Home Review November 2018

Design Destination: Edinburgh Specialist: Outlin’d

vol 17 issue 11

November 2018

total pages 140

Design Quest: Bram Woodcrafting Studio

RS 100 HOME-REVIEW.COM

A THROWBACK TO ART DECO MUSELAB A THOUGHT OUT MELANGE STUDIO YAMINI A CROSSING OF BOUNDARIES THE CROSSBOUNDARIES

BASALT BEAUTY

DESIGNED BY SPASM DESIGN ARCHITECTS, THE LIQUID STONE HOUSE BLENDS BEAUTIFULLY AMIDST ITS SURROUNDINGS

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Photo: Cyrus Dalal

A

home designed by Spasm Architects borrows substantially from the stunning landscape that surrounds it. Using basalt rock to create a monolithic structure that stays clear of unnecessary frills and accoutrements, the home exudes a solidity that is admirable and a simplicity that is timeless.

The linear proportions of the design scheme create picture frames of the hill slopes and expertly integrate breezes and sunshine into interior volumes. By embracing the surroundings and dissolving boundaries between the built environment and the scenic outdoors, the design team allows nature to play an active and equal role in defining the character of this home.

The signature style of Art Deco evokes a certain glamour and nostalgia that is inescapable. The team at MuseLAB Design Engine integrates this aesthetic into the program of two apartments in Mumbai. Staying clear of mindlessly copy-pasting marquee features, the team sensibly balances their expression by creating subtle design interventions that capture the essence of Art Deco.

Integrating thoughtful details and subtle transitions, they expertly stitch together an aesthetic that is rooted in this vintage style, but is yet relevant to the contemporary lifestyle of the millennial generation.

Anish Bajaj, Editor anish@marvelinfomedia.com A Building With An Eye For Details “The real story in never in the headlines - it’s always in the details.�

Watch The Ark - S2 E3 #Getinspired on the Design Owl Youtube channel presented by Hafele

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emails + feedback

Let us know what you love and hate about this issue. Mail us at letters@marvelinfomedia.com

6 Home Review November 2018

Noveau

Carpentry

Outlin’d is a unique brand and it is the first of its kind. Being a product designer myself, I am so happy to know that you are promoting upcoming and lesser known talents to becoming famous.

Bram Woodcrafting Studio is such refreshing concept where you see young people pursue their passion without the norms of prejudice against certain professions of our country.

Love it.

By Email Aurelie D’souza

By Email Tiska Patel

Quirky

My Hometown

SPASM architect’s house cast in liquid stone is the epitome of creative architectural structures. I am rendered completely inspired and impressed. Keep it coming Home Review.

Being from Scotland myself, its so nice to read about the complimentary nature of the design destination article. It is everything you say and more.

By Email Anirban Pasto

By Email Alistair Stockholm

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28 art

34

20

form

Juliette Clovis’ works with female busts have taken the world by storm

Design firm The Crossboundaries recreates a New York style home in the heart of Vadodara City

41

Cover Story Perched on a rocky landscape,the Liquid Stone House pays beautiful homage to its surroundings

By Bram Rows

44 Two apartments in Mumbai are designed by MuseLAB Design Engine employing a predominant Art Deco aesthetic

50

November

NCUBE Planning and Design Pvt. Ltd. rules the universe of workspace interior design with its innovative approach

72 Christian Taeubert and Sun Min have restored dignity to the provincial lives of its inhabitants in the process of refurbishing a rustic cottage

67 54 Located in Principe Real, this luxury hotel is perched on top of a hill in the heart of a charming and hip locality in Lisbon

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product

designer

60 This project is a perfect example of the merge of architecture and spatial planning used effectively to cater to a large family

A top-notch design studio, Kranen/Gille is known for its bespoke furniture, lighting products and accessories

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94

A DESIGN DESTINATION

86

104

99

80

EDINBURGH

Mork-Ulnes Architects has built a three bedroom guesthouse that is quite unlike any other

GREEN PROJECT The Frick Environmental Centre, designed

by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has achieved the prestigious Living Building certification

108 The new Nobis Hotel Copenhagen is housed in a historic square meter landmark building that was constructed in 1903

November

114 The flagship store of The Purple Turtles is over 5000 sq ft and stands testimony to a bold and unique design ethos

Landscapes

118 Designed by Studio Yamini, this house in Vadodara has its design pendulum swinging between the traditional and the modern

126 Todd MacLean’s gardens emanate those very same vibes as delightful as his

10 Home Review November 2018

THE MARKETPLACE Get your hands on the latest products to hit the market

137

134

Eclectic styles, varied themes, upcoming trends come together in our newly launched segment!

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Editor & Publisher Anish Bajaj Creative Director Natalie Pedder-Bajaj

Dhanishta Shah Freelance Writer She believes that writing gives sense to experience and her areas of interest span a diverse range including interior design,fashion, watches, luxury, parenting, art,business, health and travel.

Features Editor Mala Bajaj Assistant Editor Shweta Salvi Sr. Sub-Editor Neerja Kapadia Contributing Writers Devyani Jayakar Dhanishta Shah Priyanka Menon Kanupriya Pachisia Ramya Srinivasan Shruti Nambiar Virupa Kantamneni Himali Kothari Designers Asif Shayannawar Darshan Palav Snigdha Hodarkar

Kanupriya Pachisia Interior Design Consultant Kanupriya Pachisia is a practicing interior design consultant in Kolkata since almost a decade. Her philosophy resonates that a room should start a conversation before people start conversing.

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Editorial & Marketing Mumbai Ms. Sheetal Waghmare B-62, Cotton Exchange bldg., Cotton Green, Mumbai 400 033 T 022 23736133 / 23736131 / 23743069 M 9833301852 E marketing@marvelinfomedia.com Chennai Mr. S. Venkataraaman Flat No. 2, 3rd Flr, E-Block, Hansa Garden, 30 Madampakkam Main Rd, Rajakilpakkam, Chennai 600 073 Tel 044 22281180 / 09444021128 Email: svenkat@marvelinfomedia.com Publishing Director Mr. R.I.Bajaj Distributed in India by India Book House Pvt. Ltd. 412, Tulsiani Chambers, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021.

This issue has a total of 140 pages comprising of a 4 page cover and 136 inside pages.

We welcome unsolicited material but do not take responsibility for the same. Letters are welcome but subject to editing. All rights reserved.

Nothing may be printed in whole or part without written permission of the publisher. The editors do their best to verify the information published but do not take responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the information.

All objections, disputes, differences, claims and proceedings are subject to Mumbai Jurisdiction.

Sanjeev Panjabi and Sangeeta Merchant Basalt Beauty, Page 20.

Principals of Spasm Design Architects,the duo believe two station points in anarchitectural perspective render greater depth to an image. Over the last fifteenyears and through endless hours theyhave used each other as station points of revelation; evolving and developing theirparticular expression to specific conditions. Their practice is now 13 people strong andis busy with the construction and design of several residential, commercial andmixed use projects in India and Tanzania.

Cross Boundaries A Crossing Of Boundaries, Page 34.

Harsh Boghani founder member of “The Crossboundaries� pursued his B.Arch from India with a gold medal and further procured M.Arch from IAAC, Barcelona, Spain.

Before commencing his practice, Harsh worked with MAD Architects in Beijing, RSP Architects in Dubai, ARUP in Singapore and NUDE in Mumbai which enriched him to serve the best synergy of aesthetics, design, ideologies and culture. His diverse global exposure and vision reflects in his work which is a blend of modern aesthetics imbibed from cultural diversities.

Editor Mr. Anish Bajaj. Published and Printed by Mr. Anish Bajaj on behalf of the owner Marvel Infomedia Pvt. Ltd, B-62, Cotton Exchange bldg, Cotton Green, Mumbai 400 033.

Muselab A Throwback To Art Deco, Page 44.

MuseLAB is an end-to-end design studio founded by Huzefa Rangwala and Jasem Pirani in 2012. The studio lays a unique focus on highly customised environments, interiors and furniture. Each space and product embodies integrity - with the same care, skill and attention to detail.

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PAST & FUTURE

E V E N T S 26 MAY 25 NOV TO

Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

The Venice Biennale is back for its 16th edition showcasing two of our Indian architects, Rahul Mehrotra and Gurjeet Singh Mathroo in addition to many world famous entities. With the theme of Freespace, the Biennale will present for public scrutiny examples, proposals, elements - built or unbuilt - of work that exemplify essential qualities of architecture which include the modulation, richness and materiality of surface; the orchestration and sequencing of movement, revealing the embodied power and beauty of architecture. While previews of the main event will be held on 24th and 25th May, the exhibition will open to the public from 26th May - 25th November, 2018.

Design Korea is the largest design business exhibition in Korea and one of the most famous of its kind in Asia. It is the de facto international design business festival that offers everything related to design and its business - from exhibiting world design trends to serving as a venue for participants to capture business opportunities by matching Korean as well as foreign companies with designers and buyers.

It is held in November every year at venues across the city with the hub location of Dubai Design District.

Over 2000 businesses locally as well as internationally have participated in this fair, showcasing their product entries since its inception in 2003. It attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually and has managed to create successful liaisons between concerned networkers.

The event also offers you a great opportunity to see the winners as well as participants of the world’s most honorable design awards and see the global trends at a glance.

With a programme of over 200 free-to-attend exhibitions, talks, workshops, the 2017 festival attracted over 60,000 visitors and as such it is considered the largest creative festival in the Middle East. The next edition of Dubai Design Week will take place 12-17 November 2018.

As Korea’s only and largest business event, Design Korea promotes the advancement of global design business. It is also going to exhibit selected design products around the world, leading the international design trends.

Istanbul, Turkey

Dubai, UAE

Activating more than sixty separate activities and projects throughout the week, a major element of Dubai Design Week will be made up of a programme of talks, lectures, and workshops which will educate, support and promote local talent to an international audience. From panel discussions on supporting design in Dubai, to workshops which will explore the fundamentals of different design disciplines, the extensive programme will encourage a greater interest in the regions design activity.

Held annually, the event promotes design and creativity in Dubai. Incepted in 2015, the fairly new event has gained global recognition and attracts exhibitors and consumers from all over the world.

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TO 14A@W 15 NOV Milan

TO 12Dubai 17 Design NOV Week

www.labiennale.org

Goyang-si, South Korea

www.dubaidesignweek.ae

www.designkorea.kidp.or.kr

Architects, Designers, Installations, Products, Art dealers, Curators, Sculptors, Students and all other design fanatics will coagulate under one fair, uniting to benefit each other from networking to building. It will be a one stop shop to associate with some of the who’s who of the design world globally.

31Design OCT TOKorea 03 NOV

Providing a meeting point for the global design community, Dubai Design Week represents the region’s design talent while engaging with the growing design and creative community in Dubai and the UAE.

The unique and innovative exhibition layout of A@W ISTANBUL was created by C4 -Creative Fo(u) r. In order to ensure the optimal contact between exhibitors and visitors, visitors are automatically led along a route that winds its way through small, uniform modules. The innovations showcased by the exhibitors are presented in corner units and on the walls. In each box, which comprises four corner units, a multimedia console takes center stage.

Creative products carefully selected by a technical commission will be showcased in the conveniently laid out stands. A@W Istanbul is acclaimed for its stylish and lean concept and is visited by over 1600 architects and designers.

Presentations and exhibitions of this event along with inspirational seminars where more than 200 innovations are slated to be presented to elite audiences over two days, will be scheduled on 14th-15th November 2018 Istanbul, Turkey. www.architectatwork.com.tr

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PAST & FUTURE

E V E N T S 22Salone24 Del NOVMobile Milano.

TO

Shanghai, China

Salone del Mobile.Milano Shanghai is a trade fair in the prestigious Shanghai Exhibition Centre that will take the excellence of Italian furnishing and lifestyle to the Chinese.

This event is an international benchmark for creativity and design, and an unparalleled showcase for Made in Italy products and the Italian Way of Living in Shanghai. The Salone del Mobile.Milano Shanghai promises three days of design and luxury furniture, in the same style categories as those showcased in Milan: Design products embodying functionality, innovation and great looks and xLux - products that marry classic elegance and contemporary design.

It made its debut in 2016 at the SEC - Shanghai Exhibition Center providing a unique experience with an exhibition designed to introduce the Chinese visitors to the beauty, the quality, the luxury and the elegance of the Italian Way of Living. In the same year, SaloneSatellite Shanghai made its debut as well to feature young Chinese designers under 35.

World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest international architectural event. It includes the biggest architectural awards programme in the world, dedicated to celebrating excellence via live presentations to delegates and international juries. Furthermore, the festival is dedicated to celebrating, sharing and inspiring outstanding architecture. It is the only architecture event where keynote talks from the industry’s most influential figures sit alongside live judging presentations from over 500 award finalists plus global networking and an international product exhibition.

Held in Amsterdam this year, the WAF awards sit at the heart of the festival, the only global awards programme where architects present their completed buildings and future projects live to a panel of internationally renowned judges and delegates from around the world. This year 35 entries have been shortlisted from the future and completed buildings segment by competent contestants. WAF is your opportunity to meet the world’s architectural elite, showcase your products, make contact with award winners and judges to increase your brand recognition globally.

World Architecture Festival Amsterdam, Netherlands

TO 16Indian 17 NOV Design Summit New Delhi, India

As the name suggests, the ‘Summit’ is a platform to create an enduring partnership between design and organizations leading to innovation and increased economic competitiveness.

Taking the term design into context and stretching it along, titles such as software design, engineering design, human-computer interaction design and systems design are now commonly seen along with product design, industrial design and graphic design. The summit is a stage to bring the traditional fields of design in partnership with the fields of technology and business towards the development of new products - real and virtual.

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www.ciidesign.in

30Kolkata NOV TOCenter 10 DECFor Creativity,

Anandapur, Adarsha Nagar, Kolkata

www.worldarchitecturefestival.com

www.salonemilano.cn

28 TO 30 NOV

It is a manifesto to inform the future of our highly technological age, profoundly in need of humanizing.The summit will bring about new ideas, new initiatives, and new thinking needed to contribute to the larger picture of design in the knowledge economy. The purpose of the summit is to synergize, find new methods of working together with co-operation, and exploration.

