Slam dunk with NBA India! Here’s an insider view of their new workspace at Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai

Siddharth Chury – Associate Vice President, Global Partnerships, NBA India gives us an insider look at the inspiration and design that went into the making of their new workspace in Mumbai.
NBA India Office entrance
NBA India Office entrance

Siddharth Chury – Associate Vice President, Global Partnerships, NBA India gives us a special insider look at the inspiration and design work that went into the making of their new workspace located at Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai

When did NBA first set-up operations in India?
The National Basketball, the world’s largest league has been in the country for over eight years now. The NBA first set-up its first office in 2011 in Mumbai, India.

What was the need to set-up the newer, bigger and a more intelligent workspace in Bandra Kurla Complex?
Our previous office was a very basic functional office that we needed back then, we outgrew that really fast. One of the major reasons we moved to BKC was because as a brand, we wanted to be with like-minded companies in the industry. 

A lot of our partners also have their offices in BKC and that makes it easier for us as well. In general, the traffic in Lower Parel is an issue throughout the day that makes it inconvenient for us to keep travelling for our meetings. As an established brand now, we know we are growing as a league and in terms of employees. 

Currently, we have 24 employees in our India office and about six International coaches that train the kids at our NBA Academy India, Noida. Taking up this all-new bigger office space also gives us the opportunity to create the NBA experience as well as an in-house studio. There is a minuscule percentage of the NBA fans who have actually got to experience the NBA games. 

What was the source of inspiration and design to set-up the new workspace?
When we set about working on the design for our new office, it was a collaboration between three different teams – the design team from our architects M Moser, the facilities team from the NBA headquarters in New York City, and a core member team consisting of four employees from the NBA India office.
 

Siddharth Chury – Associate Vice President, Global Partnerships, NBA India

There were three key philosophies driving the design direction –

  • Create an open, modern, interactive and engaging work environment that infuses energy in our team and makes work more fun
  • Bring slices of actual in-arena experiences into the office – giving visitors as close an experience of being in an actual NBA Arena, and impressing upon them all that the NBA has to offer
  • Create a multi-purpose space for us to use for NBA events, content shoots, screening parties, media interactions and much more
     
NBA India Office - Experiential Zone

Highlight some unique design / architectural elements in the office
Designed by M Moser Design Associates (India) Private Limited, this office is one of those that speaks a lot about the brand itself. Being divided into three sections – Reception area, Experiential zone, Workspace area, the new workspace is a perfect mix of work and play. 

Reception Area: Not like the usual reception areas, NBA always strives to make the workspace a lot more engaging and intelligent. Two LED screens constantly displaying content from NBA’s social media feed have also been set up at the reception area for everyone who visits the office to have much more information and be up to date with what’s happening in the league. The NBA is also very well-known for its lifestyle and fashion culture. One can find some cool NBA merchandise as well at the reception area.
 

NBA India Office - Pantry Area

Experiential Area: Encouraging their employees to play while they work is what the brand stands for. While the office desks rise to the level one is standing at and the level when they are sitting. There’s a pop-a-shot machine and large television screens set-up with the PS4 specially installed for employees to unwind.

It doesn’t stop there. Apart from all the facilities our new workspace offers a dose of information. With iPads that have pre-loaded content to get much more information from the NBA era. Most importantly NBA’s growth in India identified by the coverage wall in the pantry area. 
 

NBA India Office - Experiential Zone

Workspace Area: Maintaining privacy and having a silent work environment helps employees work efficiently. With four telephone booths set-up inside the workspace for employees to connect with others during work hours. 

We’ve also paid a lot of attention to detail; even something as seemingly trivial as the colour of the wooden flooring was carefully selected to match the actual floor of NBA courts; or for that matter the court markings on the office floor are exactly the dimensions as the actual NBA court, giving the sense of size and grandeur of the NBA arena. 

Even meeting rooms in the office are named & themed on milestones in an NBA season, that too chronologically. We start with the Tip Off, move on to All-Star, then Playoffs followed by Finals, and the main conference room is called the Champions.

NBA India Office - Experiential Zone

How is the new workspace a perfect mix of work and play?
As the NBA continues to grow in India, our office will continue to evolve and keep our team and visitors engaged & entertained. At NBA, we care a lot about creative freedom. All the desks are sitting as well as standing desks for the comfort of our employees. 

We indulge in gaming as well, the PS4 is connected to the television screen in the experiential zone. We also have basketball games – twice a week at the American school at BKC and once a week at Don Bosco. All the employees are invited to the games. We find happier employees are more productive.

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