INSIDE Journal of Architecture and Design

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H & R Johnson (India) - A Division of Prism Cement Limited Matter Design Services LLP, #456, The Blue House, Monte-Villa Road, Monte-Guirim, Sangolda, Goa 403 511 INDIA think@matter.co.in | studiomatter.in H & R Johnson (India) - A Division of Prism Cement Limited, 7th Floor, Windsor, C.S.T. Road, Kalina, Santacruz (East), Mumbai - 400 098 INDIA inside@hrjohnsonindia.com | hrjohnsonindia.com First Edition, 2017 [Volume 01, Issue 01] Matter Design Services LLP: Ruturaj Parikh, Maanasi Hattangadi, Hrushita Davey & Parvez Memon H & R Johnson (India): Santosh Srivastava, Ketan Trivedi, Alpana Sethi & Prateek Gupta ISBN: 978-81-933936-0-4 Published by Matter Design Services LLP, Goa All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this journal may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the copyright holders.

Designed by Matter in Goa Printed by Parksons Graphics, 12 Todi Estate, Sun Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 013 PRICE: `1500 Although the authors and publishers have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book is correct and factually accurate, the authors and publishers do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

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[IN]SIDE

Š 2017 Matter Design Services LLP and

CONTENTS

04 10 18 32 48 62 74 90

Introduction: Joydeep Mukherjee, Executive Director & CEO, H & R Johnson (India)

On Practice of Interior Design: Samira Rathod

The Atelier, Bengaluru: Biome Environmental Solutions

Make in India Pavilion at Hannover Messe: Architecture Discipline

St John the Baptist Church, Thane: Vikas Dilawari Architects

The Practice of Studio Lotus, New Delhi

The Folly House, Pune: The Busride Design Studio

The Content of Space: Ratan J. Batliboi on Designing Exhibitions

100 108 126 140 152 158 178 186

Industrial Playground: Ajay Shah Design Studio [ASDS], Mumbai

Installations by Abin Design Studio and The Hashtag#Collective

Works of Material Immaterial Studio, Mumbai

Oxides: Reviving the Indian Patent Stone

Polemics: Design & DĂŠcor: Canna Patel, Sandeep Khosla and Ambrish Arora

Origins: The journey of H & R Johnson (India)

Timeline: H & R Johnson (India) Through the Decades

Inside: Ahmedabad Textile Mill Owners’ Association Building by Le Corbusier

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ORIGINS The discipline of architecture and design in India has transitioned from preoccupations of styling and aesthetics to concerns of production, ambience, craft, human interaction, material science, and parametric design. It is not without certainty that the earlier forged boundaries between the inside and outside, the craft and craftsman, the designer and the client; are all slowly diffusing.

With the industry at a crucial crossroads, the significance of a collective discourse on the changing dynamics of the profession is grossly understated. With this critical thought, we conceptualised [IN]SIDE as a content initiative by H & R Johnson (India) in collaboration with Matter to investigate the changing landscape of interior design and architecture in the country. As a legacy brand and an institution deeply invested in the industry, we seek to keep our finger on the pulse of cutting-edge thinking in the disciplines we serve.

Through a set of six curated issues, our idea is to harness conversations around projects that focus on innovation and the craft of making. The first of six, this issue sets the tone for content that will follow in the consecutive journals. At the helm, we want to methodically catalogue ideas and approaches of relevance by engaging the fraternity in an integrated dialogue on the state of design practice.

As we step into our 60th year, the book also features the company’s journey through the decades.

Through ‘Origins’ as an umbrella theme, we have shared in this volume our transition from a small business to an internationally recognised brand documenting this unique change through insights from six indispensable individuals who have immensely contributed towards this organisation’s rich history. They have been guardians of our work and they have done so without compromising our core values, ethics and commitment to excellence. They are the foundations on which our edifices stand. I am sure you will appreciate what we have to share.