The Death of Architecture; circa 2000 is a traveling exhibition assembled by 13 of India’s thinking and concerned design practices.

Through evocative art works, poetry and prose, the exhibition decodes and amplifies actions some which are orchestrated, others inconsiderate.

Actions that slowly tear and restructure the fabric of our cities and the architecture within and along with that impact our sense of being.

The exhibition presents evidence that will allow discussions about our present, and yet at the same time is embedded with clues and signs that can help effect meaningful dialogues about the future. In a sense, it consolidates the many critical discussions that form the dough which leads to design such as those about the demise of our cities as we know them or the meaning of inspirations from the past, or ideas of beauty, or duplicitous ways of achieving identity, or ways of understanding spatiality.

The exhibition is a strong mirror that will allow cities and design communities to structure conversations that are pertinent to their immediate realm and concerns. It is going to take place at the Kolkata Center For Creativity in Kolkata from 30th November - 10th December, 2018. www.deathofarchitecture.com

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BASALT BEAUTY 20 Home Review November 2018

Standing perched on the rocky landscape of the Western Ghats, the Liquid Stone House is a solid and beautiful homage to its surroundings.

The Western Ghats offer remarkable site options where one could build a comfortable home topped with stunning views. The terrain can seem punishing in the dry season, but that is comfortably offset by the green bounty of the monsoons.

Text By Shruti Nambiar Photographs Courtesy Sebastian Zachariah and Ira Gosalia

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This is hilly terrain, the nature’s backyard, and to be here looking to set up a living space is an effort at co-existing and blending in. “We chose to build the house as an accretion on this rocky basalt outcrop with the same inherent material transformed,� states the team from Mumbai-based Spasm Design Architects.

This house is as much a surprise as an extension of the surroundings. It is as much a refuge as an open embrace of the elements. The Spasm Design team relied on the mighty solidity of the local stone to build spaces that provide the residents shelter during the plentiful rains and heat, but also enough openness to be connected to the outside.

Ground floor plan

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The most remarkable, inescapable aspect of the project, of course, is the stone itself - it has not only been used to build a sprawling, sumptuous home capable of withstanding the vagaries of weather, but to also provide incredible contrast to the softer aspects of the interior design. The stone walls stand testimony to brilliance of aesthetic design and dedicated craftsmanship of labour. Every surface, whether plain, polished, or laid out as strips, is beautiful in its tactile glory. One can imagine the surfaces changing tenor as the seasons shifts gears - imagine rain here, and the spectacle of an azure and grey sky overlooking the basalt. Magical!

This structure is a second home perched on a rocky outcrop at the start of the highlands of Western Ghats in the city of Khopoli in Maharashtra. The views offer lots of frames of slopes dotted with trees, barren patches (especially during the dry season), and endless stretches of greenery once the rains descend. The linear, flat character of the house aids its camouflage on the outside, even as inside it changes form a lot more.

Wood makes an appearance inside, and the screens, chairs, cabinets, settee, stools, and other furniture pieces establish a confident colour contrast with the walls.

The sight of plush upholstery against the solid stone all around is delightful, helped along by the carefully picked colour scheme of reds, whites and green.

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With all that’s going on, it is easy to miss the clever lighting scheme inside the house. One of the most impressive fixtures is the one hovering above the long dining table - its arachnid shape infuses a mild sense of drama into the otherwise zen room. Also beholden to causing a bit of a stir is the rug, looking like a large pixilated photograph in the midst of linear perfection. The walls of the house are near completely devoid of frames, but the one in the dining section provides a good touch.

The linear monolithic nature of the house means that a wide swing can be placed right on the outside ensuring both protection and expansive views.

In contrast, the terrace pool zone is uninhibitedly open to the surroundings, the generous textured flooring, the presence of an elegant tree and of minimal furnishing ensuring a raw communion with nature.

The house was conceived as a cast for human occupation,

a refuge which

trapped the views,

the rain, the air

and became one with the

cliff edge it stood on.””’

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The bedroom is clearly a warm ensconce, with the stone flooring allowing for a clear reflection of the weather conditions outside - the canopy bed, the wooden furniture all perfect accompaniments.

Like in all zones of the house, the views here are plentiful. The bathrooms, too, while being naturally private, have skylight elements, wide window views, dark wood furnishing, and spots of greenery and gravel to never let you forget where you are. The faucet and tub sections are pristine white beacons, shining bright in the generous natural light.

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The Liquid Stone House is quietly majestic. It adopts no frills to challenge its surroundings, and instead brings them in from every corner imaginable. The house would make little sense without what’s outside it, and the landscape will mistake the house as being one of its own. What can be more symbiotic than that? spasmindia@gmail.com www.spasmindia.com

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Atsu-Bashiri - with butterflies and chrysanthemums, this piece is made of Limoges porcelain, and hand-painted in red and gold.

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art form

OF UNIQUE METAPHORS Juliette Clovis’ works with female busts and their mutations in order to depict various narratives have taken the world by storm on several occasions.

French artist, Juliette Clovis is renowned in the global art community as the artist who masterfully works with female busts and mutates their forms to give them animal or floral-like features. Home Review takes you on a detailed tour of her art and her process of creating masterpieces that make heads turn!

“Women have always been central to my art,” says the multi-disciplinary artist, who hails from Poitiers in France. Her most recent work, explores the transformation women have undergone in the last several years. While imagining this course, there is also an abundant mix of history, myths and ‘chimerical dreams’. “For the very first time,” she continues, “the human figure disappears totally from the artist’s work and is instead invaded by a profusion of wildlife and flora.”

A close-up of Ofrenda shows us just how intricately and meticulously the piece has been put together.

Text By Priyanka Menon Photographs Courtesy Juliette Clovis Home Review November 2018

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One of the main principles behind Juliette’s art is to maintain a balance between traditional and ancestral technology. All her porcelain sculptures are mixes of contemporary expression and classical forms, as well as dialogue between history and modernity. This last bit is blatantly visible in each of her pieces too.

With the use of the 3D application of ceramics and the 2D application of paint, Juliette sculpts the female form to a level of perfection that is magnificent, and onto this piece she sculpts quills, horns, flowers etc. Every piece has a narrative that either blends into the existing composition or wants to overpower it and break away.

Juliette makes every single sculpture herself with Limoges porcelain - fine translucent porcelain fired at 1400°C - allowing her ‘confront her deeply contemporary vision of art.’ Inspired by the Baroque style of art, she prefers pitting references together and experimenting with influences and codes, by endeavouring to make a world full of contrasts appear in seamless harmony. “I use time and culture to create a dialogue between tradition and modernity in a contemporary setting,” Juliette continues.

“Snakes, butterflies, chrysanthemums, etc are classical elements and symbols used throughout the history of art. Most of these have a direct association with longevity of life and as such make a direct connection between art and belief,” Juliette asserts.

Juliette’s sculptures have always conjured a sense of ambiguity which dissipates when the viewer has spent some time with a piece. And this is what the artist essentially wants. By the use of unique metaphors, her work transcends the prophetic picture that announces the origin of a new living being. This hybrid version of the living being is what makes Juliette’s art so singularly identifiable.

One from the twin set of Forbidden Fruits, this one is again made of Limoges porcelain; the bronze on-glaze was hand painted.

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A human body with a half-animal and half-vegetable face is where her narratives begin. From here, every character and feature assumes different roles. For instance, the onset of death is announced by the rampantly hungry nature of living beings wanting to back their rights, with death symbolising a new beginning or the end of something old.

Dahlia-Akita - One of the greatest features of Juliette’s work is the accompanying onomatopoeia that comes with every piece.

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While most of Juliette’s symbols and metaphors work towards representing both life and death, they also go on to embody the circle of life. Drawing inspiration from her travels, it is her fascination with the wild beauty of nature that has propelled the artist in this direction and chain of thought.

One of the greatest features of Juliette’s work is the accompanying onomatopoeia that comes with every piece.

Unerringly, upon encountering her piece, one is faced with the archetypal traits of the multitude of characters she has depicted in a single piece alone – one can easily hear the flapping of the bird’s wings, a snake slithering across the grass, the croak of a frog, etc.

With more than a decade of work in the field, Juliette has experimented with a wide variety of subjects, with every piece challenging more norms than its predecessors. The creatures are made out of vinyl and cut out with cutters and subsequently glued together on black Plexiglas, they offer a kind of aesthetic and poetic leeway.

“Luxuriance is my language, contrast is my rule,” she states, and dramatic suspense is her onward quest.

Juliette also works in an art residency at la Manufacture La Seynie, the oldest Limoges porcelain manufacturer in France. With several exhibitions and fairs, in Europe, United States, and Asia, Juliette’s porcelain works have already made a severe impact in the global art community. Her ever-expanding repertoire shows us that despite her art being an outwardly ambiguous form of expression it is being appreciated and accepted as a singular kind of thought process that doesn’t hesitate to ask the awkward question.

Perhaps, there is hope after all! www.julietteclovis.com In Limoges porcelain with overglaze colours and hand-painted gold-lustre, the Millepora is an absolute marvel to behold. With intricate corals and aquatic plant life depicted, this piece stands out among others.

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Medusa, perhaps the most iconic characters from ancient mythology, is wonderfully re-imagined in this piece.

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The living room screams contemporary design. A colourful array of furniture, exposed piping, red brickwork and singular light fixtures make the space warm and cosy at the same time.

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A CROSSING OF BOUNDARIES

Design firm The Crossboundaries recreates a New York style home in the heart of Vadodara city.

Text By Priyanka Menon Photographs Courtesy Sebastian Zachariah and Ira Gosalia (Photographix)

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The grey and blue form a beautiful synergy in the way they blend into each other with the 6ft high sculpture invoking a certain sense of liberation and awakening.

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Design may be considered good when your eyes not only light up on experiencing it but stay lit much after.

Home Review takes you on a journey to Vadodara, where The Crossboundaries’ newest project aptly titled Awakening, by the pool invokes a similar response.

Spearheaded by Harsh Boghani, The Crossboundaries is a design firm that believes in exploring beyond established paradigms by seeking inspiration from practices across the world. The Crossboundaries principally takes up varied challenges in order to recreate contemporary spaces and breathe life into new designs and forms.

The Vadodara-based project - Awakening, by the pool - is a 3200 sq ft property owned by a young couple in their early 30’s. The brief stated the couple’s need to have a ‘New York style exposed design’ home, which the couple, their child and their dog would occupy.

“With a sustainable design approach, we worked with exposed brick-work and polished concrete flooring,” explains Harsh.

While integrating all these elements into a language that augments the natural quality of each material, the final outcome was that of a residence that has a natural and earthy feel to it. The exposed brick walls that envelope the entire space from the inside, along with wooden furniture that stays true to its form with veins and textures, and the dashes of greens and blues of the pool that surround the space, make the living experience rather singular and at the same time, ever-changing - depending on the time of the day and the part of the house one finds oneself in.

At the entrance to the house, is a freestanding display unit that is complemented by metal and wood and which acts as somewhat of a partition as well as a display space too.

With a height of 10ft 6in the exposed ceiling provides a warm welcome to guests and leads them to the colourful display in the living room. The pieces of furniture have been custom designed in accordance with the client’s brief and allow for pops of colours, like the pale avocado lounge chair, the large checkered rug in shades of green, etc.

Plan

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The Crossboundaries endeavoured to follow a nuanced approach when it came to space division. “This was achieved by bringing in a magical rhythm when connecting spaces through the repetitive use of select materials,� Harsh goes on. This is evident in the way the kitchen and dining seamlessly merge together in a rather minimal and smart manner.

While the kitchen remains the focal point of the space, its white cabinets, wooden counter top and top-of-the-line appliances covering the exposed red brickwork.

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A contrasting white island counter is positioned in the front of the kitchen space. The kitchen opens into the dining area and the outdoor lounge. With contemporary light fixtures, an elegant wooden table and multi-coloured chairs, the dining room is one of the most eclectic spaces in the house.

}

The master suite is accentuated by a king-size wooden bed in the centre of the room, set against a leather headboard, behind which lie wooden louvered wall paneling and mirrors. An opulently appointed en-suite in keeping with the theme of the space aesthetically complements the room, with a bathtub as well as an elegant counter cast in concrete with separate his and her basins embedded on the top. The other bedroom is stark and more robust opening up to stunning and panoramic views of Vadodara on one side, and the majestic view of the pool on the other.

}

We now come to the piece de resistance of the project: the pool. Studded with drama, the edge of the pool sports a customised human sculpture made in clay, cast in fiber and painted in a rustic shade of blue. It is from here that the project gets its name.

Positive vibrations and energy flowing here constantly, renders this space its own functionality. “The ledge of the pool has been specifically designed for the dog,” adds Harsh. Keeping with the principles of tranquility and awakening, the floor of the deck, polished a grey concrete, merges beautifully with the blue china mosaic of the pool.

“Another focal point is the electrical grid designed with an MS conduit system which was customised on site,” says Harsh. GI piping system has been used for the electrical grid layout. “Conduit pipes are suspended from the ceiling through clamps. The tee-joint binds pipes together on both sides and is supported by a fourway junction box,” he adds. The piping is eventually covered with exposed black cable trays that run parallel to the beams, thereby adding linearity to the overall space.

The subdued en-suite in a lighter palette also has its own sense of calm and quiet.

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A well-stocked bar and a contemporary lounge - what more could one ask for?

In their effort to rebuild a space along the New York model, The Crossboundaries has also managed to ‘cross’ certain ‘boundaries’ when it comes to design. By integrating contemporary art and design with the existing natural beauty of the space, they have not only breathed new life into the space, but have also successfully created a medium of ‘awakening’. studio@thecrossboundaries.com

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WAYWARD WOODCRAFT

By Bram Rows

DESIGNQUEST

Bram Woodcrafting Studio provides prototyping for brands, consultancy for industries, artisans and start-ups, engages the woodworking community through workshops and provides apprenticeship through training programs and courses.

