A New Beginning

…And on the 17th of July, in the year 2019, Big Immersive got a new office.

After a hectic nine days of continuous cable installation and furniture hunts, followed by hours of shifting, Big Immersive has shifted to it’s new office. Clean, shiny and surprisingly quite symmetrical, in the open space of the “still developing” Phase 6, Defence of Lahore, the office lays in the often unrelated line of completely alien and home sweet home. The black tints on the front are quite the touch. Surrounding the building itself is a parking lot, and a few other buildings making a “U”, with Big Immersive being right at the bottom of it, the very center, gazing upon all the others, but what makes a company isn’t just the building, it’s the people who work there and treat it as a second home.

The official new office of Big Immersive.

Now some might say it’s a bit TOO far off from central Lahore, but I don’t mind honestly, partly because 1. I’m only about 10 kilometers away and 2. I honestly enjoy the silence, but let’s get to know what others have to say. Starting off with the people who were a massive help during the shifting period, and are always there to look after the office, Imran and Ali, the office caretakers. They feel the office came together better than they what they thought when construction started, and they know that work isn’t done yet, since the company already hopes to expand.

Some of the developers like Warsi, Ahmed Zafar, Mansoor & Salman and also Huzafa, were naturally stoked by the sheer distance of the office, but after a while, all of them feel quite glad in the sense that yes, they finally have a PROPER office, with an individual building and parking, and even though the seating plan might be a little off than what they’re used to, everyone’s satisfied with the results over all.

Devs in their natural habitat.

Others developers like Muhammad Umar and Wajih say that the new office feels fresh, a new place to continue their work. A big improvement from the previous set up, they do hope that other team members, and future employees will also enjoy the environment and help develop it as a team. Fozi, the guy with stupendously bright blue headphones, fashionably claims the shift as “One small step for developers, one giant leap for developer-kind.” And even though some like Ahmed Shams had wise words like ‘It feels like a new beginning”. Others were primarily concerned with finding the right seating, as Omer Ihsan puts it: I entered the office and found this really great chair…and that’s pretty much all I care about. And although it’s a new start for many, and a totally different experience, there are still Devs like Khurram at the office, who…and I quote, say: It’s literally the same for me, since Umar 1.0 still keeps blocking all the air from the AC.

Apparently I spooked some of the developers and they started to stare.

Going towards the art and design side of the office, both Zainab & Maria hoped to see more aesthetic improvements in the office, since it’s still in a developmental phase, but they’re more than happy to have a great view, facing towards the giant window. Awais Maqsood and Naeem Manzoor both agree that the new office gives the appeal of a proper corporate office, since it’s both well planned and secure.

Artists Maria and Zainab.

Just like Khurram from the Devs department, Mohsin from the arts department felt a similar tinge after realizing he was seated facing fellow designer Mickey. “It’s great and all but it’s too bad that the view is ruined because Mickey is always in it.” And some were just glad because they were kind of tired of the old look of the previous office, as Abdul Hayee says: I’m just glad I don’t have to see a yellow wall anymore. From the production side, Saman, Zain and Mashood were all totally amazed by how professional the office looks, as Zain so expressively puts it: All I can say is…”Woah!”.

Artists are rather calm creatures, and easily allowed me to take a snap.

As far as I’m concerned, I love everything about it, it’s nearby, it’s clean, the temperature is just right, it’s spacious, but…honestly, with the feeling you get from here, all I can say is it’s home.  So now we shift towards the people who were involved with the shifting and organization of the office, Asad Shams, Rafeh Rauf & Nabeel Hassan.

When asked how he felt after several days of moving around, looking over the shifting, Asad Shams, Head of Art stated: I personally feel quite proud to be here in the new office, its a massive feat, and a true achievement, since we shifted everything from the previous office to the new one in seven hours, and got the office itself completed in just ten days. I’d certainly love to add some colour to it of course , and well…let’s see what the future holds.

Rafeh, the Human Resource Manager at Big Immersive has been over looking not only the employees, but the shifting as well, giving his full in creating an office environment that caters to all the employees’ needs. When asked what the future holds in the new office, Rafeh replied: First off, I’m genuinely happy to be here, it’s an acknowledgement that all the hard work payed off. As far as the future is concerned, we’ve got a bunch of projects coming up, and we’re also expanding as a company, so we’re hoping to hire specialized trainers, to train university students and provide internship opportunities as well.

Executive Producer Nabeel, the guy with the wackiest hairdo in the building, wanted to express it briefly, and through all the days of pain staking work, getting the entire office together, in the end, all he could say is: From the basement, to the very top, the feeling is utterly phenomenal.

L to R: Rafeh, Nabeel Asad. They say a company is defined by its managers…so you can guess what we are like.

Last but not least, I asked the head of the company himself to share his thoughts about the new office with us:
“I love it when people can work together with ease. The way I see it, we can all grow together and what I absolutely love about it, is that it’s a start to a new journey, but still reflects on how far we’ve all come. Truly a whole new beginning.”
– Azeemi, CEO Big Immersive.

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