This publication also contains a unique visual archive of the important events and milestones from the inception of our company to the present-day. Each subsequent volume aims to introduce an unconventional but substantive format that tells our story to you – our patrons and the core audience of our work. I take this opportunity to thank my team at H & R Johnson (India) and Matter for making this possible. I hope you will find this project meaningful and valuable for your individual work and your fraternity which we hold in very high regard

Joydeep Mukherjee Executive Director and CEO, H & R Johnson (India)

JOYDEEP MUKHERJEE is the Executive Director and CEO, H & R Johnson (India) where he leads the company across all its businesses and operations. Joydeep brings with him over twenty seven years of experience in Sales, Marketing and General Management. In his last assignment with ACC Limited, he was Chief Executive of the South and West Regions of ACC and thereafter, was also overseeing the Ready-Mix Concrete business, logistics and Business to Business Sales and Marketing. In his earlier assignments, Joydeep was the National Sales Manager in Hindalco Ltd. and Regional Head in an Indian Aluminium Company. He holds an Executive Masters Degree in International Business from IIFT-New Delhi.

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INTRODUCTION

Right: Archival Image of the Thane Plant (1959)

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SPACE, SURFACE AND OBJECT Mainstream design publishing in India has been in a state of crisis since a decade. With an exception of a few journals, magazines and online portals, the quantum of professional design literature produced in India has very little critical value. As a reaction to this deficit, we framed a bold project with H & R Johnson (India): a three-year and six-edition series of high-quality biannual journals on contemporary architecture, interior design and design thinking reflecting on practice in the Indian context. As stakeholders of the construction and design industry, H & R Johnson (India) partnered with us to co-create this unique experiment. We agreed that the time is right for an in-depth and reflective publication that refrains from celebrating the image of design and dwells deeper into layers of process and ideas. Thus, [IN]SIDE. Over the next three years, [IN]SIDE will explore contemporary architecture and interior design in India as a professional curatorial project to chronicle critical thoughts and methods that frame the multi-lateral viewpoints that have enriched our environment. We want to record diversity of approaches and individual vantage-points that we observe today. While a great rigour exists in many practices that try and push the known boundaries of design and engagement with context, much is lost in the way in which design is documented in media and consequential propositions overlooked by the short attention-span of the reader. We do not wish to flirt with arbitrary fashion.

Each edition will look at work through three simple apertures: Space, Surface and Object.

‘Space’ deals with three-dimensional articulations of environment for human habitation – architecture, interior design, exhibition design etc. ‘Surface’ explores the two-dimensional component in the making of space – materials, application, technique and impact. ‘Object’ documents non-animate articles that inhabit the space – products, accessories, furniture and lighting. This rudimentary system of filing editorial pieces in the journal has enabled us to dwell deeper and to be organic in our search while gently holding the content of the journal as a conceptual whole. The pace of the publication will allow the reader to make sense of thin threads that bind the content.

Many contributors who entrusted us with their work and donated time and effort to this project have made this first edition possible. They gave us editorial space and suffered us as we went about demanding material and posing questions. In the process of composing the features, we consciously tried to avoid arm-chair journalism and endeavoured to personally engage with as many contributors we could to discuss the projects and their ideas on the work published here.

This engagement gave us a greater insight into their studios and helped us clearly frame the objective of editorial for each. The videos and audio files – recordings of these conversations are rich repositories of thoughts and a record of the new spirit of design in India.

H & R Johnson (India) – our patrons and partners in this exercise have taken this opportunity to tell us their story. As one of the first companies to set up a manufacturing plant in India,

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PREFACE

they have come a long way in their 60-year run. From a small firm with twelve employees, they have grown to export to more than fifty countries today and have pioneered vitrified tile technology amongst others with many firsts including ‘Making in India’ since six decades now. In ‘Origins’, we talk to H & R Johnson (India) about their journey with an intent to better understand their values and passion for the products they make and the communities they serve. They will continue to talk to us on many aspects of their company, brand and institution in the editions to come.

Over this and the next five issues, we seek to generate a conversation on design thinking, design making and design reporting in our country. We wish to thank individuals at Matter and at H & R Johnson (India) who worked tirelessly and well beyond their mandate. We wish to thank our editorial contributors who entrusted us with their work and we wish to thank everyone in the conceptualisation-editorial-design-production line who took a chance on an experimental idea and won

Ruturaj Parikh, Matter

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On Practice of Interior Design

by Samira Rathod

In this issue, Samira Rathod, Principal, Samira Rathod Design Associates writes about the predicaments and opportunities of practising interior architecture in India - a context where the discipline is disorganised and there is lack of clarity on the role of design consulting in the interior space.