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Ergos Collction

Ratio Collection

They take on wayward youngsters and give them direction through skills and values and welcome all people passionate about woodworking.

Spatial & furniture design is also executed for individuals as well as designers and architects.

One such collaboration was with Wood & Metal where they designed a whole collection called Ratio and handed it back to them as a new brand called Mallet.

Spreading out to multiple sectors they aim to be a multidisciplinary wood crafting organisation, focusing on all aspects of the craft while also supporting and promoting local artisans.

In-house Collection

Inspired by the constraints that come along with any project, BMS tackles design issues with their problem solving methodologies with infallible passion.

Founder, Bram Rows, a carpenter by profession has been instilled with a set of values that drive his work, which he brings with him to the studio in Mysore.

While they don’t directly sell products from other brands, they are always supporting and promoting the brands and artists they work with to spread the word of good design in the country. They often collaborate with brands/individuals to put products in the market.

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“We don’t mean to be arrogant, but we believe we have no competition, since we have established a brand that fits a niche market in India where we prototype, manufacture, collaborate, consult, train and provide apprenticeships. Besides we are constantly evolving through the people we meet, projects we undertake and the different sectors covered. Ultimately we feel it is better to collaborate than compete and we invite anyone to collaborate with us”, says Bram.

Although the company is a mixed and diverse bunch with various generation gaps and language differences, the glue that holds it together is the love for design, crafting bespoke products and a general penchant to have fun. www.bramwoodcraftingstudio.in

Doric Collection

They pride themselves on making bespoke furniture. Each project is catered to the client/brand that commissions it and they work to execute it to the best of their abilities.

Corinthian Collection

In-house Collection

“We intend to cultivate multiple collaborations with artists, designers, architects & institutions and hopefully open one new branch,” comments Bram.

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Two apartments in Mumbai were designed by MuseLAB Design Engine employing a predominant Art Deco aesthetic. It is seen that both the projects have managed to strike the perfect balance between the historical architectural approach and the requisites of a contemporary lifestyle.

The Art Deco style, short for Arts Décoratifs, is characterised by rich colours, bold geometry, and meticulous details.

Having reached the height of its popularity in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, the signature aesthetic still evokes glamour, luxury, and order with symmetrical designs in exuberant shapes.

Creating separate apartments for two brothers, architects Huzefa Rangwala and Jasem Pirani zeroed in on an Art Deco aesthetic through which to interpret the brief. “The wife of one of the clients used to stay in an Art Deco building at Churchgate, so she was very comfortable with that look,” says Jasem. Consequently, both apartments are similar, yet different in their approach to the iconic style which they draw inspiration from.

The duo has dubbed one apartment “Maison Deco”– it is the more traditional of the two. “The colour palette is warm but not dark. Vitrified tile on the floor in the living room is laid in a herringbone pattern, making a subtle reference to the lounges of the Art Deco era. What would normally be loose furniture has been fixed, since the width of the room was only 8 ft 6 inches,” says Huzefa. “The clients wanted us to design a functional yet simple threebedroom apartment.

Text By Devyani Jayakar Photographs Sameer Tawde

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A THROWBACK TO ART DECO

Maison Deco - The wall panels in the living room are the same height as the five doors which lead to different spaces.

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We turned towards Art Deco to infuse the functional elements with artistic touches that are symmetrical, geometric, streamlined, often simple and pleasing to the eye.”The brief specified a formal as well as an informal living room, a kitchen, three bedrooms - which included one for the parents and another for the child - with en suite baths and a separate powder room.

“With high back seating and lush jacquard textiles, the formal salon looks straight out of a scene from the Great Gatsby. The screen-printed floor tiles in the kitchen, the suspended curtain like wooden screen, the ornate dining and living area ceilings, the Bardiglio marble flooring and the wall mouldings manifest restrained opulence,” he adds. For storage, the solution was to go vertical. “Our ceilings are usually simple, but here we’ve used moulding to go with the Art Deco theme,” says Huzefa.

Curios take the form of flying pigs and swallows on the wall.

Maison Deco - The pattern on the ceiling draws ones gaze upwards.

The pattern on the floor creates obvious transitions from one space to another, black granite strips dividing the space into three parts. The wall panels are the same height as the doors.“There are five doors in the living room which lead to different spaces, so it was imperative that the heights matched.” All the hardware is in brass including the keyholes, with every unit having a round knob - its scale differing to add interest. Similarly, the thickness of the seats of the bench at the eight-seater dining table varies, creating an unexpected play on the geometry.

The den has an L-shaped sofa upholstered in a floral fabric, while the flooring of the powder room was created from leftover strips from the living room. In the guest room, a cabinet for storing books has a collage of Art Deco motifs on its shutters.

“It was in the room for the two boys that we had to create more than twice the amount of storage initially planned for,” says Huzefa. Electroplated pumpkin coloured hardware in their bathroom grabs eyeballs.

Maison Deco - The guest bedroom has a muted colour palette and a padded headboard for comfort.

Vastu dictated the orientation of the furniture. “Since buildings are generally not designed to be vastu-compliant, the planning gets compromised, mostly that of the services. With eight air conditioners, concealing the plumbing was a big challenge. We also had to consider the ingress of natural light and cross ventilation,” says Huzefa.

Wall art has been customised through digitisation, including a contemporary version of the Mona Lisa - referred to by the family as the “Lego Mona Lisa.”

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Maison Deco - The top of this cabinet is used as a service counter at meal times.

“Details such as CNC milled pine wood shutters, an exquisite leg detail for the clear glass dining table, elaborately designed headboards and a pink backsplash for the kitchen are elements of the project where we have embraced technological innovation, modern materials, mechanisation and attempted to emphasise them in the overall aesthetic of the style itself,� says Huzefa.

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Art Deco’s pursuit of beauty in all aspects of life was directly reflective of the novelty and usage of technology rather than traditional crafting methods to produce many objects. This apartment pays homage to the city of Bombay, its Art Deco Boulevard and the principles of that era.

The second apartment, dubbed “Deco Ground” has rich bold pattern and colour combinations in the flooring but with relaxed contemporary furniture styles. “The aim of this 1250 sq ft threebedroom apartment for a young couple at Worli has a sophisticated sensibility,” says Jasem. The terrazzo and mosaic flooring makes a statement in this apartment, tying the house together.

Deco Ground - The dining room owes clear allegiance to the lines of Art Deco.

Whenever the pattern on the floor changes from one space to another, there is a well-executed “merging” of both designs as the transition takes place. “We had to colour code and rotate tiles for the craftsmen, so that they could understand our notion of “random” distribution of the pattern,” recalls Jasem.

“However, the colour of the flooring alone does not complete the space.

There is a careful understanding of the room’s fundamental components where each piece of furniture has some relationship to the other by colour, form or finish. There is an intentional contrast between the colourful flooring and the monochromatic walls, with hints of art deco elements as seen on the temple screen or the dining table lights.”

There is a balance between simplicity of form and the decorative elements.

The lighting has been customised, while the ceiling cornice is a single painted band. Colours like coral pink, blue and yellow find their places in the fabrics and flooring in an avant-garde, playful take.

“This home is our quirky interpretation of Art Deco,” says Jasem.

Deco Ground - In the master bedroom, there is a more minimal take on the design.

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curious@muselab.in. www.muselab.in

Deco Ground - A “floating� cabinet divides the lounge from the foyer, without occupying floor space.

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NCUBE Planning and Design Pvt. Ltd. rules the universe of workspace interior design with its innovative approach that combines basic requirements and unconventional layouts.

Formerly known as NELSON India (affiliate of Nelson US), NCUBE Planning and Design Pvt. Ltd. is an expert at workplace interior design. The firm, established in the year 2005, works with a long list of experts, which includes 3D artists and branding specialists realising unique office spaces that blend conventional utilities with more free-wheeling forms. The following three workspace projects are anything but boring!

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This workspace shifts gears. To inspire creativity and productivity, the design team has employed a mixed palette of colours and graphics here. At play is an interesting mix of futuristic-looking fluorescent lighting and walls plastered with inspiring messages reminiscent of college cafés.

“The space is crafted to ensure that employees interact in new, collaborative, productive, flexible and innovative ways to #BeTheNew, an approach that is symbolic of the Allstate ethos,” the team states. The design language changes tracks from the enclosed to the open spaces as well.

The former spaces are accented with muted hues commensurate with the brand guidelines - maroon, yellow, green and blue. The open areas have been allowed to become havens of natural light, aided in the mission by circular, intermittent customised floor rugs, a seating system that is open enough to allow for unfettered conversations, and a modular ceiling setup. The sporadic, fun splashes of colours and the exposed ceiling elements intend to award every employee enough space to think and act originally.

The office has also been designed to be acoustically sound, including the meeting rooms with glass divisions. The circular orbs of light overlooking the more casual meeting spaces, and the bright orange chairs and deli-style booth seating in the eating area are fantastic touches. These spaces - on the 3rd, 6th and 7th floors of Allstate Solutions Private Limited - are primed to pull people in and make them feel comfortable, effortlessly!

Text By Shruti Nambiar Photographs Prashant Bhat Courtesy the Designer Home Review November 2018

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The brief for this two-floor office design emphasised ‘comfort, flexibility and creativity’. NCUBE loves to throw in a multiplicity of seating styles within a workspace to bring in some muchneeded dynamism, and this project has been no different - the upper floor sports a superb black-and-white hexagonal workstation spread with an industrial style exposed beam ceiling overlooking the desks; on the lower floor, the blue-and-white workstations are striking again, and sit in a diagonal layout that aims to make the most of the glass façade.

The whole scheme’s focus is on spacemaximisation, easy movement, and free-flowing conversation. The spaces also include more informal set-ups like high stools, bars, plush sofa-sets, bright orange, chic chairs, pods and private corners where the employees can move away and gather for essential work breaks.

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The glass surfaces bring in brilliant swathes of natural light and the bamboo plants purify and beautify the air like no other. With amazing foresight the design team has included a variety of spaces. Combining both the best of formally structured offices and convention-rejecting co-working spaces a happy amalgamation zone has been realised.

This famed VFX studio’s office is located in an industrial complex, adjacent to its old office space. To NCUBE Design’s clear delight, an industrial look, thus, had to be retained, while naturally allowing for a space where artistic ideas could flourish.

In this rectangular plot, the administrative areas crowd near the entrance while the more confidential studio spaces remain ensconced at the back.

The primary tenor is decidedly a little rough on the edges, with wood and metal accents dominating. The metal mesh screens between the passage way and the main work floor are brilliant design elements; the linear rawness of this zone makes the warmly-lit plush interiors of the more private sections starker in comparison.

“Being a VFX studio, lighting is an extremely challenging task to achieve.

The desired Lux level to achieve in studio areas is 8-12 Lux in warm shade. Thus, suspended decorative light fixtures match the requirement, while serving as a highlight element within the interior palette,” explains the team. And the impression that the feature wall sporting designer lockers makes is indelible!

NCUBE is adept at using colour to mark out spaces, maximising the sense of openness inside a space, and bringing in angular elements that become stand-outs; all of these traits are at display here as well. The reception area at Trace deserves a special mention - the main table is a ribbed beauty that has a solid wood-panelled back wall and mini-roof protecting it and giving it company is a bright red scooter standing nearby, happy to be a show-piece. This workplace must be so much fun! media@ncubedesign.com www.ncubedesign.com

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The city of Lisbon in Portugal gets more sun than anywhere else in Europe. This fact along with its historically rich sites gives it an edge over the likes of even London, Rome and Paris. Of course, experiencing this sunkissed city from the hotel Memmo Principe Real, a chic new property of Design Hotels™, only adds to its edge.

Design Hotels represents and markets a curated selection of over 280 independent hotels in more than 50 countries across the globe. More than a collection of hotels, the company is a collection of stories. One of the worthy gems in its portfolio, Memmo Principe Real, apart from offering impeccable service, a serene atmosphere, generous staff, sophisticated furnishings, a central location, luxurious amenities, and the highest quality in food also offers the best views you will ever experience in your life. The rooms sport real life canvasses connecting you with scenes over and across the roofs of its trendy neighbourhood.

Text By Mala Bajaj Photographs Courtesy Design Hotels™

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HIP AND HISTORIC

The hotel restaurant doubles as its bar, and guests should be sure to try the signature cocktail made with dry Port wine, Campari, and tonic.

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The outdoor pool at Memmo Principe Real is the veritable heart of the property and is better suited to cooling off and showing off whilst soaking up the rays and the views than it is to serious swimming.

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Memmo Principe Real, perched on top of a hill and accessed through a narrow street and a small tunnel in the heart of a charming and hip locality, is surrounded by some of Lisbon’s best restaurants, bars and shopping areas.

Located in Principe Real, this luxury hotel is only a 15 minute walk away from the National Museum of Natural History and Rossio Square. Castle of Sao Jorge and the Santa Justa Elevator are also within a 3 km radius. The Avenida and Rato stations are mere minutes away and so is Bairro Alto, the central district of the city of Lisbon.

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Home to the charming legacy of the ancient royalty that once lived here, the hotel has not only preserved it but also showcased it well. The same limestone flooring used in historical buildings, royal palaces, and famous squares throughout the city is also found here.

The 41 rooms and suites span between 23 and 50 sq m, and all play host to either a double bed or twin beds. All feature polished wooden floors and deeply comfortable beds with large, plump pillows; some of them have terraces for enjoying panoramic views over downtown Lisbon and the Saint George castle. With deep baths, Hermès toiletries, high-end hairdryers and fresh flowers, the hotel's bathrooms are as luxurious as the rooms themselves.

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Thanks to the skilled strokes of architect Samuel Torres De Carvalho, the ground floor of the hotel ticks every box. It is light and transparent, making the reception area, the restaurant, and the terrace feel like extensions of the public square outside and giving the geometric form of the hotel’s upper bedroom floors the appearance of levitating into the city air.

