A Newsletter Edition by Design Essentia Magazine // August 2019 // Part I
On Cover
BRIGHT GEOMETRIC SHAPES & DECONSTRUCTIVE ARCHITECTURE BY RENESA ARCHITECTURE DESIGN INTERIORS with UNLOCKED AT 32nd Avenue, Gurgaon
DESIGN ESSENTIA MAGAZINE
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DE directions EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A MINIMALIST DESIGN
Featuring MEISTER VARMA ARCHITECTS STUDIO ARDETE STUDIO LAGOM
architecture & design magazine
DE//INDIA A Newsletter Edition DESIGN ESSENTIA MAGAZINE
AUGUST 2019 // PART I #letstalkdesign
Design Essentia Magazine is an architecture & interior design magazine from India. We are an international design journal featuring the work of top architects and designers, as well as the best in trends to follow. Join our DE community! “We curate to showcase the best”
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Contents DE//INDIA
//The Geometrication
A Newsletter Edition
DECONSTRUCTIVE ARCHITECTURE by
BRIGHT GEOMETRIC SHAPES and
DESIGN ESSENTIA MAGAZINE
RENESA ARCHITECTURE INTERIORS with Cafe UNLOCKED at 32nd Avenue, Gurgaon.
AUGUST 2019 // PART I #letstalkdesign
DESIGN
(cover photograph by Niveditaa Gupta)
04
10
14
18
22
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW DE directions writer: Anirudh Datta By Design Essentia Magazine
M
ABOUT A MINIMALIST DESIGN
inimalism has become quite popular over the years as a design philosophy and a new way of life.
The design movement actually began in Switzerland and was applied to variety of media including art, architecture, graphic design, web design, literature as well as music.
So, what is a
minimalist design?
Less of clutter and more of simplicity and serenity with the elements in design so as to stand out are some points focused to achieve minimalism.
It has been described as a design, which is most basic & simple, something stripped away
Keeping it clean and minimal is actually
of superfluous elements, colors, textures and
the hardest challenge in design. The
shapes.
least visual efforts but of a great importance is where the phrase “less is
“Less is More” a minimalist mentality
Barcelona Pavilion / Mies van der Rohe Mies' minimalist style has proved very popular; his famous aphorism "less is more" is still widely used
04//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
more” fits in appropriately”.
“I love clear spaces. I love the absolute minimum. I find that pleasurable. I also get pleasure from things done nicely… I have to go the whole way” - John Pawson (British Architect – RIBA National Award winner)
Minimalist architecture is about
What comes to my mind when thinking about a minimalist
achieving a better design
design?
through simplicity - simplicity of form, space, color, material and
“An open floor plan, loads of daylight and simple uncluttered furnishings. A design that is clean and elegant. A design that can
detail.
breathe”
Simple Form & Function
5
tips you need to know to master a Modern Minimalist house design
Uncomplicated cladding and wall finishes
Clean, open spaces with lots of daylight
No extra detailing for decoration Keep it simple and plain
Least use of materials, to avoid a chaotic visual experience Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//05
Tadao Ando Japanese Minimalist Architect
A self-taught architect, Tadao Ando was born in Osaka, Japan. This Japanese architect is the receiver of the 1995 Pritzker Award and the 2002 AIA Gold Model, among other awards.
Principal Architect at Tadao Ando Architects & Associates
Strongly influenced by the Japanese traditional design and architecture, Tadao Ando focuses on
The minimalist architect himself says that light
the simplicity and elegance of the shapes to
has a decisive role in all of his projects.His trade
achieve a minimalistic approach.
mark is the round openings, which impale the buildings, letting the sun in the rooms.
An icon of Japanese culture, Ando uses basic geometric shapes – squares, rectangles, circles,
His designs involve light, water, wate wind and
triangles. The spaces designed are unique, which
concrete to co-exist towards perfection. Ando
change constantly because the sun and wind play
uses mainly concrete and glass, keeping the
in their frames.
material choice minimal.
Pulitzer Arts Foundation, St. Louis / Tadao Ando Architects Clean straight lines with an open plan and minimal use of material - concrete and glass.
