[IN]SIDE Volume 01 Issue 01

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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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PACE

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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. eing e uipped 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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his architecture and in the interior space of his buildings, all the way to the door-knob. In the Fallingwater, with an exception of a chair that was bought by the client, everything is designed by Wright. There is no sense of rejection and his architecture and the interior space seems to be in complete synchrony.

This is true even for the Ronchamp Church [Notre Dame du Haut] that I visited recently. The church and everything within is designed by Corbusier and there is great power in this idea of continuity where all things - from the benches, the flooring, the confession box, the staircase and the railings - are designed by the Master. I think the same phenomenon is at work at Gandhiji’s ashram at Sabarmati where you know that the architecture and the interior space has a visceral connection to the idea of Satyagraha, and frugality and emancipation.

I love to work on a cohesive vision. I have an understanding that the interior space is also where both I and my client want to express themselves. Over the years, I have come to a realisation that this space has to be designed in collaboration with the people who are to use it. While in some projects, I let go but I have also had clients who have approached me because they want the cohesive idea and they know that I would want the interior space to behave in a certain way. I want everything to have a certain connection that comes through deliberate design. The interior space is no longer a styled ensemble but a specific piece of architecture that is made in close conversation with the client and it is a conversation which enables both to grow.

Left: Craftsmanship - learning in the making of the object

CRAFTSMANSHIP AND MAKING As creative thinkers – architects, artists, musicians – all of us have a desire to make something original.

The more you pursue that desire the more you discover a unique and perhaps an unprecedented way of doing things that you believe is your own. Many call this a ‘signature’ but it is not so simple. As one keeps at working on something with a certain rigour and consistency, one develops a degree of mastery in

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KEYNOTE

dealing with the said material, medium or technique. This is very different from developing a style that has visual attributes. I am increasingly beginning to understand that there is nothing that I do not like. There is no material that I have a distaste for and no process that I do not want to explore. When we work with materials, we recognise certain attributes of the material and we recognise that as we work with them, they begin to manifest themselves in a particular way that is appreciated by all and this I believe is a reflection of the honesty with which the design process works.

While polishing the wood blue, I want to know the potential of the polish and the way the polish will change the wood. The way polish will interact with the wood becomes the experiment. Everything is a particular research for me. There was a time in history where honesty in expression had a connection with an idea of permanence: an idea that the works of architecture and design will last forever but this idea is in transition now and is challenged by more ephemeral aspects of design. We do not want permanence anymore. We want change and this shift of perception has essentially altered the parameters of design. In my work, I am even looking at the idea of architecture from that vantage point where the very definition of architecture which once was grounded, timeless and forever is now changing into grounded, ‘not so timeless’ and ‘never forever’ but perpetually willing to change and adapt. Increasingly thus, in our studio, we have started researching on the dismantling and demolition of projects.

I have grown with the idea of craftsmanship or ‘karigari’. I have always worked extensively on the site.

While drawings communicate much of design, the feedback from the design can be clearly articulated on the site. I am constantly talking to the person who is executing the design and this process of conversing Below: Design and detail: Process of the experiment and feedback

while executing helps me understand the ‘making’ of the design. When talking to painters, I am constantly

seeking feedback on questions of their selection of material, the mix, the tools, the application process and the way they work with the paint. There is a lot of control, and yet there is serendipity. There are accidents in crafting a design that can lead to further experimentation. Craftsmen work with intuition and they have an intrinsic understanding of material. They have a relationship with their material. I keep on emphasising Overleaf: The experience of the interior space is delimited by the ensemble

in my practice and teaching on the value of making things and the ability to do so eloquently. I believe that by making things, one can grasp the act of building and this urge to create or make something and

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to dismantle or break something in order to understand it is always present in children. The instinct stays and it is permeant. This instinctive response to material and crafting is something that no instruction can help develop. In my work with the craftsmen on site, I learn their way of thinking and I try and employ the knowledge in my work.

This knowledge is tacit and cannot be made explicit. Use and function add another layer of meaning to a space. The endeavour of my design is also to understand the complexity and changing nature of use. How can we create spaces that have multiple meanings and many layers of activity? How can a library be a performance space where the book is the material of its architecture? Alternately, how can the performance be enhanced by being located in the library where books are the acoustic material? I also like to work with air and light – the two omnipresent materials that I want to bring in the discussion – material not just as a surface but as sensation of space.