The interior design of the hotel was the brainchild of the team of João Corrêa Nunes and Samuel Torres De Carvalho.

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Moving around in the hotel spaces one slowly begins to appreciate the blending of concepts that encompass classic furniture and contemporary pieces and elements. The designers were able to stress premium comfort amid an informal yet provocatively chic environment.

The outdoor pool at Memmo Principe Real is the veritable heart of the property and is better suited to cooling off and showing off whilst soaking up the rays and the views than it is to serious swimming. The perfect way to recharge your batteries after another exciting day in Lisbon is to just curl up on its comfy sun loungers.

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Memmo Principe Real has carved a niche for itself in the city of Lisbon as it offers a chic and comfy space to young, travelling millennials who want to tap into its social network and experience its many historic sites.

Guests can enjoy a more-than-ample breakfast of hot and cold dishes each morning in the hotel's chic terrace restaurant, CafĂŠ Colonial. At lunch and dinner, the restaurant is open to even non-guests, and Chef Vasco Lello has won many plaudits for his inventive menu that incorporates dishes from the former Portuguese colonies.

The cafe serves small plates and light dishes outside of meal times. The hotel restaurant doubles as its bar, and guests should be sure to try the signature cocktail-made with dry Port wine, Campari, and tonic.

Pretty-but-hilly, historic Lisbon is fun to explore on foot when energy levels allow, and guests can get their bearings by joining the hotel's free evening walking tours held each day at 5 p.m.

Memmo Principe Real has carved a niche for itself in the city of Lisbon as it offers a chic and comfy space to young, traveling millennials who want to tap into its social network and experience its many historic sites. Whether young or old, when visiting the city of Lisbon, one can never go wrong with Memmo Principe Real.

One of the worthy gems in the portfolio of Design Hotels™, Memmo Principe Real, offers impeccable service, a serene atmosphere, generous staff, sophisticated furnishings, a central location and luxurious amenities.

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This hotel alone knows how hard you find to leave it and go. But it will let you go with a smile, confident of the fact that you are bound to return! www.designhotels.com

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The key focal point of the house is the main installation akin to a weaver bird’s nest which catches your attention as soon as you enter the house.

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BREAKING WALLS BUILDING BRIDGES This project is a perfect example of where architecture and spatial planning have been effectively used to create a functional, effervescent space, well suited for bringing together the different members of a joint family. The specific design was achieved by optimising the orientation of spaces, making strategic connections, introducing ample daylight and creating free flowing large informal spaces.

Text By Rashmi Gopal Rao Photographs Courtesy the Architect

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Built on a plot size of 8000 sq ft with a built-up area of approximately 15000 sq ft, this aesthetically designed residence is a result of a complete remodeling and extension project. Located on the outskirts of Agra, the original house had too many walls that resulted in a cluttered and to a certain extent disjointed space.

The key objective of the renovation project was to increase the visual permeability within the living spaces at all the levels and to create open lively spaces for the entire family to come together. The house currently accommodates a joint family of five and often hosts extended family as well.

The idea was to retain the original structure but install ‘inserts’ to expand the dimensions of the spaces exponentially by bringing in new volumes, plenty of natural light and connectivity. “This project necessitated us to really think out of the box and into it and through it. So, we started by breaking the box open, shuffling the spaces, defining the axis, generating vertical connections and most importantly identifying the inserts, as we call it and their character. We kept our scope very defined, specifically creating voids within the solid and injecting these inserts which act as transitional elements. These sit quietly into the structure transforming the typology of the space sections” says Abhinav Chaudhary, Principal Architect of Flyyingseeds design studios.

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As a result, close to 70% of the interior walls and slabs were removed or re-shuffled to open up the space which was accentuated using plenty of natural light through large glazing and skylights.

An assortment of various materials like solid pine wood, structural steel, imported marble and Indian sandstone lend the house a contemporary and elegant look.

The key focal points of the house are the main installation akin to a weaver bird’s nest and the meandering wall, both of which catch your attention as soon as you enter the house. The former suspended from the roof houses the family’s temple and also connects all levels including the basement and the entertainment area.

Fabricated on the site itself, the nest is made using hollow MS pipes.

Open free flowing spaces complemented by wooden accents are a highlight of house B7.

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Ample natural light and interconnected spaces make the house functional and cosy.

The meandering wall acts as a perfect medium to separate the areas within the house.

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“The biggest challenge in the project was to install this 30 ft tall central installation - ‘the nest’. It was built within the house and had to be completed within a time frame as the client family was residing in the same building during that time. We used parametric designing tools to provide precise meticulous details and dimensions for the execution,” adds Abhinav. The meandering wall is a curved ‘jali’ created by interlocking solid pine wood bricks; it helps separate the public and semi-public areas.

Once a dark, gloomy and isolated space, the basement has now been transformed into a vibrant entertainment area with an elaborate central bar made up in solid pine. A lounge, home theatre, a dance floor and party area complete the space.

The master bedroom on the ground floor is again designed as a flexible space with sliding folding doors on either side which open up to become a part of the semi-public area from inside and also leads to an outdoor deck seating from the other side.

The bedroom exudes an ambience of subtle sophistication. A central rotatable TV console is clubbed with a study table.

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The terrace is yet another well designed space suited for informal gettogethers and family bonding time. The area is replete with pockets of greenery, gazebos and nooks for smaller gatherings covered by semi-open pergolas.

Wooden accents have been abundantly used in the exterior cladding, flooring, windows, railings, steps, furniture, installations etc. to create a soft, warm vibe. The flooring for all common living spaces has been kept neutral with white marble as the base complimented by progressive patterns of dark grey and pearl stone resonating with the main installations. Interiors done in muted colour palettes and earthy tones give the house a stylish and chic look.

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Large mirrors accentuate the space in the bathroom.

“This is indeed a special project for us as it taught us that every project has endless possibilities and immense opportunities,� concludes Abhinav. flyyingseeds@gmail.com

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KRANEN 6ILLE

Founded in 2007, Studio Kranen/ Gille is the brain child of Jos Kranen (1977) and John Gille (1979) who met when studying at Design Academy Eindhoven. A top-notch design studio, Kranen/Gille is known for its bespoke furniture, lighting products and accessories. Specifically famous for the use of unconventional materials and for adding a creative touch to products, Studio Kranen/Gille is one of the most reputed names in the world of design.

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Design duo Jos Kranen and John Gille are both alumni of Design Academy Eindhoven from where they graduated in 2004. Ever since they worked together on a project to create a series of chairs in design school, the duo collaborated with one another, finally setting up the Kranen/Gillestudio which is now located in NJ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.

Having mastered the art of combining different disciplines and crafts, their designs are largely inspired by the industrial revolution.

The Bottle Stool

Inspired by varied sources like oil rigs, ship yards, industrial tools, machines and utensils, their designs combine factory robustness with a touch of nature.

Unusual combinations like aluminium and wood reflect the distinctive perspective and bold aesthetics of the designer duo.

Replete with a functional yet elegant and timeless appeal, Kranen/Gille furniture and accessories are characterised by their quality and durability.

A highly successful and well received piece ever since its creation, The Bottle Stool by Kranen/Gille is a masterpiece in versatility and innovation. A piece that can be used as a wine-bottle holder, side table, stool as well as a cheese plank, it is available in five colours. Made from high quality oak wood with a fine finish, the stool is both portable and handy. The ring that holds the wine bottle also serves as a perfect hand grip for the stool.

Cone Light

The Cone Light from Kranen/Gille is the epitome of simplicity and elegance. A pendant light with a matte finish, it is available in black, white, dark blue and grey. Perfectly suitable for indoors as well as outdoors, the focal point of the piece is the glass cylinder that exudes pure beauty.

Coronum

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Crude Chair Designed for ceramics producer Cor Unum ceramics, the Coronum vase sits well as a statement piece in either the living room or a hotel lobby or even a reception area.

With a subtle glaze, the bowl and the vase with its contemporary look adds style to any space.

A pragmatic design and a highly useful piece, the Crude Chair is a popular offering from the Kranen/Gille line. The chair has a universal appeal inspite of its industrial look and is available in a variety of colours. There is an optional upholstered version that can be curated in a variety of fabrics.

Orthenaartjes are a set of custom-made masks created for a housing project in the Netherlands. They represent one of the most popular regional inhabitants form “Orthen�. At a height of a little less than 50 cm, these masks are installed in houses under construction. They sure lend a unique character to the home.

Taking inspiration from nature is the utterly intricate Plant Chandelier which is a part of the Plant series of products.

Made from steel, the structure is similar to the thick branches of a plant. While the silhouette seemingly appears complex, a closer look reveals a surprisingly simple and clean design. The golden hue lends a touch of royalty and the frosted domes of light add plenty of style.

Orthenaartjes

The plant bench, is yet another unique creation which is a perfect piece of outdoor furniture. Comfortable and classy, the base of the bench is akin to the branches of a tree. The oak hued top has a side extension too, that could hold up a drink or snack or even a book. The plant series also has tables and lamps.

Plant Chandelier

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Again, inspired by the industrial look, the Hensen chair has a refreshingly different asymmetric design. The chair is high on not only aesthetics but also the comfort factor and functionality. It is available in three variants blue, white and black. One can also choose the option of steel with upholstery in fabric or leather.

Kranen/Gille’s products, a beautiful result of the combined strengths of both the designers, exude a contemporary character while still retaining an organic spirit. The studio’s work has been displayed at major design fairs, galleries and museums across the world including Design Miami, Salone Del Mobile, London Design Week and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Plant Bench

www.kranengille.com

Hensen Chair

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Apple users can download Magzter from the App Store.’ Android users can download Magzter from Android Market.

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Living room, kitchen and bedroom run into each other without physical barriers in this long, corridor-like space.

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REVITALISING THE ROOTS In the process of refurbishing an old rustic cottage outside Beijing, Christian Taeubert and Sun Min have restored dignity to the provincial lives of its inhabitants, while retaining the essence of the original design at the same time

Text By Devyani Jayakar Photograph Courtesy Boris Shiu, Christian Taeubert

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The low lying rectilinear structure is built with a courtyard in the front.

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It’s an old story. From mankind’s nomadic roots, the search for greener pastures has been universal. This village outside Beijing is no exception. After the exodus of the younger generation of working age to the city in search of lucrative jobs, the old folk were left behind along with some grandchildren.

The decay of a place like this becomes gradually evident, as the ones left behind struggle to sustain themselves.

Architect Christian Taeubert and fashion designer Sun Min were cognizant of the fact that local effort alone is not adequate to address the multiple challenges rural communities face, as their vitality becomes compromised by the flight of people and jobs to larger cities.

“Given the proximity of Beijing to its surrounding rural areas like Bo Hai Zhen, community revitalisation captured our imagination. We noticed that the majority of people of working age had left the village. The remaining inhabitants were mostly grandparents and grandchildren,” says Christian. “Their struggle to regain social sustainability in their way of living is one of the many challenges rural villages are facing.” The project was driven by the conviction that a moderate gentrification could eventually lead to modest prosperity for some of the remaining villagers.

The guiding principle stood on the pillars of three qualities: simple, clean and comfortable.

However, the solution may not demand conservation of tradition. Developing rural areas, where economic development has lagged behind that of China’s booming cities may be less about preserving tradition and more about reviving the basics - because tradition is not really present. “Our intention was to refurbish an unoccupied dwelling, which some might argue was not worth preserving, in order to rediscover the identity it could bring about in the context of its village setting,” says Christian.

Plan

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There are no splashes of vivid accent colours or “statements.�

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The selected property was a 76 sq m cottage in the suburban village of Hai Zhen, built by a farmer in the early ‘70s.

It was now neglected, with decrepit boundary walls and an unkempt garden.

The duo wanted to maintain the rustic identity of the house, but to layer it with modern comforts and features - to rediscover the structure in a new time, rather than just preserve the past. The vacant cottage was refurbished with an open plan layout, using mainly locallysourced materials to give it a new lease of life.

The colour palette of the low-lying rectilinear structure was restricted to earth tones in muted greys, browns, beiges and whites, lending it a timeless, “always been there” feel.

There are no splashes of vivid accent colours or “statements” . Masonry walls and a tiled pitched roof reinforce the imagery, while windows run the length of the front of the structure, washing the inner spaces with a gentle natural light. Contemporary touches are discreet and unobtrusive, respectful of the mellow aesthetic of the existing home.

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The wide courtyard has been restored with areas for play and lounging. Inside, the master bedroom and bathroom are at one end, the kitchen and dining area runs through the middle, and a second, smaller sleeping space on a raised platform lies at the far end. In the central space, the lounge has a stove for burning wood. The refurbished cottage retains many of its original rustic features such as its original timber beams and roof, which sit alongside modern additions such as the large sliding glass doors.

“The farmer who had originally built the cottage was a frequent visitor during the construction phase and we were happy to hear that he ‘approved’ of our interventions to the house, being seemingly happy with the final outcome,” says the architect. Countering the effect of depopulation and enabling an abandoned space to be reused, offers a solution to a chronic problem.

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The low-lying rectilinear structure has masonry walls and a tiled pitched roof.

Christian Taeubert and Sun Min have restored the ruins of this forgotten space and turned it into an elegant and efficient modern home, while retaining its rustic soul. info@clouarchitects.com www.clouarchitects.com

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BEYOND&MORE Beyond&More launches “The Gallery”, showcasing some of Europe’s finest bespoke furniture brands in India.

BeyondnMore Designs Pvt. Ltd., a young company that curates luxury furniture for home and office spaces announced the opening of their new store ‘The Gallery by Beyond&More’.

The company has partnered with luxury furniture brands from Europe that are renowned for creating exquisite bespoke handcrafted furniture. The company’s portfolio of brands includes Acerbis, Arthur Holm Bamax, Bolzan Letti, Borzalino, DuChâteau, Fantoni, JMM, Linvisibile, Pacini & Cappellini, Point, Rossato, Sovet and Tacchini. All these brands are experts in one vertical of the furniture business, focused to make what may arguably be among the world’s best products in their category.

