Elements of Nature: Redefining Sales Spaces with Sustainable Design and Emotional Engagement

Elements of Nature transforms a commercial showroom into a sensory journey, blending sustainability with emotional design to challenge traditional sales office concepts in Bangalore’s urban landscape.

Overview

Elements of Nature arose in response to the challenging context of Bangalore’s expanding urban periphery in Hoskote, an area characterized by dry earth and scattered industrial activity. Rather than masking this stark, dusty terrain, the project embraced it as a blank canvas for transformation. The 8,000-square-foot marketing and sales office, designed by Sneha Ostawal of Source Architecture, occupies a strategic position along the main road, serving as the first point of engagement for a new township development.

The fundamental goal wasn’t to create a typical commercial showroom but to orchestrate an architectural experience—a dialogue between structure, materiality, and the senses. Elements of Nature was conceived to invite visitors to slow down, absorb, and feel before being introduced to the concept of ownership. This shift from transaction to experience challenges the conventional sales office model.

The design objectives prioritized sustainability and connection to natural elements.

The structure was built to be entirely dismantlable, framed in steel for future repurposing after its intended lifecycle of five to ten years.

Biodegradable bamboo cladding was selected for both environmental benefits and its warm, tactile qualities. The interior spaces employed an honest material palette of untreated wood, textured micro-cement, and natural textiles.

Each space within the project was carefully crafted to evoke specific emotional responses—from the transitional entrance that provokes curiosity to the immersive pause of the AV room, the grounded engagement of meeting rooms, and the reflective energy of the café. The outdoor areas, including a children’s play area, open lawn, and prototype yurt, extend this sensory journey while showcasing alternative living possibilities.

Through these thoughtful design elements, Elements of Nature aimed to reshape visitor expectations, demonstrating that commercial spaces can transcend mere functionality to become profound, memorable experiences that shape emotions before decisions.

Project Details & Challenges

Elements of Nature, represents a revolutionary approach to marketing and sales spaces in Bangalore’s developing periphery. Located in Hoskote on a half-acre property alongside a main road, this 8,000 sq ft structure serves as the first point of engagement for a township development within a challenging context – a stark, dusty landscape devoid of natural beauty.

The project’s fundamental challenge was transforming a conventional commercial typology into an experiential journey that would allow visitors to connect emotionally with the space before any sales discussion began. Rather than artificially replicating nature in this barren environment, the design team embraced a philosophy of cultivated stillness, using light, shadow, and honest materials to create a sensory experience.

This conceptual approach required special research into materials that could both withstand the harsh environmental conditions while maintaining tactile qualities that would engage visitors. The material palette features rammed earth, untreated wood, textured micro-cement, and natural textiles – all chosen for their sensory properties rather than purely aesthetic considerations. Specifically, local materials were researched for the yurt structure, which serves as both a functional prototype and philosophical statement about flexible living options.

A significant design challenge was creating a structure that respected sustainability principles while functioning effectively as a commercial space. The solution was a completely dismantlable steel-framed building with a projected lifecycle of five to ten years. Research into biodegradable cladding led to the selection of bamboo, which provides both environmental benefits and creates the shifting light patterns central to the visitor experience.

The spatial planning presented another unique challenge – how to balance the typical hierarchical requirements of a corporate office with the desired experiential journey. This was resolved through a carefully orchestrated sequence of spaces that unfold gradually, beginning with a monolithic beige wall and singular wooden door that must be discovered rather than noticed from afar. The traditional reception area was reimagined with unconventional elements like log seating that doubles as sculptural pieces. Even the AV room, typically overwhelmed with promotional materials, was reconceived as an immersive pause focused on controlled digital storytelling.

Incorporating Vastu principles into the design required careful research and planning to ensure an intuitive flow of movement while maintaining functional relationships between spaces. This was particularly evident in the placement of senior management cabins at the rear, which maintain authority while remaining visually connected through glass partitions.

Perhaps the most profound challenge was shifting client expectations about what a sales office could be. The design team successfully demonstrated that spaces of commerce can simultaneously serve as spaces of experience, creating an environment where visitors leave with not just information but a memorable emotional connection.

Key Products 

Sanitary ware / Fittings:  Kohler

Furniture: Essentially Metal

Lighting: Prism Inc Lighting, Orange tree, Clay Mango

Bamboo Partners: Bamboo Pecker

Overall Project Outcomes

Elements of Nature has fundamentally redefined expectations for marketing and sales offices through its innovative approach to spatial experience. The project’s most illuminating result has been its ability to transform what is typically a transactional environment into a meaningful journey that engages visitors on sensory and emotional levels. This architectural intervention successfully challenges conventional commercial typologies by prioritizing experience over immediate sales conversion.

The standout feature of the project is undoubtedly its orchestrated sequence of spaces that unfold gradually, creating a narrative of discovery rather than overwhelming visitors with promotional material. This begins with the unassuming entrance—a large beige monolithic wall with a singular wooden door designed to be discovered rather than noticed from afar. This intentional understatement immediately sets the tone for an experience centered on thoughtful engagement rather than spectacle.

The reception area emerges as another exceptional element, featuring raw, tactile materials that create an immediate sensory connection. The rammed-earth desk and wooden log seating function not merely as functional elements but as sculptural pieces that transform with changing light conditions throughout the day. This introduces visitors to the project’s core philosophy: spaces shape emotions before they shape decisions. The bamboo-clad facade creates constantly shifting light patterns on the microcement floors, ensuring each visitor’s experience remains unique and memorable.

Perhaps most surprising is how the project has successfully integrated sustainability not as an add-on feature but as fundamental to its identity. The completely dismantlable steel structure, biodegradable bamboo cladding, and honest material palette of untreated wood and natural textiles demonstrate that commercial spaces can embody environmental responsibility while maintaining aesthetic and experiential coherence.

The yurt structure represents another unexpected success, serving simultaneously as a functional prototype and philosophical statement. By presenting an alternative vision of flexible living, it initiates conversations about modern dwelling that extend beyond conventional real estate discussions. This feature has proven particularly effective at shifting visitor perceptions before they even engage with sales materials.

The project’s careful attention to spatial sequencing has yielded remarkable results, with each area serving a distinct emotional purpose. The enclosed AV room provides an immersive pause for digital storytelling, meeting rooms foster unhurried, personal discussions through their warm materiality and diffused lighting, while the cafe creates space for reflection and casual conversation. This thoughtful progression maintains visitor engagement throughout the entire journey.

Most significantly, Elements of Nature has demonstrated that spaces of commerce can transcend their traditional functions. Visitors consistently leave with more than just information—they carry with them a meaningful connection to the space and its philosophy. This emotional resonance proves far more effective than conventional sales techniques, as it creates lasting impressions that persist long after visitors depart.

The project ultimately succeeds by challenging and reshaping expectations. It proves that architectural interventions can elevate routine commercial interactions into memorable experiences, that sustainability can be integral rather than supplemental, and that thoughtful restraint often communicates more effectively than ostentatious display. Elements of Nature stands as compelling evidence that sales environments need not sacrifice experiential quality for functional efficiency—they can harmoniously achieve both while creating something genuinely distinctive in the commercial landscape.

Top Contributors

Civil Works – Urban Fields Pvt Ltd

Electrician – Urban Fields Pvt Ltd

Carpenter – Anu Interiors

Veneer Polishing – Asian Paints

Painting – Asian Paints

HVAC – Patel HVAC

Meet the Design Leads

Sneha Ostawal and Manu Gautham

Photography

All images are courtesy of Shamanth Patil Photography