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‘It’s about trapped energy’
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Interiors M. Lankalingam, Chairman, Lanson Group, feels if your energy is in the right place, you’ll attract the right people
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PHOTO: M. Vedhan
Minimalist, yet five-star Inside Lankalingam’s office
It is a room with views. On the roof of the Lanson Toyota building on Poonamallee Road, opposite where worker enthusiasm for digging is unmatched. From behind the boomerang-shaped table, M. Lankalingam, Chairman & Chief Innovator, Lanson Group of
Companies, can hear water lapping in the pool behind, glance at a two-hole, faux golf course (“reminds me of my passion”), and rest his eyes on the expanse of real green covering the terrace. He could also walk on the stones over a fish pool to sniff at the potted plants near the wall.
The table and the upholstered chairs are art deco in earth colour. The two sitting areas have similar furniture, modern cut draped in leather. A tall wooden abstract provides fullness. The clock on the wall would have got a nod from Salvador Dali and the lamp stand looks like it’s too shy to occupy space. A couple of paintings hang outside the cabin, strikingly visible.
The boss in the pool?
Each glass window on the terrace wall to the right captures a portrait of changing Chennai life. Across the lawn, it’s all open. “Mr. Lingam once got the flower vases on his table removed as they blocked the view,” his secretary said. That’s how he keeps his finger on the racing automobile pulse of the city. By training his sight on its landscape from this remarkable office on the 4th floor of the sales-cum-workshop building.
“I wanted glass on all four sides, to feel part of the larger arena,” Lingam laughed. “But designer Vikram Phadke thought I’d look like a museum piece.” Has anyone caught the boss in the pool? “Aw, we have to store water against fire. I put in tiles and alcoves with crystal lighting to create a water body. It looks beautiful at night.” During the day too, with birds perched on the rims.
It’s a back-to-earth plan — clear, natural, fresh, eco-friendly. No light during the day, bounced duct lights for night and a flat panel of hanging light for the table. A clutter-free office large enough for a tour. Shall we? A slightly surprised Mr. Lingam gallantly agrees. Dad’s picture first – “I wound up studies in the U.S. to take over the business, I was 21.” The high-backed wood-rattan chair — “it’s dad’s.” Four Ganeshas in different wood avatars — “God of happiness! They’re from our in-house carpenter, an old employee.” The camphor box — “one big mothball.” On the table, a tiny Japanese doll and a hand holding a globe — “gifts”, a computer to check e-mail.
Minimalist, functional, but five-star. You can’t work here! “I don’t,” he smiled. “I come here to think, strategise, sharpen the blade.” This is the de-focussing – refocussing place. “I follow Gemba — going where the value (business) is.” The office is about openness and transparency. It’s about trapped energy, like Hussain’s horses. Furniture dissipates it. “If your energy is in the right place, you’ll attract the right people.” He feels energised here, but the plug-in doesn’t last more than six hours. Delegating, he said. “I’m ready to outsource thinking to a better thinker.”
(A fortnightly column on workspaces, starting this week)
GEETA PADMANABHAN
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