Beyond&More’s strong relationships with their global designer brand partners are based on a shared design focus and a passion for excellence in workmanship. Each one of these brands is highly recognized internationally, and many of their furniture pieces have been commended by a jury of their peers and / or received prestigious design awards.

Co-founders Mr. Sanjay Pareek, Ms. Juhi Sakhuja and Mr. Alok Tibrewala, who come with 70 years of collective experience in the industry are intent on creating luxurious furniture that resonates with the kind of consumer that is unafraid to splurge for this type of quantity and environment. Attending to the well-travelled Indian, Beyond and More promises grandeur with function with their products.

Contact Phone - 09820811492 connect@beyondnmore.com

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Distinctive and individualistic in its approach, Outlin’d pays tribute to Indian heritage and architecture with its off-the-wall products.

Conceptualised in 2014 and launched in 2017 at the London Design Festival, Outlin’d is a bespoke brand that creates products made of cork.

Wine Holder

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CORKY COASTERS TEXT BY NEERJA KAPADIA

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Bookmark

Unique in its approach as well as choice of material, it boasts of a cohesive collection of ten exclusive products since its launch.

Over the past few years, Outlin’d has evolved into a striking collection of functional homeware ranging from coasters and placemats to bookshelves and laptop sleeves, all made entirely out of cork.

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Founded by Jhunjhun Jain, an alumnus of Loughorough University, England as well as the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, Outlin’d was incepted with the core focus on Indian heritage and architecture.

“The first ever product, a set of coasters inspired by Jharokas was conceived in 2014 in an inconspicuous workshop in Singapore, and was first received publicly at the Red Dot Museum in Singapore”, says Jhunjhun proudly. From there, in the special way that life is, the collection made its way to the Indian state of Rajasthan, where so much of the design is inspired from. It was exhibited in the design studio at Alsisar Haveli, Jaipur.

The inspiration to design a more comprehensive collection only grew from there and in no time Outlin’d landed its first invite to the prestigious London Design Week. The entire collection was showcased there for the first time ever.

Then the national launch happened at The India Story, where Outlin'd was a part of an experience unmatched by any other platform, and they were completely sold out by the end of event.

Outlin’d was developed with the idea of showcasing Indian architecture through products. It celebrates the intricacy of Indian design without the colour and the glitter and caters to a market of people believing in thoughtful acquisitions and meaningful products. “You can do anything with cork that you can do with wood. Cork comes in different densities and grains, and depending on the quality you choose, you can make sturdy and functional products”, Jhunjhun said when asked about her material of choice.

Bookstand

Meharaab - The Tea Tray

What is especially attractive about the material, she further explained is that it is far more sustainable than wood, since it is sourced from the renewable, outer bark of the tree and doesn’t require as much environmental interference. “As I played around with the material, I realised that cork was also quite versatile; like when I burnt it, the colour, and the smell, was very enticing to me. It took me a good two to three months to develop this technique of burning cork. It took a lot of trial and error”, she says.

Aiyana Kari - The Wine Glass Stand

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Finally, she developed a method of engraving on cork to create richly textured, deep line work - which wouldn't fade away for generations to come. Cork is not manufactured anywhere in India, so she started importing material from Spain and Portugal. Since no one in India works with cork, the process of R&D was really put to the test where her own carpentry skills were used to create blueprints for the labourers.

Jharoka Inspired Coasters

Few of the favourites are Aiyana Kari - the wine glass stand and Meharaab - the tea tray. Aiyana Kaari is inspired by aiyana kaari in Mughal architecture and this is Jhunjhun’s take on the intricate cutwork in cork. Meharaab is functional and harks back to the olden days when cups and saucers were an inseparable duo.

From already pre-produced products to custom making products like wall murals, installations as well as wedding invites, Outlin’d caters to all things corky!

Outlin'd

R-838 2nd floor, New Rajinder Nagar. New Delhi - 60 www.outlind.studio +91 9311662011

Placemats

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WINE & WELCOME Wine & welcome Wine connoisseur shagun gupta handpicks luxury decanters and wine glasses from riedel for the festive season.

Wine connoisseur Shagun Gupta has handpicked luxury wine glasses and decanters from Riedel for the festive season. Shagun Gupta who represents Riedel in India gifted the festive series to accomplished wine professional and Masters of Wine, Sonal Holland. Riedel, credited with revolutionizing glassware for the enjoyment of wine, recently launched the decanter that works with every Riedel series, the “Riedel” Decanter.

As with all of Riedel’s handmade decanters, each piece is a unique work of art, and designed for a single bottle of wine. These decanters offer great functionality and have a wonderful artsy feel to them. Each decanter is mouthblown and handmade meticulously to achieve their striking designs and achieve a smooth and effective decantation process. The precise angles and graceful shape have been made to aerate the wine and release flavours that will enhance your wine drinking experience.

Shagun Gupta recommends Amadeo and Cornetto for more mature wines and champagne. Mamba is perfect for young, wild wines that benefit from this decanter’s dual decanting function.

Black tie bliss

Mamba

The Sommeliers Black Tie Face To Face wine decanter from Riedel is designed to pair with the Riedel Sommeliers Black Tie stemware, but can easily stand alone as your most favored decanter or modern art piece. Black Tie Bliss is one the most romantic pieces each adorned with sophisticated ribbon black crystal.

For wine glasses Shagun Gupta suggests Riedel’s Vinum Champagne glasses are gorgeous and elegant and will support any festive occasion or celebration. The classic Riedel Vinum spirit glass of the established glass collection RIEDEL Bar is the essential glassware for every home bar.

Shagun Gupta with Sonal Holland

This glass is designed to bring out the flavors and aromas of spirits.

The unadorned handmade Bordeaux Grand Cru glass of the beautiful glass collection Sommeliers distinguishes by an impeccable quality.

The large bowl brings out the full depth of contemporary wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Sommeliers series is the world’s first grape varietal specific wine glass and turns every sip into a celebration.

Contact Grape to Glass Wine Company Pvt. Ltd., 2nd Floor, Metro House, M G Road, Mumbai 400 020 Tel: 022 22091465/ 22091485. www.grapetoglass.com

Champagne glass

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Right in the heart of it all, nestles an 18-acre property that quite adequately takes from the surrounding topography.

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STARK,YET SURPRISINGLY WARM! Norwegian firm Mork-Ulnes Architects recently completed a three bedroom guesthouse that is quite unlike any other in rural Sonoma County, California.

Northern California’s wine country is home to a charming small town that is surrounded by sprawling landscapes, lush and rolling greens, hills and rows of grapevines - all quintessentially Sonoma.

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Right in the heart of it all, nestles an 18acre property that quite adequately takes from the surrounding topography by not having too much in the way of naturally buildable area. It is in this space, that Norwegian firm Mork-Ulnes Architects created a breathtaking three-bedroom guesthouse, whilst incorporating the existing expansive vistas that in their own way also provide the property with its own kind of privacy. Home Review takes you on a tour of the property as well as gives you a peek into the world of Casper MorkUlnes, the man behind Ridge House.

Wild and rustic, the guesthouse sits naturally well amidst its surroundings, the grey blending in with the muted greens and browns.

“The client requested a new guesthouse and accompanying pool area,” says Casper Mork-Ulnes. The initial brief was to create a space for the client’s extended family, a sort of guesthouse that would make for a comfortable weekend retreat; with three private guest areas each with a separate entrance, en-suite bathroom, and an outdoor terrace. They also wanted robust, fire-resistant building materials to be used.

Given the brief and the existing topography, the building eventually came to be composed of three distinct and compact volumes. The fact that the surrounding landscape is intrinsically linked to the architecture and design of the property would be hard for anyone to miss. Form plays a vital role in the basic exterior façade of the property as the volumes gradually step down and accentuate the site’s natural contours.

This in turn also softens the site and allows it to blend into the hillside. A continuous, multi-gabled roof is paired with the rather distinct units to allow for certain coherence against the backdrop of the hills and valleys.

An aerial view of the property. You can see how the design just seamlessly leads towards the hillside.

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“For us, it was important to experience both concrete’s sculptural, monolithic qualities, as well as the openness that a structure affords,” says Casper MorkUlnes. “Given the clients’ desire for a low-maintenance and fire-resistant shell, concrete became a natural choice and the defining material in the project,” he adds. In fact, towards the end of the project, in 2017, the Nuns wildfire had all but engulfed the property. While the surrounding flora and fauna were totally devastated, the guesthouse survived. All because of the use of concrete!

Opening out to a private sit-out, the bedrooms enjoy majestic views of the thrilling landscapes and wild peaks of the surroundings.

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With the primary intent being to play with form materials, perception and ultimately create a kind of drama, the adjacent swimming pool and garden plateau and their view of the three volumes add to this narrative, while also enhancing the thermal performance of the guesthouse.

The solid concrete walls and roof protect the interior of the space from direct sunlight during peak summers; while in winters, a considerable thermal mass keeps the room warm. “Because the site offers only a narrow strip of level ground, we chose to push the house out along the steep hillside in order to maximise the flat outdoor area,� he adds.

The stark grey of the concrete blends in perfectly with the warm and muted hues of the interiors.

What is most interesting about the guesthouse, apart from its consistent use of concrete throughout, is the openness and seamlessness that flows in and out of the space. Upon entering and passing through what feels like heavy concrete threshold, the space expands and opens up completely to the lush and abounding countryside, thereby offering staggering views of Sonoma County’s natural beauty.

The southern and western exterior walls are made of board-formed grey concrete.

Apart from a single punched aperture, which provides the only source of light for the bathrooms, interrupting the sculptural planes, the exterior also sports a rood that is smooth-troweled concrete. This offers a textural break from the walls as the concrete here changes from vertical to horizontal. This feature is also present on the northern and eastern enclosures.

These glazed enclosures delicately inscribe the rooms to enhance the spatial and material contrast, allowing the concrete plans to remain the prominent architectural feature. The floor slabs, rooted in the hillside, float out over the steep ground below and endow each bedroom with its own private view.

Floor Plan

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Speaking of the bedrooms, the concrete finishes in these rooms are smooth, and formed with large panels instead of wood boards. Light and warm pine doors form a beautifully translated contrast to the colder and starker concrete and glass surfaces that are ubiquitous. The doors are made of solid pine with a lye treatment and punctuated with custom door handles that are slightly rounded and chunky, a rather playful foil against the hard edges of the concrete.

A peek into the bedroom shows us the how the colour palettes of the interiors contrast with the natural one outside.

Stark, light, and minimal, the bathrooms do not come with opulent five-star trimmings.

Even the bathrooms symbolise the single, dominant material and underscore it with a monochrome approach. With precast concrete vanities to match the structure and dark grey faucets that add a dash of gloss against the matte concrete, the bathrooms have their own dramatic narrative to tell.

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The babbling poolside and deck at a short walk from the guesthouse do not seem to be out of place in the wild.

“The grey concrete blends with the rich, rusty colorations of the property’s rock to enhance the impression of its rootedness,� say the architects behind the project.

With the exterior being a little cold with an abundance of greys, the interiors are softened to a vast degree by sober colours and palettes which not only brighten up the space but also aesthetically complement the grey and the natural greens and browns of the vistas seen from the windows. info@morkulnes.com www.morkulnes.com

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A SINKY TALE Nirali’s Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks are every functional kitchen’s dream.

Ebax - Zilo

At Jyoti India Metal Industries Pvt. Ltd, manufacturers of India’s No. 1 stainless steel kitchen sinks, innovation, and more innovation is the only way of life. This permeates right from Mr. B. R. Gada, Director who has been the driving force behind the company’s meteoric position.

In his own words, “The market is always dynamic, always changing. That’s why you have to constantly anticipate future needs and innovate with new products of highest quality. This has given us the edge to be consistently India’s largest selling kitchen sink brand in the organized sector.”

This simple tenet drives everything the company does; right from anticipating the new emerging needs of the customer, to innovative ideas in reaching out to them and not to forget the excellent and inventive ideas forged by the company in establishing, nurturing and fostering its family of over 2000 dealers spread across India.

Some of the path-breaking innovations are plastic guard, chock-stop, single body kitchen sink, anti-scratch range, three finishes (glossy, satin and anti-scratch), expel range and silent range.

“Innovative products that are not only advanced but more importantly very customer-focused has seen the company making rapid inroads and establishing

Nirali - Orus

sizable market shares with every new introduction” says Mr. Sarang Gada, Director, who now oversees the company’s aggressive future plans.

Nirali recently introduced India’s 1st multipurpose stainless steel sink with their EXA range with detachable lids that cover up unwashed vessels and also double up as an extension of the kitchen platform. The other innovation is in their ORUS sink in the silent sink range which has 2 deeper bowls, one in 16” x 16” and the other in 11” x11” giving homemakers the advantage of separating the larger cooking vessels from the fragile cups, saucers and glasses.

The Idea is to increase personalized interaction with the customers, so Nirali now has its own exclusive Nirali display centers, two of which are company owned and eight dealer based display centers the biggest being approximately 700sq. foot.

The exclusive display centers only display Nirali Kitchen Sinks and allow the customer to choose from a wide range of kitchen sinks all under one roof.

Contact Phone +91-22-24315500/11/22 (India) sales@nirali.com nirali@nirali.com www.niralisinks.com www.ebax.in

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Ebax - Florenza xxxxxxxxxx

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DESIGN DESTINATION

EDIN WHERE Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland is located on the Scottish Lowlands. The city has been a centre of political and cultural activity since the 15th century and this has pretty much led to its evolution in the modern world as a hub of activity.

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BURGH WHEN

WHY

It is best visited during the spring season, from late March to May, and during autumn, that is September to November. The summer months of June through to August are the warmest of the year.

Old world architecture meets modern building marvels in this city, not to mention the breathtaking Scottish views!

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GLAMOUR ADDRESS..