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Images: ŠSRDA; Courtesy Samira Rathod

KEYNOTE

PRACTICE To write about interior design as a practice is very tough since we do not see Interior design as a formal, organised discipline in India. When we were studying architecture, there was no independent/separate interior design practice in India and no interior designers that were respected or known enough. The profession, at some level, has bifurcated the practice of spatial design into the profession of an architect, the interior designer, and the stylist. The idea of architecture that used to be ‘more sculpture’ is also diminishing. There is an architecture of the city which is homogenous and perhaps monotonous – boxes everywhere and in this landscape, you encounter occasional vivacious buildings. It is thus that largely the interior spaces create an experience of living in our cities. The idea of modern architecture that revolved around a consistent architecture with all in-between spaces for community living has found a perverse version in our modern cities. For instance, the Unité d’habitation by Le Corbusier or his buildings in Chandigarh exist in a dichotomy with the landscape where the landscape is actually intended to be found within the buildings. In contemporary urban conditions, the idea of Interior Architecture is becoming increasingly important. I believe that the design of interior space is closest to the human scale and thus, to the experience of architecture itself.

Right: The SRDA Studio

As an architect, when I design interior spaces, my approach is more inclined towards design of space and less towards styling. Being equipped to deal with space in its many scales and forms, I find myself comfortable in dealing with the interior space. In my experience, when one looks at the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, when one encounters it, it moves you owing to his passion and dedication to detail in

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An Architecture for transposability

The Atelier, Bengaluru by Biome Environmental Solutions 12

Images: ŠBiome Environmental Solutions; Anurag Tamhankar, Soujanya Krishnaprasad, Shibani Choudhury and Vivek Muthuramalingam

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Restoring Cultural Heritage St John the Baptist Church, Thane by Vikas Dilawari Architects

Images: ©VDA; Allan Fernandez and Jervis Alvares

Afflicted with bureaucratic hurdles and unsettling realities, the condition of living heritage in the country is grave. At a time when the practice of urban heritage conservation has seen a paradigm shift to ‘beautification’, the meticulous restoration of St John the Baptist Church by Mumbai-based Vikas Dilawari Architects resurfaces the need for patronage in conservation.

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SPACE

With the onset of economic liberalisation, the early 1990s witnessed generous patronage from the private sector for the Conservation of Arts and Culture. Inheriting a rich legacy of architectural heritage, Mumbai was among the pioneering cities to acquire heritage legislation in India. More than two and a half decades on, inadvertent conservation practices have defamed an illustrious past and endangered the built heritage.

In 1995, Vikas Dilawari Architects was among the first to break ground in restoring historic building interiors in India with the American Express Bank in Fort, Mumbai. For the past 26 years, Dilawari has been conserving some of Mumbai’s grandest structures, resisting complacent approaches and focusing on dignified restoration of a formidable architecture. The recently restored St John the Baptist Church in Thane presents a unique case in the holistic conservation of a cultural heritage.

Facing Page Below: St John the Baptist Church in the late 19th century Below: Chronological development of the church

PHASE 1: Conjectured original fabric of the church

PHASE 2: Late 19th or early 20th century extension

Phase 3: Late 20th century interventions

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Constructs on a plane The Folly House, Pune by The Busride Design Studio

“Soupy spaces have temporal dimensions.” – The Folly House in Pune is imagined to be an assemblage of excitable points of intensity floating on large, tactile planes that transform on interaction and engagement into spaces of utility and wonder.

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SPACE Images: ©The Busride Design Studio; Studio Kunal Bhatia

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The Content of Space Ratan J. Batliboi on Designing Exhibitions

In conversation with Ratan Batliboi, Principal, Ratan J. Batliboi Consultants, we discuss exhibition design as a discipline and an area of his creative endeavour, drawing from his exhaustive portfolio in design of an array of temporary and permeant exhibitions and his insight into the processes that work on the front and back-end of the experience.

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Images: ŠRatan J. Batliboi Consultants Private Limited

DIALOGUE

[IN]SIDE: [IN] RATAN J. BATLIBOI: RB

Tell us about your interest in designing exhibitions. How did you get initiated in this discipline?