I do not think that the world is looking at Interior Design the way I spoke about it. When people like Jean Prouvé or Charles and Ray Eames contemplated a product, a space or architecture, they were looking at the big set and all the small things were a part of this big set. For a good piece of design to emerge, processes have to be collaborative. There has to be a collaboration between the designer and the client and between the designer and the craftsman. I collaborate with artists, landscape architects, stylists but as a practice, we are continuously looking at the big set and the collaborations are a part of this big set in the process of moving towards a cohesive vision. The framing of this vision is a critical act of design.

CONTEXT The way Interior Design discipline is being shaped up in India presently, in my opinion, inclines towards styling and décor as Interior Design. A good stylist can have a great eye for the texture and the detail of the space but styling has its limitations. Styling cannot solve problems. If a project on a shoe-string budget is presented to the stylist, the stylist is most likely to find issues with the budget. A designer on the other had is equipped to deal with the challenge. Our pedagogy on Interior Design is not well-structured. Our design education is myopic. We do not teach design to create individuals who can look at a problem with a conviction that the solution lies in design. In a recent documentary on

etflix, I could observe students

in indhoven in Amsterdam working on the design of a rolling pin for flour – a simple device that enables one to make pizza bases. A student had designed the pin in acrylic to enable the user a view of the dough through the pin thus creating a product that generates a changing image as one rolls the pin. The design of the pin enhances the experience of rolling the dough. This visceral connection that design has with human interaction is missing from the majority of discussions in the design schools: the experience of holding a cup when one drinks tea can bring great joy to the act of drinking tea. Design can be engaging at the human scale. There is a certain dissonance in our instruction-based system of educating designers.

The model of apprenticeship is completely absent. I would stress on all design students to work with a fabricator or a carpenter or even work in a textile factory to have a direct and a first-person engagement with the material and with the process. As architects, one is supposed to have a licence to practice but as an interior designer, there is no such process and this is perhaps where the discipline of interior design in India needs to mobilise. Presently, there is no fraternity; only a club of stylists.

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KEYNOTE

To conclude, I must address the significance and also, the insignificance of the image in design. Image plays a constructive and a disruptive role in design. Images – especially the kind that are propagated by platforms like Pinterest – hinder and dumb down the process of design which essentially is hinged on the idea of eloquence and making. With Pinterest, the solution is visible and once the image is made explicit, the discussion on regionalism and individuality that is central to the design of the interior space loses traction with the user or the client. For me, the understanding of the user is essential to design – the background, the tastes, the passions – as much as the understanding of the programme at hand.

Design dwells in the idea of enhancing the experience through design and an image can cut that process drastically short, thus invariably diminishing the experience. I enjoy engaging. My design is guided by experience and intuition and the image has very little role to play in it.

The advantage of practising in India is the opportunity one gets to take the project right to the end.

Patronage is important and we do not have the right kind of patronage in India. We invest very little in research and intellectual development of the project and the institutional work that goes into building a practice has to be subsidised by the practice. When we innovate, a failed experiment and a successful one cannot be judged separately – that is the basis of research in practice. We do not have patronage for research in India especially in the domain of design. We are disorganised as a discipline and casual in our work culture. I think if we, as designers, organise ourselves better in the fraternity, we can change the perception of patronage but on the other hand, this informal culture of making allows one to make mistakes. It is affordable to make mistakes in India and that is the most important idea – the one that makes all the difference

SAMIRA RATHOD is the Principal and Founder of Samira Rathod Design Associates - an acclaimed experimental and critical contemporary design practice in India. She is the editor and creator of SPADE and Founder and Director of SPADE India Research Cell which researches the condition and impact of design in India. Her recent venture ‘The Big Piano’ looks at furniture as objects of art and craft that can render a visceral experience to material and design.

She is an adjunct faculty member at the Kamala Raheja Institute of Architecture in Mumbai and has been invited to be a part of juries and panels all over the country and abroad.

KEYNOTE is the opening essay by an eminent architect / designer / thinker that frames a critical concern of practising architecture, interior design and pedagogy in India.