The Balmoral hotel is located at one of Edinburgh’s most prestigious addresses - Number 1 Princes Street, for over a century now. This downtown hotel is quite comfortable in its majestic environs. The first thing you notice is that the historic building’s grand clock still dominates the skyline!

This sight greets you and transports you back into time. The grand building also goes on to reassert the fact that the hotel is as full of character as the city which has inspired its design. The design style is Victorian, with influences from the Scottish Baronial style.

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Each of the 168 rooms in the hotel has been individually designed by Olga Polizzi, and features a unique sense of style and ambience. Modern aesthetics have been married to tradition. You will also notice some Scottish touches.

Overall, the design is colonial, filled with old world glamour.

An interesting fact about the hotel is that is has a suite named the J.K. Rowling suite. This features a beautiful sitting room with turret style alcoves and decor inspired by the Scottish woodlands. This is where J.K.Rowling finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It contains a marble bust of Hermes, the Greek god of travel, signed

by Rowling. The door knocker is a brass owl in her honour!

Throughout the hotel, there are some contemporary touches in the decor.

These have been cleverly woven in through use of accents and accessories, which also serve to distinguish one room from the other, and give them their unique looks. Another timeless design example can be seen in the restaurant Palm Court at The Balmoral. This features a stunning glass dome and Venetian chandelier. The hotel, whose name is Gaelic for ‘majestic dwelling’, surely lives up to its name!

ROYAL TOUCH With an old eventful history to boast of, one does expect this city to have a stunning castle. The Edinburgh Castle stands right on top of a Volcanic outcrop. It reflects a mix of architectural styles, all thanks to the many additions over the centuries.

There is a lot to see and experience here. Right from the entrance, where cobbled paths lead the visitor forward to the highest points which provide breathtakingly stunning views.

The St. Margaret’s Chapel is the oldest part of the castle, dating back to the 12th century. It is also probably the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh.

Another highlight is the spectacular 16th century Grand Hall with its late-medieval original 16thcentury hammer-beam roof. The Castle Vaults beneath the Great Hall also provide a glimpse into how the same construction was used in different ways - as cellars, bakeries and also prisons!

The castle complex also hosts the Scottish National War Memorial. Scotland’s crown jewels are among the national treasures on display within the castle walls.

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SEAT OF GOVERNANCE The Scottish Parliament Building is an awardwinning modern structure which has received high-acclaim in recent times. The project designed by architect Enric Miralles is a mixture of steel, oak, and granite. The entire complex is made of different structures. It is interesting to see how all these stand together but are different in their own individual ways.

The Main Hall is where a visitor would first. enter. It is made up of three tapered concrete vaults that feature abstract designs of the Saltire cross (the Scottish flag). Natural light flows in the space thanks to a lightwell.

The Canongate Building retains the original façade, behind which completely new buildings and offices have been constructed. The Debating Chamber is a modern building finished in oak, sycamore and glass. The Media Tower is characterised by distinctive panels of granite and oak on the outer façade.

A key feature that adds a unique dimension is the artwork that can be seen throughout the Parliament.

STREET INSPIRATION Edinburgh’s Historical Victoria Street is a must on the itinerary of every traveller.

A nod to history, its cobblestoned paths, ancient stone facades and old-world charm is very difficult to resist. Architect Thomas Hamilton is credited with the design of this street, which was built between 1829 and 1834, whilst replacing the earlier Old West Bow. Some of the older Medieval buildings still exist today. Vibrant buildings and many independent shops dot the entire street, which makes it a true tourist haven. The eclectic mix of colourful buildings with their striking arches adds another unique touch.

A lot of the charm comes from the design of individual shops. It would not be wrong to say that this street is also a pilgrimage site for Potterheads The famed Diagon Alley that the Harry Potter series depicts is inspired by Victoria Street! It also has a shop named Diagon House, rightly targeting all Potter fans! A walk down this street is a must for visitors to get a peek into a very charming side of Edinburgh!

Text By Dhanishta Shah

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The Frick Environmental Centre in Pittsburgh is the first Living Building in the U.S. that is municipally-owned and free and open to the public.

GREEN PROJECT

A GATEWAY TO GREEN LIVING

The Frick Environmental Centre, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, achieved the prestigious Living Building certification in May 2018. The certification, with one of the most advanced sustainability measures, considers aspects such as design, construction and the interaction between people and the built environment.

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Bohlin Cywinski Jackson collaborated with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the City of Pittsburgh, construction manager PJ Dick and landscape architects La Quatra Bonci to bring the environmental centre to life.

The Living Building certification (LBC) is one of the world’s most rigorous sustainability standard by the International Living Future Institute. For the Pittsburgh-based Frick Environmental Centre (FEC) to be accredited with LBC, it took more than a year of extensive testing and documentation. But the design for this labour of love started way back in 2011. It took five years since then with the construction finally completed in 2016.

The project achieves net-zero energy and water through strategies such as a large photovoltaic array, geothermal heating and cooling system, daylight dimming controls and occupancy sensors, and a reclaimed water system.

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The LBC’s targets are certainly not easy to achieve. To be certified, projects must meet a series of ambitious performance requirements over a minimum of twelve months of continuous occupancy. Going above and beyond LEED, Living Buildings must produce as much energy as it consumes annually, in short be energy netzero, eliminate toxic chemicals, and collect and treat its own water.

A world-class centre for experiential environmental education, the Frick Environmental Centre also serves as a gateway to Frick Park, the city’s largest public park at 644 acres.

Elaborating on the net-zero energy strategy, Patricia Culley, Senior Associate of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, says, “We used a threepart approach to achieve this. First, passive design concepts were employed during the early design phases, including analysis of sun angles and prevailing wind directions to establish a building massing and orientation responsive to the site’s natural features.

Then, mechanical design elements were incorporated to help support the passive concepts, including a ground-source heat pump system and in-floor hydronic heating.

Finally, the users were engaged to minimise wasteful energy habits.”

FEC also includes a 161KW photovoltaic array that produces over 150% of the project energy demand, as metered during the first year of operation.

Culley explains, “The large photovoltaic array is also used to harvest rainwater, serving all non-potable water needs throughout the site, including toilet flushing and irrigation of the agricultural area. The harvested rainwater is stored in a large underground cistern and treated with a UV treatment system to meet water needs.”

The FEC is the first Living Building in the U.S. that is municipally-owned and free to the public. Aimed to be a world-class centre for experiential environmental education, it also serves as a gateway to the Frick Park, the city’s largest public park at 644 acres. A joint venture between the City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, it embodies the idea of ‘neighbourhood to nature’.

One of the most striking features of the centre is the presence of interactive elements that provide children and families with hands-on environmental education, fulfilling its role as a living laboratory.

Culley elaborates, “The Rain Veil, a multisensory waterfall-like feature, artfully sheds rainwater down the north facade of the building, provoking the users’ senses of sight, smell, hearing and touch, and reinforcing the project mission of experiential environmental education.

From there, the water meanders around the building to a sandstone topographic water feature called the Rain Ravine, where children can jump and play in the rain, celebrating the unique four-season climate of the Western Pennsylvania region.”

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To qualify for the Living Building certification, the building must produce as much energy as it consumes annually.

The 16,000-sq.ft centre was certified LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council, received an Award of Excellence from AIA Committee.

The sustainability initiatives act as a bridge harmonising the relationship between the centre, park and the community.

For example, the well-planned irrigation system facilitates the conservation of the surrounding animal life. “The ecological water flow design maintains the site’s natural hydrology, allowing water to flow into two distinct watersheds. A series of constructed wetlands were designed to act as detention basins, allowing for a gradual flow of water entering the once-poorly degraded streams south of the site, reducing erosion and improving the long-term health of the soils and aquatic life within the parkland,� shares Culley.

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There are also other measures such as a geothermal heating and cooling system, locally sourced non-toxic building materials, and continuous daylight dimming controls and occupancy sensors that has made FEC as one of only twenty-one buildings in the world to achieve LBC. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has worked in Pittsburgh for more than forty years and has worked on several award-winning projects in and around the city. However, designing and building FEC, a project of such massive scale and purpose, had its own challenges.

The centre’s multi-sensory interactive elements such as the Rain Veil and the Rain Ravine encourage the urban youth of Pittsburgh to explore the majesty of the natural world.

Culley explains, “One of the most interesting challenges faced early in the project was ensuring the facility instilled a sense of inspiration and welcoming for all visitors, no matter their age, race or background.

During a decade-long planning process, over 1,000 community members were engaged to ensure the design ultimately reflected the needs and desires of the community.�

The Frick Environmental Centre has set a stringent benchmark for green buildings.

It has also extended the definition of sustainability to include the impact on the surrounding neighbourhood, impressing with its thoughtful relationship to the site, reverence for the beauty of Frick Park and the way it establishes an emotional connect with its community.

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EATHWARE PRODUCTS

We are at the mercy of plastic at every step of our lives, but the sad fact is that as we become more and more dependent on it, it poses a bigger and bigger problem. Today it is one of our planet’s biggest pollutants and has penetrated every strata of Earth including its oceans.

Samanvi Bhograj, Director of Visfortec Pvt Ltd and Vishnu Forge Industries Ltd is basically an eco-warrior.

Samanvi Bhograj, all of 31 years old and living in Bangalore, India, was overwhelmed with what she saw all around her. She noticed that the garbage, which is so pitifully and plainly visible on our streets, is mainly composed of disposable plastics like plates, cups, spoons and polythene bags.

Unlike the rest of us, she made up her mind to actively do something about these polluting elements that overpower our dumping yards and our streets. She put up a manufacturing unit that makes 100 percent biodegradable and compostable tableware products using plant fibre, namely sugarcane bagasse.

Text Compiled By Mala Bajaj

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In this scenario, Samanvi Bhograj realised that the demand for disposable items in today’s day and age is nowhere near lessening. Since she came from a family of entrepreneurs, she decided to create a range of disposable items herself that would not harm the environment like plastic does.

She founded Earthware Products in 2011 and first started with corn-based products such as bin liners, covers for the garment industry, and cutlery.

Bagasse pulp which is actually a waste product of the sugar industry is pressed at high temperatures to give it bonding and strength. Plates, bowls, trays, and several types of food containers are being made

by Earthware Products.

Subsequently after several attempts with different raw materials, she zoned in on bagasse, a fibre obtained from sugarcane and left over after all the juice is extracted from it. Thus, Earthware Products became a company that manufactures 100-percent biodegradable and compostable tableware products made from plant fibre.

“Coffee cups and glasses too are in the pipeline,” shares Samanvi. She expounds further, “The biggest challenge we initially faced was to convince people to move away from plastic disposables and above all bring awareness about its harmful effects. The next challenge was the pricing. Being a new product in the market, it had low volumes of consumption. The cost compared to plastic too was high, which deterred people from moving towards these products instead of the non-biodegradable versions they were used to. However, we have now been able to bring down the prices considerably due to an increase in demand for our eco-friendly products.”

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The recent move, to ban disposable plastics, which has been adopted by a few states across the country, has further increased the willingness as well as awareness to move towards more eco-friendly products.

Samanvi works with women to produce packaging material like bags, bin liners and garment covers made of jute, paper and cloth. Her team visits villages in Karnataka and employs women who work from home.

Today, the company produces about 15 lakh pieces of cutlery every month and is, according to Samanvi, South India’s first and only manufacturing unit for products made from plant fibre. It caters to organisations, restaurants and takeaway shops that need packaging material on a regular basis. It sells anywhere between 8-10 tons per month and is looking to scale to 25 tons in the next six months.

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“Our company believes in women empowerment and we mostly work with them in manufacturing our products. We employ women, who live in villages around Bengaluru, such as Tumkur, Nelamangala and Mysore, and we also work with women who are comfortable sending in their products by working on them in the comfort of their own homes. I try to promote empowerment of women as much as I can as I feel they are truly a backbone of their families and financial stability helps them shine even more,� says Samanvi. www.facebook.com/earthwareproducts

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All the furniture in the lounge area is calibered by craftsmanship, with Nordic design classics added from the past.

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Simply Danish

The new Nobis Hotel Copenhagen sits in the heart of the Danish capital, a few minutes walk from the famous Carlsberg Museum and the beautiful Tivoli Gardens.

Text By Natalie Pedder-Bajaj Photographs Courtesy Nobis Hotel Copenhagen.

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The Nobis Hotel Copenhagen has 77 rooms and 4 suites, all housed in a historic 5,500 square meter landmark building that was constructed in 1903. Designed by architect Martin Borch, it was one of the first concrete building structures in Copenhagen and was home to the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music for many years.

This bygone property was dramatically transformed into a state-of-the-art luxury hotel by Wingårdh Arkitekter, Sweden’s most celebrated architectural firm, directed by the mastery of star architect Gert Wingårdh. “It’s a privilege to work with this fantastic building in such a great location,” says Gert Wingårdh. “Danish classicism which this building is a fine example of is something special - most sophisticated, more stripped down than that in Sweden. In the main building we’ve been delicate and respectful, emphasising every detail of the original architecture and decor.”

Suites sit on the top floor with direct access from the elevators, while the layout on the ground level houses the sauna, cold pool, gym and lounge. The social areas have been designed as the centre of the hotel, where the bar and lounge also connect to Niels, a restaurant with its own entrance from the street.

Housed in a historic landmark building, The Nobis Hotel Copenhagen was home to the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music.

“With the attached annex building from the 1960s where Niels is, we’ve allowed ourselves more architectural liberty,” Wingårdh adds. “In the rhythm of the signature glass façade, we’ve been inspired

by Le Corbusier’s La Tourette Dominican monastery from the late 50s with its bold elegant lines. I think there is something of a connection between this style of updated late 50s modernism and turn of the twentieth-century classicism.”

The neoclassicist interiors of the hotel with its quintessential modern design have been juxtaposed against playful additions and some unexpected fun twists. All the furniture is calibered by craftsmanship, distinguished by curved upper lines that echo the form of the building’s original windows.While all the materials used have been mindfully chosen so that they age with grace along with the building. Nordic design classics from the past have also been added, creating a uniquely elegant space.