Through college, I used to work on technical aspects of fashion shows for my aunt. I was always interested in the backstage-frontstage stuff and exhibitions just fell in our lap. I was once speaking with Maitreya Doshi and his father Vinod Doshi of Premier Automobiles about doing a show in a factory and they were participating in an auto expo. Thus, the idea of the exposition space as an exhibition emerged. This first exhibition that we designed was 25,000 square feet display in the good old Hall of Nations at Pragati Maidan. It was great fun and since, we started designing for this expo every two years. All our initial clients were in the ‘Auto’ space – Premier, Bajaj and many accessory companies. We used to work on exhibitions, November through January. In parallel, I used to practice architecture and interior design taking on as many commissions we could, that included film sets, fashion shows and sets for advertisement films. We did an exhaustive lot of work and that is how it all started!

[IN] RB

What are the fundamentals for understanding and designing an exhibition?

Let us look at client-driven exhibitions and sometimes, client-driven exhibitions reflect the clients’ personality and the personality of the brand or the specific product that one is exhibiting. We realised that we used to work a lot on integrating the client’s or the brand’s perception about itself against what we, as designers, wanted to project or present. This process was quite exciting as these relationships and ideas were strongly spatial – our exhibitions were three dimensional and they were not about plastering graphics on the walls.

The space was more sculpted and we designd in a way that people went under, over and around the space.

Being architects, our sense of spatial design was very different from a graphic-design firm. The core idea and the point of departure would come from the nature of content and user of the exhibition space. My exhibition team has always been non-standard. I would bring in anybody who I felt would be exciting to bring on board. Over time, we nurtured a team of professional contractors who had a diversity of skills and execution acumen.

Facing Page: Photograph of a re-created alley from the ‘Ten Art’ show on Sachin Tendulkar Right: The TATA Pavilion – a temporary space assumes an architectural scale

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In retrospect, the visual attributes and the appeal of the product

furniture design is a discipline in its nascent stages with designers

is a consequence of the design process that involves careful and

often banking on disorganised professional delivery structures and

sophisticated exploration of formal and material qualities. In this

under-developed prototyping mechanisms to produce sophisticated

process, there is a distance from stylistic subscriptions and attributes

pieces of work. Brands like the Industrial Playground are also

of taste. However, the rigour in the development of design contributes

consciously aiding in changing this narrative by pushing the discipline

to the eventual visual and tactile appeal of the piece. Going beyond

to organise itself better and by making patrons more aware of the

drawings and digital renderings, the studio is invested in making

possibilities of Indian industrial design.

paper models which enable them to involve their faculties more immediately with the product.

As ASDS continues to work on select commissioned projects and developing brands like Rubberband, Ajay Shah says, “Today

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Not all furniture designed by ASDS is produced in quantity even

we are more selective in what we design and what we produce;

though intended for mass production and manufacturing. This pushes

because we realise that the language of products we like need

them to think consistently about economy of form and substance to

to be original in thought and stem out of an idea of a material, a

design furniture that serves as both – select pieces in small quantity

function and a corresponding form.” ASDS continues to innovate in

and production-line prototypes. This comes with a sense of simplicity

the field of furniture design through research-driven initiatives. The

and clarity – no work has unnecessary embellishment and no part

resultant objects intrigue and excite us with their playful designs and

serves purely as a visual intervention. In the Indian context, modern

sophisticated making

Facing Page Above: ‘Wire’ chairs Above Right: Rubberband’s ‘Paint Box’ series notebooks by ASDS

Founded by Ajay Shah in 2002, AJAY SHAH DESIGN STUDIO [ASDS] is an interdisciplinary design firm providing holistic design solutions by unifying product, space and graphic design. After graduating from NID, Ajay Shah worked as a furniture designer, producer and retailer through Exemplar Systems Private Limited before starting an independent firm in 1990 by the title ‘Circus Design Company’. ASDS has since been a studio undergoing transitions every few months by seeking to practise design more widely. Refusing to stay grounded to one discipline or one type of client. A studio that consistently re-invents itself, ASDS has created respected brands like Rubberband and Industrial Playground in its wake. In 2016, Industrial Playground products were merged into Rubberband as an umbrella brand. By centering the process of design within the concerns of material integrity, detail and functionality, the design practice at ASDS is deeply involved in creating a contemporary aesthetic without subscribing to stylistic and visual overtones. Today, the studio continues to work on select commissioned projects and Rubberband design developments from their Mumbai studio.