06//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
Photo: View Pictures/Getty Images
The concrete building plays with light - an ideology similar the stained glass windows of traditional Christian churches - but he turns the whole idea on its head completely. This dark, meditative concrete shell of a building is pierced by an illuminated cross that transmits the natural outdoor light into the church hall. Mixing innovation with simplicity, this is one work Tadao Ando fans cannot miss. S. Ken / Creative Commons, Church
of Light, 1989
This building located in Kobe is powerful in its simplicity. It was the result of a magazine competition which saw Ando create a structure adapted to the specific requirements of the site, which was greatly influenced by the Hanshin earthquake that devastated the area less than 10 years before. Once he completed construction in the first house, another client asked Ando to build something similar on the neighboring piece of land. This gave Ando the opportunity to fulfill his original idea of two houses crafted from different materials coming together to create one wholly impressive work of design. Situated on the Hyogo coast, each floor of these buildings is a concrete mass, which comes together to act like a lighthouse, offering incredible views of the ocean below. Naoya Fujii / Creative Commons, 4x4
House, 2003
Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//07
Azuma House, Sumiyoshi, Osaka, Japan, 1976 / Tadao Ando Architects The “concrete box� with a simple building form and plain concrete facade; keeping the design very minimal. It was a fight to establish his identity as an architect while struggling with complex components: tradition and modernity; the desires and limited budgets of his clients; the demands of daily life; and the demands of aesthetics in a city which still maintained a strong Asian tradition. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
08//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
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//Geometrication
RENESA ARCHITECTURE DESIGN INTERIORS
Bright geometric shapes and deconstructive architecture at Cafe Unlocked, 32nd Avenue, Gurgaon. By Design Essentia Magazine Photographer: Niveditaa Gupta
Renesa Architecture Design
Interiors Studio from New Delhi, took cues from the original deconstructive architecture to create a unique spatial experience filled with volumetric galleries and partitioned masses. Located at the newly renovated 32nd avenue in Gurgaon, the space plays host to a restaurant and an escape room unlocking a variable experience that includes the visitor from the very start.
The restaurant is accessed through a door fronted with simple glass panels hinting at the hues of spaces that follow inside.
SANJAY ARORA PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT
Upon entering, the visitor is transported to an uncertain realm, characterised by geometric shapes reflecting a modern intake on traditional Indian architecture. The consistency in applying successive geometries on different scales of design collaborates with a clear colour palette of warm and vibrant materials. SANCHIT ARORA STUDIO HEAD ARCHITECT
10//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
the man with the mirror //The Geometrication
Distinct sculptural lighting design by Indi Haus, chosen for the project serves to distinguish the different volumes.
Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//11
The concept was to manipulate the space in order to create multiple pockets that arise from an array of lines and shapes. The result of which is a design that entails arched openings accentuated by the different tonal values and the purity of shapes used. Evoking the sensation of being on a journey the visitors get an idea of being connected but remain fragmented for intimacy creating a “dynamic yet cosy atmosphere�.
The variation in colour and materiality forms these partitioned masses that govern the grouping of distinct but interconnected volumes, each with a particular function. These coloured partitions are offset against exposed concrete walls. One of the main walls also feature niches in the shape of semicircular and pointed arches. Providing a meeting and social interaction area, each dining area is defined and unified with exposed concrete flooring which highlights the geometry and the mix of heterogeneous colors.
Graphics by Renesa Architecture Design Interiors. 12//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
A playfulness continues in the surfaces, fixtures and furniture across the whole restaurant. Distinct sculptural lighting design chosen for the project serves to distinguish the different volumes- cove lights light the walls of the cafe, while pendant lights and floor lamps in a rose gold scheme further add to the character and cast interesting shadows in the space. Thus, the cafe interiors have been deliberately altered in order to match the mood of the place. These elements are born out of an interest in creating a distinctive design through a simple language that puts this restaurant as a unique addition to this area.