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Niels, the 80 seater restaurant has been covered in copper plates and a new glass facade with dynamically placed crossbars as a homage to Le Corbusier.

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The rooms, painted in richly saturated green-blue tones, all have massive chevron patterned wooden parquet floors and high windows with crossbars as centre pieces.

The bathrooms are clad in grey Bardiglio marble from Italy.

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“Carrera marble in both the classic white and the beautiful grey is part of the original material palette of the building, so it was natural to choose this material for the additions too,” says Gert Wingårdh. “Much of the room furniture is exclusively designed. The beds, the wardrobes and the desks are grounded in a classic Nordic modernistic tradition, while rugs and lighting fixtures add a twist with more playful expressions.”

Since Nobis Hospitality Group originates from a family of restaurateurs carrying on a proud culinary heritage, ambitions were high for the restaurant. The building where the 80 seater Niels is housed has been covered in copper plates and a new glass facade with dynamically placed crossbars as a homage to Le Corbusier.

A midnight blue massive wooden floor forms a dramatic base to the blond Danish wooden furniture, while warm reflecting walls and black marble frame the dining room. All porcelain, glass, silverware, textiles and other utilities and details are also of carefully selected Danish design, classic yet contemporary.

“I love contemporary design and architecture, fashion and art, but I also like the classic or perhaps more accurately the timeless. I like environments that are genuine, personal and warm - where you feel that there is an authentic soul and attention to every smallest detail. That’s what we like to offer our guests,” aptly concludes Alessandro Catenacci, founder, owner and CEO of this family owned operation. www.nobishotel.dk 5

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The displays are so mesmerising that clients buy an entire setup including not just lighting and furniture but also the accessories!

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Retail Therapy

Colour Me Purple The Purple Turtles may seem to be an unusual name for a home décor store. But then, isn’t that what creativity is all about? Intriguing… and a tad mysterious, the products and the ethos of this store spin one new inspiring story after another.

Text By Dhanishta Shah Photographs Courtesy The Purple Turtles

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One of the most striking aspects of this store is the manner in which displays have been carefully and very aesthetically arranged.

The flagship store of The Purple Turtles at Indira Nagar, Bengaluru is over 5000 sq ft and stands testimony to a bold and unique design ethos. It all starts with the name. “While working on our brand name, we wanted something intriguing and something that connects with lighting without stating the obvious.

Purple is a colour signifying opulence and prosperity and turtles are attracted towards light and stand the test of time,” says Radeesh R Shetty, director, The Purple Turtles. Shetty is the director of the company along with Gaurav Rai.

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Lights form a major part of the product offerings at the store. In fact, The Purple Turtles manufacture mostly lights using a host of materials ranging from paper and fabric to stone, metal and glass. In addition to that, a team of merchandisers scout the length and breadth of the country looking for vintage and antique furniture, up-cycled decor accents and other artefacts.

One of the most striking aspects of this store is the manner in which displays have been carefully and very aesthetically arranged. It is evident that a lot of thought has been put into getting the products together and arranging them in a visually pleasing manner. To use modern lingo, each setting in the store seems to be designed to be ‘instagrammable’! “Most

To use modern lingo, each setting in the store seems to be designed to be ‘instagrammable’!

definitely! Our display in store is what one calls organised chaos. Our products are very eclectic and we are constantly bringing something new to the shop floor to keep our customers engaged and excited enough to come back. It has varied categories from lights to home decor and is spread over multiple materials, again across three floors. Our moto is to curate and collect all things beautiful and this makes our store a veritable treasure hunt,” explains Shetty. He stresses on the fact that it is this very aspect of ‘All things beautiful’ that makes them ‘Instagrammable’!

In terms of displays, there is a lot of ‘clustering’, that is, similar products grouped together. There is in fact, a well thought out idea behind this - the idea of keeping the customer as central to the brand’s existence as possible.

All the products are put in one place helping the customers to view and review them.

An awe-inspiring display makes the customer wish having a similar setup at his or her home or workplace.

The goal is to make it easy for customers to be able to select from a large variety of similar products available. Hence, these are all put in one place, helping the customers to view and review them before making the final choice.

A well-arranged decor space not only increases the chance of selling multiple products in one go, but also gives ideas and inspirations to customers to execute similar schemes in their own homes. No wonder they have clients buying up an entire living room or dining room setup that includes not just lighting and furniture but also the accessories!

“We also like to cluster our lights, and suspend them at different heights to give a client an idea of how he or she could use a piece in the corner of a living room, over the dining or in a stairwell maybe.

In terms of home decor, we like to keep congruent products together, to give people ideas about the bigger display rather than just purchasing a product individually,” explains Shetty.

The flooring is a mix of slate, grey tile and wood, and this provides the base for all the setups. They have recently been toying around with terrariums and plants and this injects a definite vibrancy in the décor. Shetty finds that the décor of a store affects the purchasing patterns tremendously. An awe-inspiring display makes the customer wish having a similar setup at his or her home or workplace.

The store is on the main road, and this has very important implications for the window display. Many clients follow the window display regularly and message the staff congratulating them on great displays! Window displays change depending on the change of season, a new range or on the basis of any upcoming festival. Normally, they change once or twice a month and are almost always very well received!

The underlying philosophy behind the décor is that the objects themselves must be beautiful, as ultimately, they make up the décor. “As objects weave their way into spaces and memories, they become what we are and where we come from: the table lamp under the glow of which you re-visit old letters; the mug that makes your morning; or the armchair you sink into after a long day. Objects shape our every day. They assure us that, yes, this life really did happen. We owe it to ourselves to make it beautiful,” believes Shetty. www.thepurpleturtles.com

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Designed by Studio Yamini, this house in Vadodara has its design pendulum swinging between the traditional and the modern.

It chooses however, to remain unfazed by overstated trends and echoes the simple personality of its inhabitants.

In a country with a history and culture like that of India’s, it’s always interesting to see how designers and architects bring that context into their modern efforts. In fact, this sociologic facet of architecture may be presented via a material, a colour scheme, a design genre, a spatial language or form that carries through the urban framework.

This house by Studio Yamini is a living example of this context that separates restraint from excess and refinement from banality.

Text By Kanupriya Pachisia Photographs Courtesy Photographix, Sebastian + Ira

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A THOUGHT OUT MELANGE

Cut into planks and laid in a herringbone pattern, natural variations of Kota stone have been honed to breathe a new vibe into the simple interiors.

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The home mimics a relaxed style and punctuates it with pops of colour and modern design elements crafted in simple conventional materials.

“The brief was succinct and simple.

We kept the interiors very understated intentionally to reflect the clients’ tastes and lifestyle. They lead a simple life much away from flashy and generally prefer simplicity,” shared the architects.

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The compact plot measured 1650 sq ft and the architects yielded a built-up footprint of 875 sq ft. The brief included a large living room, dining, kitchen, guest bedroom and a common bathroom on the ground floor and two master bedrooms on the first floor. Space management thus became a vital aspect.

Much of the design deliberation revolved around strategies of expanding the footprint on the ground floor without making it look cramped. “The most challenging part was to accommodate maximum in minimum,” state the architects. Their thoughts naturally turned to an open-plan articulation. The result was a home that combines different functional spaces and uses patterns, colours and textures in a cohesive fashion.

The living and dining areas were orchestrated as an ‘L’, with the longer arm being the living room and the adjacent dining area arranged perpendicular to it.

The living room’s nonchalant arrangement of sofas, coffee tables and console units had been meticulously planned. Minimal pieces were used to achieve an open sense of space.

Home to a family of three, the house perches on a corner plot within a society of private villas. This leveraged some extra space at the disposal of the architectural team. “We used the space to create a small green area that can be overlooked from the living-dining and kitchen,” informed the architects. It lends a sense of calm as it marks the edge of the property.

This home is unabashed about using earthy tones. The whole shell is an unobtrusive beige-grey colour in armour coat. Wood and stone are predominant materials.

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Wrapped around the center of the house, a reclaimed teakwood staircase adorns a visual journey as it poses as one of the few elements of the house that strikes the perfect chord between the traditional and the modern.

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Large openings on the ground floor allow for cross ventilation and a seamless connection with the planted patch. “One could step out from the dining area and enjoy a cup of hot tea in the small cosy seating planned in the area,” shares the team.

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This home uses earthy tones unabashedly.

The whole shell is an unobtrusive beige-grey colour in armour coat. Wood and stone are predominant materials.

Wrapped around the center of the house, a reclaimed teakwood staircase adorns a visual journey as it poses as one of the few elements of the house that strikes the perfect chord between the traditional and the modern.

The entire flooring of the house embedded in natural Kota stone is a window to true craftsmanship. Often disregarded décor-wise and considered an emblem of heavy-traffic prone areas, the stone gets deserved importance in the house. Cut into planks and laid in a herringbone pattern, natural variations of the stone have been honed to breathe a new vibe into the simple interiors.

White walls make the space feel visually buoyant and stand as neutral backdrops to accent pieces in the house.

The team has also worked on a parallel storyline reiterated by a mosaic of tiles that clad the bathroom walls.

They almost act as an antidote to the otherwise silent white walls. What could be more traditional than mosaic but the team has most effortlessly sealed it with a modern zip in one of the bathrooms by overhauling a horizontal block of mirror that slashes the busy design and brings in the modern minimal look with the aid of indirect lighting.

Minimalism sometimes makes it difficult to tell personal stories but each piece of furniture, accessory and wall treatment has been planned in a way that appeals to a sense of individuality. In fact, when it was time to add some colour and texture to the daughter’s room the team came up with a huge artwork that spanned the wall behind the bed.

“We thought, what could have been better than art,” shared the team. Well, it was definitely a commitment well met under the bold design appetite of the client.

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The house poses a familiar warm connect to its residents and visitors. With furniture that radiates simplicity, it adapts an analogous approach of the old with the new, in both the interior palette and style as it sets a tone that radiates both durability and timelessness. www.studioyamini.com

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THE URBAN SKETCHING World architecture travel (wat) presented masterclass series ‘the urban sketching’ with dr. Francis d.K ching.

World Architecture Travel (WAT), a global network for guided architectural tours presented the Masterclass Series aimed at stimulating the dialog around architecture, art, design and culture within the fraternity. The first of the Masterclass Series took place at Design Ashram, Calicut on 18th and 19th September, 2018 The Urban Sketching Workshop presented with Dr. Francis D.K Ching as mentor. The 2-Day event presented an introduction to sketching, guided urban sketching practice sessions, cocktail, music and an authentic Kerala meal. Architects and designers were mesmerized by the expertise of Prof. Ching in visual analysis and rendering of space.

The workshop began with a heritage walk through Calicut’s historical landmarks.

The participants and Prof. Ching himself were guided by Capt. Ramesh Babu, a passionate self-taught historian. The group started at Beypore, in the company of the traditional Uru-makers and two magnificent specimens of Urus in the making. They then moved on to S.M Street where Captain Ramesh Babu serenaded the group with tales of S.K Pottekad.

This was followed by a quick stop at the Thali temple, and then Comtrust - after which the Mishkal Mosque and the Mother of God Cathedral were visited.

The group returned to Design Ashram in Gujarati Street for a lunch of Kerala Sadhya, and then began an orientation session - with Prof. Ching demonstrating his sketching techniques to the participants.

Suleymaniye

On the second day of the Urban Sketching Workshop, they headed to Kuttichira.

There, the professor spoke about the need to ‘See more, and draw less’. They then proceeded to sketching the selected views of a mosque. Prof. Ching demonstrated rendering techniques and corrected proportions. The group dispersed again, to sketch a different view, and the process repeated as they moved on to different places and sketched different scenes.

At the end of the day, they were asked to flip from the very first sketch to the last one. Each and every participant seemed to have made a notable improvement in their sketches.

Prof. Ching is indeed not just a very talented illustrator but also an extremely competent teacher. www.worldarchitecturetravel.com

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Todd shares, “The clients needed a new renovated driveway, better views from the interior, a new Olympic size lap pool with spa, larger open spaces, areas to entertain in and coastal friendly plantings.�

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Landscapes

EXTENDING HARMONY Any landscape architect, if asked, will proudly state that there is no other occupation as delightful as his. Only he truly knows the joy and fulfillment he derives from working on each project. Todd MacLean’s gardens emanate those very same vibes just as planned by him.

Design can be reactionary - responding only to current conditions, or it can be visionary - looking ahead to the future.

A landscape is a creation - a vocabulary of form and function touched by contrast that radiates a universal spirit.

Valuable contributions can be made right from the first stage of the project by generating ideas with technical understanding and a creative flair for the design, organisation, and use of spaces.

A walk into a plot seeded and developed

by Landscape Architect, Todd MacLean shows you how his master strokes always result in a space that is both functional and serene. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that his gardens have a timeless feel where everything seems to be in right place.

Perhaps just another visionary offshoot!

Text By Kanupriya Pachisia Photographs Courtesy Todd MacLean Home Review November 2018

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While plants like Clusia Guttifera, Ficus Benjamina, Coccoloba Uvifera and Podocarpus were planted for privacy and screening; the garden beds used tropical shrubs and trees like the Carissa Macrocarpa and Ficus Macrocarpa.

Or just another silent piece of art where nothing is overdone and will continue to speak volumes as it stands past several sunrises and sunsets.

When an existing contemporary intra-coastal home, an oversized concrete driveway that circles the plot and an old, deteriorating pool are thrown into the mix, along with some hardscape elements, a landscape architect has a lot on his plate to deal with.

Landscapes almost always tell the stories of their past. Thus it comes as no surprise that when the clients acquired the plot next door, they asked Todd to open the existing property to the new one.

