or companies that rely heavily on effective team communication. As a form of arranging offices, such a format takes up less space within a specific office building and mostly costs less to lease out. This is due to the fact that many other offices can occupy the same space or one next to it. Co-working spaces in Kolkata also offer certain flexibility to their customers/owners as they can be rearranged, expanded in terms of furniture or reorganised into closed off meeting rooms / cabins.

 

Not only are co-working spaces in Kolkata the way forward but it presents new opportunities for the millennial generation to own their freedom of working and collaborating with their peers. Since they are extremely flexible spaces, the younger generation can make the right use of it.

 

 

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