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Images: ŠAbin Design Studio; Abin Chaudhuri, Rounak Sengupta, Rangan Chatterjee, Sayantan Chakraborty AND ŠThe Hashtag#Collective; Krithika Sriram, Swatti Ravi, Sai Prawin

In Search For The Ephemeral

Installations by Abin Design Studio & The Hashtag#Collective In the wake of an individualistic contemporary culture, the integrated synergies of art and architecture to affect a greater public engagement encourages intimacy through inclusivity. Assessing the impact of ephemeral spaces in unconventional sites is the work of Kolkata-based Abin Design Studio and The Hashtag#Collective.

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OBJECT

Man has always been a compulsive storyteller narrating in a language of cultural creations. At various stages of our civilisation, artefacts have been found that bind time, space and ritual. In context of the prevailing culture, buildings inadvertently have a malleable existence in our psyche. In the many folds of architecture, there exists the idea of impermanence of the world which is distinctly known for its physical departure from the site. Subliminally spaces which possess an innate presence of materiality, semantics, context and order inhabit temporal structures erected to facilitate a communal purpose. Under the pretext of ephemerality, their experiential quality imbeds the connotation of space perceived. The apparent intimacy is subjective to the processes involved in the creation of an ‘object’.

The spectrum of work featured here by Abin Design Studio and The Hashtag#Collective ranges from temporal celebratory structures to independent installations as stimulators of interaction with the ‘object’, its setting as well as with each other. Within this premise, each of them is foremost conceived with concurrence of time, place, and occasion.

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OBJECT

IN CONCLUSION Recent technological and social trends have enabled a confluence of materials and attributes which offer a fertile environment, unencumbered by the specificity of functions and codes that do not restrict explorations in installation projects. With a clear narrative stringed together with a contextual underpinning, the ephemerality in these spaces endeavours to provide the society with a frame of reference for their current existence and an explanation of the world in which they find themselves occupying. As models in public space in which the city’s inhabitants are engaged, the new spirit in architecture celebrated here is about freedom, social responsibility, respect for history and hierarchy

Facing Page Above: The installation as seen in its context in an exterior courtyard at Mattancherry, Kochi Facing Page Below: The installation held together with criss-crossing of Chinese or Cheenavala fishing ropes Above: An assembly of hand-made alloy mirrors called Aranmula Kannadi

Founded by Abin Chaudhuri, ABIN DESIGN STUDIO was established as a multi-disciplinary practice in October 2005. Since then, ADS has executed a range of diverse projects that has engaged with multiple issues, and of varying scales, from interior design and architecture to urban design and art. Their work encompasses projects of varying scales ranging from institutional and urban projects to private residences and installations. A conscious effort to explore the ‘unknown’ journey, experimentation with materials and technology, and the engaging of art and culture has been the approach for realising each project from inception to execution.

THE HASHTAG#COLLECTIVE is a collaboration between Biju Kuriakose, Parvathi Nayar, Abin Chaudhuri and Saira Biju that explores multi-disciplinary interventions, provisional propositions and site-specific installations in the public realm. Based out of Chennai and Kolkata, the collaborators have strong creative practices and have worked on permanent and temporary art works in the past, ranging from installations at Chennai’s Marina Beach in Tamil Nadu to Fort Kochi in Kerala.

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art than functionality; their work refers to the taste for quirkier things

come across as engaging visual and tactile objects that compel one

in life, reflects the mentation of everything that relates to architecture.

to tinker with it, feel its texture and weigh it to wonder on the process

The duo confess their love for creating products that are not always

that has made it.

utilitarian in nature, explaining that the notion of functionality sometimes dilutes their interest of making.

The influence of Peter Zumthor, Carlo Scarpa and John Pawson is evident in Material Immaterial’s work. There is an aspirational

Nitin says: “Before Material Immaterial became a formal identity,

connection. There is a general emphasis on pushing the possibilities

we were doing things because we just wanted to do them and that

with the material at hand, and this engagement with the material

urge of doing something had already superseded any sensibilities of

leads research for the designers. It is de-stressing to witness the work

marketing or saleability.”

culture of a liberal and intrinsic design process, detailed through drawings and process models.

