IndiQube’s Meghna Agarwal transforms empty spaces into rooms of beauty
Meghna Agarwal, Co-founder of IndiQube, a smart workspace solutions provider, talks about her love for interior design and how to make the best use of the spaces around you.
Whether the décor in your home is influenced by the vibrant colours of the palaces of Rajasthan or the raw clay and terracotta textures of the earth, or the dazzling hues of a beautiful sunrise, it needs an eye for interiors to get the look right. The same goes for office spaces too, as global trends change every season. When YourStory caught up with Meghna Agarwal Co-founder and COO, IndiQube, the Bengaluru-based company that offers co-working offices for startups, she says that she has always loved the process of planning a space.
“As a child I remember sitting through multiple architect meetings with my dad to build our first house,” says Meghna as she speaks about where her love for interiors began. “Space planning was something that I always enjoyed. In recent years, while designing our villa, I realised my interest also lies in changing an empty space to something beautiful and functional.”
Defining space
IndiQube creates the right business environment for emerging companies to thrive, by providing space that offers key growth drivers like scalability and flexibility. These companies can seamlessly expand and grow, either as co-working, shared, or dedicated spaces in the same location.
Experiments with space can yield surprising results
Meghna belongs to a business-oriented family and says she took up entrepreneurship by accident. “When I relocated to Bengaluru with an MBA degree in finance in my hand from IMT Ghaziabad, I came up with the idea of offering a platform where companies could recruit employees hassle-free. I co-founded HirePro Consulting in 2003, and there has been no looking back since then.”
After being bitten by the startup bug, Meghna decided to look further into the problems that exist in setting up an office space. IndiQube was born as a techno-flexible office space provider in Bengaluru in 2015.
Though her weekends are usually spent with her children, either playing, reading, or helping them with their homework, and going for a run during the day, Meghna also likes to pursue her interest in designing interiors.
Form meets function
“My prime focus while designing interiors has always been the efficiency, usability, durability and costing of a project, without compromising on aesthetics,” she says. “While designing a space, we should be very clear who are we designing for. I believe designing is always client-specific and not what the designer wants. Space optimisation, aesthetics, and functionality are the important parameters to look at while designing a space.”
Improvisation is the key to creating beautiful spaces
When asked about her favourite design project, she says, “Design is an evolving process and we improvise with each project. All of them are close to my heart. However, a recent project we did at IndiQube - The Leela saw a better sense of evolution.”
Meghna loves traveling and exploring new office spaces and attends international interior design fairs regularly. “These help me stay updated with the latest trends,” she says. “According to me, Space Optimisation, Green Buildings (helping an office breathe from the inside), and Agile Spaces (which can take different shapes depending on usage) are currently the top trends in the market.”
She adds that it is good to create interior designs which bring workspaces closer to nature. “Natural lights, stones and vibrant colours are added to different spaces, keeping in mind the moods of the people who will be working there. We work constantly on landscaping, which can enhance the mood of the officer-goer and provide him or her with a vibrant environment to work efficiently,” she says.
Meghna says one of the challenges she has faced is dealing with clients who want everything in a small space. “So, designing to bring out the importance of the space has always been a challenge,” she adds.
Before she signs off, Meghna has a few tips to offer on interior design. “It is of utmost importance to use the best quality materials while designing a space. Execution is the key. Sometimes, what looks good on paper might not look good in real life. The balance between functionality and beauty needs to be maintained,” she says.