//The Geometrication Renesa Architecture Design Interiors Cafe Unlocked 32nd Avenue, Gurgaon, Haryana Project size : 2000 sq. ft. Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//13
Solar powered home stays naturally cool in Kerala’s tropical heat. By Design Essentia Magazine Photographer: Praveen P Mohandas and Govind Nair
Maison Kochi by Architects Krishnan Varma and Vanessa Meister of Meister Varma Architects;
A residence built on a tight 170 sqm plot for a family of four Maison Kochi also functions as studio and office in the South Indian city of Kochi. The west facing building is delineated in 2 volumes, the taller south-west block shading the shorter north-east one throughout the day.
//Maison Kochi MEISTER VARMA ARCHITECTS //Maison Kochi
Meister Varma Architects Kochi, Kerala, India Project size : 170 sq. m. plot
Living spaces are arranged in the shorter block while staircases and toilets face south or west to buffer the heat. An open plan arrangement and perforated net windows ensure ventilation across rooms. A vent in the roof access hatch cools the house with its chimney effect.
1.
Rainwater injection for groundwater recharge
2.
Rainwater channels intergated in roof design
3.
Insulated sandwich panel roof
4.
Ferrocement storage wall for insulation
5.
Hollow clay bricks (hurdi) insulation
6.
Roof hatch vent (chimney - effect cooling)
7.
Double roof (loft) on south & west side
8.
Solar panels on south facing roof
9.
Indirect light on south side windows
10. Open jointed paving for rainwater perception 14//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//15
Rainwater channels are integrated in the roof design as are solar panels. Collected water is used to recharge the groundwater through an injection system. Flat roofs are insulated with hollow clay blocks and sloping roofs with polyurethane sandwich panels. The building is conceived as a chiaroscuro – a white solid exterior leading to cool interiors finished in polished cement. An open plan arrangement on both floors makes the interior spaces blend into each other seamlessly. Wall to ceiling windows enhance this flow as does the continuous black oxide floor. Windows are designed in steel and doors use bison board panelling. Bathrooms are finished in colourful ferrous oxide with lamps and counters cast in place.
16//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
Almost all interior objects and furnishings are custom-made down to the brass switch plates. Furnishings like cushion covers and curtains utilise the minimalist lines of Kerala saris and soften the cement walls. Traditional urban crafts like cane cycle boxes are inspiration for multi-coloured baskets that hold everything from blankets to diapers.
Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//17
//Pool Yard House STUDIO ARDETE
Studio Ardete designs a micro resort experience with this residence within a compact urban setting near Chandigarh By Design Essentia Magazine Photographer: Purnesh Dev Nikhanj
Pool Yard House by Architects Badrinath
Kaleru and Prerna Kaleru of Studio Ardete is considered as a nano resort in a compact urban setting of a row house. The Glass walls accentuates the pool presence from the lower living level.
18//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
It act as a trigger to make one indulge into itself. The residence is located on a busy sector main road in Sector 7 of Panchkula. It is a standard HUDA plot of 500 sq yards having a front of 45 feet.
Built for Mr. Pawan Garg, A business man aged about 60 and his wife. The couple had 3 in house domestic help and wanted a flamboyant home for partying and for hosting friends and family. The house has 3 levels. The Ground Floor is the main living floor having 2 bedrooms, Guest and Family Lounge and Kitchen and Utility connected with a service corridor. corrido
The House was designed to look into . The plan conceived around a pool and a courtyard . Pool as a nucleus at the centre of the house . The house is built around it . The Pool Glass wall creates an artwork formed by the undulating artwork created by the water in the pool . The pool frames the user as the dynamic artwork making the user itself part of art .
The Word Pool yard was coined by Fusion of a Pool with the courtyard. The Pool was deliberately kept small to make a plunge pool and not a lap pool to make it mainly for relaxation. The house is a play of indoor and outdoor spaces which was challenging considering the climatic contain of the region.
Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//19
20//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
House has 3 levels . The lowest one for living , Middle one for recreation for Guests and the Top one for Domestic Help and Utility spaces. Living Level has 2 bedrooms, Sitting lounge separate for guests and for family . A Puja room, Kitchen and 2 Bedrooms 1 Master and other dedicatedly made for a visiting family . The middle level has 2 rooms for the guests . A Spa , Party lounge opening on pool side and terrace. The Top level has utility spaces like stores and laundry and technical spaces and domestic help quarters . below: concept sketch by Studio Ardete.
Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//21
An oasis of serenity in Surat’s typical urban milieu designed by Studio Lagom By Design Essentia Magazine Photographer: Photographix India – Sebastian Zachariah and Ira Gosalia
Skewed House is a residence designed by
Hardik Shah principal architect of Surat based firm Studio Lagom. Simple aesthetics, a minimal material palette and connections to nature are the main drivers of the design of the residence, the architect’s debut through his firm Studio Lagom.
//Skewed House Studio Lagom
Surat, Gujarat, India Project size : 14,000 sq. ft. plot
The standalone 11,000 sq-ft villa seeks to create an oasis of serenity in Surat’s typical urban milieu through a programme that departs from typical planning of this typology. 22//Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I
//Skewed House STUDIO LAGOM
The architect reversed the “structure on the streetside and garden to the rear” scheme, by setting the bungalow back, beyond an elevated garden. Rather than a forbidding, fortress-like compound wall, an interesting elevation involving Valsadi teak battens, softened by cascades of creepers, intrigue the passers by.
The idea was to create a journey of sorts, a constricted perambulatory approach that finally ‘releases’ the visitor into the garden. The other access point, which is the ‘normal’ main door, also uses the same strategy of constriction and liberation, via a small entrance lobby that shields the main living space from direct view.
Beyond this, is a ramp — which takes you directly to the garden — sandwiched between this slatted outer boundary wall and the retaining wall of the home with an intermediary concrete wall.
The spatial programme of the villa and the zoning of the plot were also dictated by the sudden floods that the city sometimes experiences.
Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//23
The ground level is devoted to allied spaces connected to relaxation and unwinding. Atop this lies the sprawl of the living-dining, kitchen, a bedroom and the garden in the front, followed by more bedrooms, up another level. The Skewed House does away with excess in form and materiality. With respect to the elevation, the façade projects and recedes strategically, with important areas such as the master bedroom being emphasised through cantilevering and material play. Though concrete was the material of choice, white plaster, stone and wood have been used to temper its formidable, institutional demeanour. The architect’s architect deep interest in photography helped him visualize this project as a series of interconnected vistas, and was also responsible for the ‘skewedness’ of Skewed House. Manifested subtly as elements shifted slightly off the straight line, this was an exercise in creating vistas and perspectives, and adding more life to a three-dimensional object. The client’s client request for connections from top to bottom, skylights, a distinct identity for the worship area, nature, and a play of light and shadow inform the spatial layout.The split-level living-dining area is extensive, with living part being sunken and the dining elevated. Close to the entrance is the double-height pooja-tower, heralded by a water-spout and set within a waterbody. Opposite the living area is a sunken courtyard with more seating. These pockets of seating, with various configurations, allow people more freedom to use the space as per their choice. An enormous Kalamkari inspired artwork in subtle grey graces the staircase wall, and is one of the design highlights of this space.
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The house establishes a strong connections to nature with the help of the suitable fenestration.
Also, the views from the louvered doors and windows on this level are carpeted with the blossoms and the dense shining foliage of the frangipanis in the garden.
For instance, the L-shaped glass inset behind the pooja tower invites the surrounding greenery in and connects the interior waterbody with the external lotus pond visually.
Much of the relaxed ambience of the Skewed House can be attributed to its substantial greenscape, developed collaboratively by Roots Designs and Studio Lagom.
Similarl the nine-foot cantilever of the Similarly, master bedroom is outlined in glass, to invite slivers of sunlight and the sky into the space.
The lawn has a sectional profile (a kund-like sunken central portion), and has been inspired by the ghats of Varanasi and Ujjain. An artistic dimension was added by extending the floor pattern of the gazebo into the kund.
For the architect, this house represents the firming up of several convictions: that each building is unique by way of its users, setting, function, and more; that you will deliver quality if you care enough; that there is no substitute for nature; and that architecture can leverage the innate beauty of every material, by creating the right balance between less and more.
check the story at www.designessentiamagazine.com Design Essentia Newsletter Edition//August 2019/Part I//25
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