Barchha talks about the antics of looking for designer-oriented gifts

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and novelties. Fed up of the narrow window in this particular domain,

As an architectural practice, their Mumbai-based studio ‘The White

the partners decided to pour their ideas into a mould and craft them,

Room’ is in constant dialogue with the objects they design. The scale

heedless of their bankability. Elimination of the ghost of economy

models and drawings enable them to envision the design and engage

from the process made their work a form of expression. The products

with the object on a real scale. The ‘Spaces’ collection is a fine

OBJECT

Facing Page and Right: From collection: ‘Mirage’ – process and product

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Images: ŠH & R Johnson (India) - A Division of Prism Cement Limited

gins

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Above: Inside the H & R Johnson Plant at Pen

ORIGINS

H & R Johnson (India) This curated segment traces the journey of H & R Johnson (India) as traversed in nearly past six decades since its inception in 1958. As pioneers of the Indian tile and ceramics industry, H & R Johnson (India) has transcended from a company manufacturing products to an institution that nurtures innovation and entrepreneurship.

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ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON

Over the past six decades, H & R Johnson (India) has led the industry

This issue chronicles discussions with six individuals - of the many,

with its inimitable commitment to quality, design and human values

who have helped shape this legacy. Pesi Elavia, Ramachandran

– the foundations on which the present conglomerate is built. Today,

Kurup, Shivram Pednekar, Farhan Akhtar, Arun Rao and Anoop

a listed company within the umbrella of Prism Cement Limited, H &

Sreekumar of H & R Johnson (India) talk about the beginnings of the

R Johnson (India) has many milestones to celebrate – from being the

company, its transformation through a tough transition, landmark

first company to export tiles from India to being one of the first Indian

technical and marketing innovations, its growing relationship with the

brands to start a certificate course for masons; from an innovator

industry, the many brands of H & R Johnson (India) and its national

in ceramics to a multinational with an in-house research and

and international reach. The visual material and the timeline in this

development infrastructure, H & R Johnson (India) has come a long

section are wonderful glimpses of this past from the archives of H & R

way since its inception.

Johnson (India).

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H & R JOHNSON CO

AUSTRALIA . BAHRAIN . BANGLADESH . BHUTAN . BRUNEI . CONGO . CYPRUS . ETHIOPIA . FRANCE . GAMBIA . GHANA MAURITIUS . MEXICO . MONTENEGRO . MOROCCO . MOZAMBIQUE . MYANMAR . NEPAL . NEW ZEALAND . NIGERIA . O SPAIN . SRI LANKA . SWAZILAND . SWITZERLAND . TAIWAN . TANZANIA . U

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ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

OUNTRIES OF EXPORT

. GREECE . HONGKONG . IRELAND . ISRAEL . KENYA . KOREA . KUWAIT . MALAWI . MALAYSIA . MALDIVES . MAURITANIA OMAN . PAPUA NEW GUINEA . PHILLIPINES . QATAR . RAWANDA . RUSSIA . SAMOA . SAUDI . SEYCHELLES . SOUTH AFRICA UAE . UGANDA . UK . USA . VIETNAM . WEST INDIES . ZAMBIA . ZIMBABWE

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1965: First Tunnel Kilns in Operation

1958: Company Incorporation H & R Johnson was incorporated on 25th January this year | H & R Johnson had only 12 employees and ‘Cristal’ was their trademark

1960: Mr John Doorbar of Johnson UK Joined the Company as a Tile Expert

1966: 4¼”x4¼”x¼” White Glazed Tiles Sold at Rupees 5.50 per Dozen 1962: First Evolution of H & R Johnson Logo

1962: First Team at the Thane Plant (L-R): Mr K B Dalal, Mr Keshav Datar, Mr K N Pedder, Mr Johnson, Mr Alfred Sherwin, Mr Nurullah, Mr Keshav Sharma and Mr Pesi Elavia

1959: First Manufacturing Plant set up at Thane

Production of 20 square meters per day | Manufacturing of hand-pressed 6”x6” tiles | Tiles delivered and transported by bullock-carts and hand-carts

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1970: First SprayDryer Installed at Thane Plant Manufactured by L & T Niro for Rs. 35 lakhs

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1975: H & R Johnson Pvt. Ltd. Became H & R Johnson (India) Pvt. Ltd.