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Todd shares, “They needed a new renovated driveway, better views from the interior, a new Olympic size lap pool with spa, larger open spaces, areas to entertain in and coastal friendly plantings.My design intent was to eliminate the circle drive and to transform this property taking advantage of the waterfront views, while creating elegant outdoor spaces that complimented the home’s unique architecture.�

Both properties had drainage issues with sandy soil and varied topography. For a lot measuring 36,000 sq ft, this could prove to be a challenge but the design team took favourable measures. Erosion control practices were added in order to eliminate any run-off into the waterfront.

Outdoor seating nooks equipped with fireplaces were positioned just off the kitchen and living room, tucked between the foliage, connecting the outdoors with the indoors in a web of intermingled texture.

To assist with proper drainage, numerous loads of sand and tropical mixes were also used. An efficient irrigation plan with rain and moisture sensors was installed. Todd says, “The piece came together beautifully from beginning to end. There were no challenges.”

While natives dominated the planting palette, accents made their presence felt as they added some drama. Simplicity and continuity are the heart of the design.

Rather than an overwhelming riot of colour there’s a sense of order even in the most natural of settings.

While plants like Clusia Guttifera, Ficus Benjamina, Coccoloba Uvifera and Podocarpus were planted for privacy and screening, garden beds used tropical shrubs and trees like the Carissa Macrocarpa and Ficus Macrocarpa. Accents in the way of Agaves and Coontie Cycads were introduced in pockets. Varieties of palms like the Coconut, Adonidia and Alexander were left to stand tall to fan the breeze.

Existing plants were also retained along with the existing plot. “We saved many large specimens and relocated them onto the property such as Thatch Palms, large Gumbo Limbo Trees and Seagrape Trees,” shares Todd.

The elimination of the circle driveway allowed more appealing views to bounce in and the extension of the front yard into the new lot. Automatic entry gates with Dominican Coral Stone wrapped piers welcome you in on arrival. “I wanted the family and their guests to feel like they were at a resort; a place to play, relax and get lost,” shares Todd. Nostalgia and the charm of strange Spanish lanes beckon you in on a new cobbled driveway with a small auto court that leads to the large entrance steps finished again in Dominican Coral Stone.

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“Great gardens transcend. My goal is to pull the sensitive viewer into the garden.

A great garden is mystical and transcends no matter what its actual content,” shares Todd.

Taking the outdoors in, the homes first floor stucco was also wrapped in the same Dominican Coral Stone. Existing piers were rebuilt with repaired custom lighting.

“Hardscape plays a key role in connectivity and texture,” informed Todd. “As a rule I don’t use many hardscape materials on one design. I like things consistent and I want the hardscape to compliment the architecture and landscaping. It shouldn’t compete for attention.”

Outdoor seating nooks equipped with fireplaces were positioned just off the kitchen and living room, tucked between the foliage, connecting the outdoors with the indoors in a web of intermingled texture.

“Great gardens transcend. My goal is to pull the sensitive viewer into the garden. A great garden is mystical and transcends no matter what its actual content,” shares Todd. We couldn’t agree more.

www.macleanoutdoors.com

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Varieties of palms like the Coconut, Adonidia and Alexander were left to stand tall to fan the breeze.

Existing plants were also retained along with the existing plot.

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The Inside Track Now on Apple and Android

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY* OF The Inside Track and stay connected All you need to do is download the free Magzter app.

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Android users can download Magzter from Android Market.

Try it out today.

* Limited Period Offer

Shalimar Paints acts as a catalyst for positive change through ‘Rang Badlav Ke - Paint the Change!’

PAINTING CHANGE

An urban slum community, situated in the heart of Chanakyapuri, amongst the poshest areas in the Delhi/NCR region, the Sanjay Camp was in dire need of beautification and a dash of colour. This need was met by Shalimar Paints, as over two thousand student volunteers entered the locality with buckets of paint and brushes in tow.

During the activity 1500+ walls of the previously drab Sanjay Camp was transformed into a vivid canvas that showcased graffiti of Indian culture and tradition to further enable child-friendly communities.

This vibrant transformation was heralded by youth, who enthusiastically joined in the ‘Paint the Change’ event at the longstanding slum that has been home to numerous families for several generations. Hundreds of young and energetic volunteers, artists, writers, and photographers turned up to paint, beautify, photograph, and tell stories about the Sanjay Camp slum community as part of a two-part social initiative, ‘Rang Badlav Ke - Paint the Change’,

by Shalimar Paints.

Minal Srivastava, Vice President, Marketing of Shalimar Paints explained that the initiative was their underlined commitment to drive positive transformation and better the quality of people’s live. The Sanjay Camp has been home to numerous families for generations. It was time to brighten their lives with colours and give them a chance to tell their stories.

The event held in two parts October 6-7 and October 13-14 called upon the city’s youth in order to transform more parts of the Sanjay Camp into lively, vivacious places to live in. ‘Rang Badlav Ke - Paint the Change!’ not only added some much-needed artistic splendour to the slum area but also helped preserve a neighbourhood which is a sanctuary to thousands of people. www.shalimarpaints.com

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Design Paris Longchamp Racecourse, Paris Paris Longchamp, the most important horse race in the world has found a new backdrop while Paris has gained another versatile and enticing leisure attraction. Following a two-year construction period, the racecourse in the Bois de Boulogne Park has a new face as a very special event venue.

French star architect, Dominique Perrault has transformed the venue by replacing the previous stands with a new natural toned four storey building thereby creating an ambience that organically connects the landscape, stands and horses with one another. In the redesign of the emblematic course, he used metal fabric from GKD - Gebr. Kuffernath AGF who is the world market leader in metal, synthetic and spiral mesh solutions.

Perrault has relied on the exceptional characteristics of GKD metal fabrics for his design by using their acoustically effective ceilings, decorative suspended objects and large format wall hangings showing off the fabric elements in this building. The 160 meter long grandstand gives a sense of visual lightness and subtle kinetics. The open, slightly offset and twinangled floors leads to a 20 meter overhang towards the finish line. A wooden boulevard runs parallel to the first overground floor on the parade ring side at 4.5 meters height. query@gkd-india.com www.gkd-india.com

Text By Neerja Kapadia

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Intelligent design need not be restricted to mammoth-sized spaces. Sometimes, even a small idea can lead to stunningly brilliant interior themes.

Mixology Design Mixology spotlights innovative design in various domains such as showrooms, bars, clinics, spas and much more.

ITW Consulting, Bangalore With a brief to create a highenergy and unconventional workspace that stimulates minds as well as invoking innovation to visitors and clients without making any alterations to the existing layout, Smita Thomas of Multitude of Sins took it upon herself to come through victorious. Adopting a futuristic theme divided into three different sci-fi movie zones, she set to give the space a new identity.

The reception boasts of a twenty by twenty feet tall multi-media mural cued from the Bladerunner with an upbeat take on dystopia. With the sheer size, height and abundance of sunlight, the main open planned area almost mimics the feeling of a central courtyard which serves the dual purpose of a waiting area as well as an informal brainstorming session space.

This area is illuminated from above by custom made conduit ceiling lights in a geometric pattern and has pale grey wooden flooring. The communal box tables are built from reclaimed hardwood mix and are painted in bright red with distressed surface graphics and high seating.

Inspired from the retro-futurism of the movie ‘Her’, the work area gets updated to a colourful, evocative, and friendly workspace. smitathomas@multitudeofsins.in www.multitudeofsins.in

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Luxury Residence at M3M Golf Estate-1, Gurugram Located in the Golf Course Extension of Gurugram, this residence takes condominiums to a new level. A fusion of modern and classical home designed by MADS Creations, interiors that are minimalistic and reflective.

The drawing and dining areas are visually connected and have rhythm in transition. Subtle shades of beige and brown are used in these areas making the space look exclusive. The ceiling is void of details, complementing the openness and the wallpaper with grainy texture in gold embellishes the drawing area making it a key feature wall. The metal installation enhances the grandeur.

An elaborate bar unit made in tinted glass lights up the corner next to the dining table whereas the master bedroom has straight lined furniture and a retaining view of the golf course. Wooden flooring and lacquered glass accentuate elegance whereas a deep green coloured ottoman adds just the right amount of vibrancy to the room.

In-house furniture and accessories were curated in lines with the need of the client. Leatherette, suede and faux mixed velvet and tinted glass in them catch the eye. Warm lights over the lavish furniture carry a dramatic appeal of their own. madscreationsmedia@gmail.com www.madscreations.in

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THE MARKETPLACE Kaff Wine Coolers - The Choice Of Connoisseurs

Faber Launches Filter Less Hood Faber provides filter less hood with various elegant designs, which allows you to choose according to your already established decor.

Also this product has better suction efficiency as compared to regular hoods available in the market and comes with a Black duct cover.

This Filter Less Hood is made up of Black Tempered Glass which gives your hood better strength than the ordinary glass. It has Metal Blower, operating cost of blower is low and it also provides with clean air and has no danger of oil droplets or residue.

Designed to mirror your personal style and choice, the leader in innovation, Faber brings you excellence and efficiency in chimney technology. This round, it is back with its new concept of chimney without filter which is a low maintenance product as there no need of regular cleaning. The ‘Filter Less Hood’ has this quality of making less noise, which removes the scope of disturbance while cooking.

The number of wine lovers is increasing every day, due to which, wine coolers are becoming increasingly popular. As more people invest in quality wines, the need for proper storage and temperature control becomes all the more important.

The usual temperatures of kitchen refrigerators are rarely optimum for wines.

It’s here Kaff’s state-of-the-art Wine Coolers play a vital role.

For connoisseurs of fine wines, who love to entertain in style, Kaff Wine Coolers are the perfect choice. They store and chill wine to perfection and keep them healthy and perfect tasting. They are made from superior quality materials that maintain the appropriate temperature required for the integrity of the wine. They also come with dual temperature wherein you can set temperature for Red Wine and White Wine.

Also used for extract oil, smoke, grease while cooking and exhaust out, Faber provides filter less hood with various elegant designs.

Additionally, this product has better suction efficiency as compared to regular hoods available in the market and comes with a Black duct cover as ductable chimneys are best and preferred for Indian kitchens. www.faberindia.com

Signify Launches Innovative Twist & Fit Philips Ceilingsecure Led Downlighter In India Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting formerly known as Philips Lighting has launched its Philips CeilingSecure LED downlighter in India, focused on the home lighting segment.

This innovative Twist & Fit LED downlighter has a modular design featuring a separate LED cartridge that can be fastened into the outer housing installed in the false ceiling of a room. This enables easy installation and prevents ceiling damage when customers want to replace their inoperative downlighter.

The lighting market in India has evolved over the years and there is a visible shift from functional lighting to aesthetic lighting.

Downlighters have become a common feature in most Indian living rooms and commercial spaces including shops, offices and restaurants. While most consumers prefer downlighters, they are apprehensive about ceiling damage that invariably takes place while replacing a non-functional downlighter, as the entire product needs to be replaced by an electrician. To address this gap, Signify has launched its innovative Philips CeilingSecure LED downlighter with a modular design featuring a replaceable LED cartridge that can be easily installed in the housing without any ceiling damage or elaborate installation process. www.lighting.philips.co.in

Main features of the wine cooler is large wooden shelves with sliding , electricity protection grade 1 Anit-UV with brown glass, compressor with fan, cooling black glass door with black casing and S. Steel handle. They also come with LED lighting facility, stainless steel door frame and handle for superior wine storage. www.kaff.in Home Review November 2018

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THE MARKETPLACE Bent Chair Shines With ‘The Metallic Collection’

Bent Chair adds another stellar collection under its belt with the launch of the most-awaited Metallic Line with a never seen before Physical Vapour Deposition Technique (PVD). Adhering to our expertise, this collection presents us with textured 304 grade stainless steel surface and titanium coated with PVD process; a technique which has only been employed in the eye wear and tableware industry.

It is being used in the furnishing line for the very first time by Bent Chair. The technique makes the products durable, adds an extinguished decorative finish, as well as making it low maintenance.

Stonex India Adds Charm With ‘Edifice’ Collection

Inspired by the elegance and showcased by large-size inlaid marble flooring; Stonex India Private Limited has launched the ‘Edifice’ collection to its pre-existing marble range. Its unique natural veins define its captivating, infinite beauty which makes it ideal for modern interior flooring.

This breath-taking collection includes over 300 varieties of marble and natural stones in a wide array of exquisite colours and dazzling textures, curated by Stonex India’s experts from Italy, Spain, Greece, Brazil and Turkey.

www.bentchair.com

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www.stonexindia.net

Parryware Introduces Edge Faucets Introducing the ultra-high flow diverter for the first time in India, the entire faucet line-up aims at catering an individualist need for all bathroom types in most stylish and affordable manner.

The collection ranges from home decor accents to furniture pieces featuring uberluxe elements and creative designs. This series echoes multi-configurative designs while employing quality hardwood and metal together in a versatile frame.

The Metal collection will make you discover a myriad of exciting choices for your eclectic style space by having you chose right from our Victorian quilted benches, Tyrion Chair, Tunnel coffee tables, Tristen Bar Cabinets to Maren Display units. The décor accessories will be available in metallic hues of rose gold, gold and copper.

This collection is a delicate blend of versatile neutrals and bold colours and is available in a multitude of textures which is in sync with the latest trending shades. It also has the power to enrich any surroundings with their rich tones and innovative texture and it is a perfect indicator of the fact that Stonex India is a step ahead of the competition when it comes to providing aesthetic floorings combined with steadfast durability and quality. The 18mm thickness ultra-compact surface gives this design an irresistible charm.

Parryware, India’s contemporary bathroom solutions brand makes another addition to its single lever range of faucets with the launch of Edge faucets. Making a statement, the Edge range of faucets comes with a unique lever design providing a sturdier grip adding to the overall aesthetics and style of one’s bathroom.

Always striving for optimal performance, Parryware’s new range of faucets are engineered with superior quality and sturdy built resulting in better life of the product. Available in a wide range of 21 SKUs including basin mixtures, concealed diverter, angle valve, bib cock, wall spout, sink mixture and pillar cock, the collection offers a comprehensive line-up of durable faucets suiting varied consumer requirements. www.parryware.in

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