He trained the staff in tilebody development at Thane, Dewas and Kunigal Plants | Upgraded the process from manual to semi-automatic and automatic tile presses

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On May 2nd, 1959 Mr Pesi Elavia joined the Company | He continues to be a part of the organisation even today

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1959: Mr Pesi Elavia Joins

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON

1980: Production of 6”x6” and 4¼”x4¼” Tiles in a Gloss Kiln

1984: Launch of First Non-metro Branches in Cochin, Hyderabad, Indore and Pune

1990: H & R Johnson Logo Redesigned

1996: Set up Plant at Pen, Raigad, Maharashtra The processes of Monoporosa and Monocottura introduced | First company to launch a multimedia kiosk in India

1986: Dewas Plant Starts Manufacturing of Floor Tiles

1982: Set up of Refractory Department at Dewas

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1992: Exports to 10 Countries

1993: Rajan Raheja Group Acquires H & R Johnson (India) 1981: Establishment of Plant at Dewas Manufacturing of wall tiles began at Dewas Plant | Panels of 4¼”x4¼” tiles were made under the brand name Cristal

1994: Fourth Evolution of H & R Johnson (India) Logo 1997: First Customer Care Cell in India for Tiles 1996: First Johnson Plant to Receive the ISO certification 1989: Establishment of the Kunigal Plant 1987: Installation of First Computer

The Dewas Plant received the 9000:1 certification

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2004: Began Outsourcing Operations

1998: First Executive Committee Formed 1999: Launched Marbonite A Range of Vitrified Tiles and an Iconic Brand

2002: H & R Johnson (India) Becomes a Government of India Certified Export House

Karai clay mines were purchased in 2001 | Introduction of Porselano Brand | First Display Centre at Bengaluru | Launch of ‘House of Johnson’ Newsletter

2003: First Joint Venture

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2007: Johnson Kitchen Brand Launched

2007: Start of Johnson-Nobila Association

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2004 2003: Drafted Core Values & Vision of the Company

Pioneered the concept of Joint Venture in manufacturing of tiles with a plant in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh | Set up a Frit Plant at Karaikal, Tamil Nadu

1999: R & D Centre set up at Pen Plant

2005: Presented Natural Gas Conservation Award by GAIL

Partnership with IISC, Bengaluru for research | Became first tile manufacturer to implement SAP | Initiated backward integration for tile manufacturing with IPNR division

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Introduction of Endura tiles and Milano bath brands | Closing and Relocation of Facilities at the Thane Plant | The first R & D set up to get approvals from the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Government of India

2001: Purchase of Mines as a Step Towards Backward Integration

Became the first player from the organised tile segment to start outsourcing operations in Rajkot for the domestic market

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2000: Launch of H & R Johnson Bath Division

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Mr Vijay Aggarwal appointed Managing Director | 5th Evolution of Company Logo

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON

2017: Now Exporting to 55 Countries!

2008: Introduction of Johnson Ceramics International

1000+ pan-India dealers | 10000+ sub-dealers | 13 manufacturing plants all over India | 65 million square meters tile manufacturing capacity annually | 25 ‘House of Johnson’ showrooms | Pan-India customer service

2011: Launched Marbonite Stain-Free, Johnson Germ-Free, Marbonite GVT, Johnson Cristal Marble & Quartz

2017: Johnson Marble & Quartz Received the UL GreenGuard Certification

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2016: H & R Johnson (India) Received the Business Superbrand Title

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2012: Launched the Johnson Tile Learning Centre at Pen

2010: Amalgamation Under Prism Cement Limited H & R Johnson (India) Limited changes to H & R Johnson (India) - A Division of Prism Cement Ltd. | Prism Cement, RMC and H & R Johnson (India) amalgamated under Prism Cement Limited | Launched the Johnson Digital: a range of digitally printed tiles | 6th evolution of the company logo | H & R Johnson (India) ranked 7th largest tile manufacturer in the world!

2013: First Television Campaign H & R Johnson (India) signed actress Katrina Kaif as their first Brand Ambassador | Launched The Johnson Tile Guide - first of its kind in the country | 7th evolution of the Company Logo

2015: Launched Red Ramp Project A one of its kind initiative by a tile manufactuting company promoting the cause of access-friendly spaces

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