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AN ARCHITECTURE FOR TRANSPOSABILITY

The Atelier, Bengaluru by Biome Environmental Solutions 18

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

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Inspired by an effectual educational approach, The Atelier: an unconventional learning facility designed

by Bengaluru-based Biome Environmental Solutions strikes a balance between sensitivity and tactility that upholds a child’s sense of wonder.

In their primary cognitive years children gather experiences from places which allow them a sense of personal control and freedom; in environments which augment their imagination. Designed by Bengaluru-based Biome Environmental Solutions, The Atelier is literally a creative studio for children aged 2-6 years; evolved from a harmonious understanding of a dexterous pedagogy.

Situated on a compact leased land in close proximity to a warehouse and a construction activity site, the architecture of The Atelier aspires to create an experience through orchestration of a transposable but economical scheme which stems from the understanding that, “The permanence of a building may no longer be a prerequisite in its design.……it is necessary to allow material recovery and recycling, or reconstruct the same building elsewhere – anything but create debris that will occupy landfills.”

Contrary to popular belief, spaces designed for children often leave traces of easy sentiment with a pronounced anthropometry that inadvertently confines their innate ability to in uire. ontrastingly, a casual but clever abstraction of their tectonic surroundings has an astounding impact on activities planned for their day.

Enlivened by a meandering, scaled-down townscape, the interior space is replete with alleyways and distinct activity ones elo uently dispersing from a central piazza.

Far Left: Preliminary sketch of the figure-ground relationship between internal spaces Left: Preliminary sketch of distinct diverse functions around a central piazza

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1. Entrance 2. Reception 3. Piazza 4. Childhood Stimulation Centre 5. Play area 6. Toilets 7. Pantry 8. Studio 9. Executive office 10. Classroom 11. CafĂŠ 12. Outdoor seating 13. Outdoor play area 14. Fish pond 15. Play area 16. Tree deck 17. Car park 18. Plot entrance 19. Office mezzanine 20. Classroom mezzanine

Ground Floor Plan

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2-3 year old classroom furniture layout 01

4-5 year old classroom furniture layout 01

2-3 year old classroom furniture layout 02

4-5 year old classroom furniture layout 02

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Staircase Railing Elevation

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The conceptual diagramming encapsulates different functions,

Often, a uniform intensity of light across a homogeneous space does

while establishing an intimate figure-ground relationship. The

not engage an occupant as much as a variable either in its palette

ingenuity lies in the way this construct effortlessly appeals to the

or luminescence engages through tactility. At The Atelier, a subdued

young inhabitants without a hint of intimidation despite a strikingly

earthen interior palette permits the gaze of the eye to penetrate its

bold structure. Surrounded by barren lands, the design envisages

surface convincing one of the veracity of its materials.

a landscape within the contained volume. Inspired by the structural finesse of Frei Otto’s work, the architects proposed a ‘tree-like’

Complying with a tactual sensibility of the interior space, the use of

framework to support the roof.

paper lends itself effortlessly by becoming a part of the child’s daily activities. The honeycomb sheets for the furniture procured from scrap

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A light galvanized metal sheet slopes from the south to north

are simply stacked and stuck together to use, roll or kick around. The

sheltering the entire school. Another compelling analogy is that of

motility in the perceived space is heightened by the curvilinear shape

a traditional ‘gurukul’ setting. ach of the eight structural columns

of the classrooms enclosed with paper-tube ‘walls’ of appropriately

resembles a branching tree in a perceptible scale and enabling

varying heights. A continuous band of perforations wraps the building

interaction not only with each other but also with the architecture.

below the standard sill height facilitating a visual connect with

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Above Left Top: A scanned image from Frei Otto: Form and Structure by Philip Drew Above Left Bottom: Steel framework detail of the ‘tree’ columns Above Right: Development of the section Below: Section across outdoor play area [5], classroom [10], piazza [3] and childhood stimulation centre [4]

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the outside world, while ensuring safety of the children. Despite a consistent intensity of luminance, it is in the reflective uality of these materials that the interiors exude a familiar warmth and comfort.

The composite architecture of The Atelier partakes in sublime delight of ergonomic proportions that engages the senses. It embraces the fluidity of internal spaces and yet, is mindful of the simple geometry that it is enclosed within

BIOME ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS is a Bengaluru-based design firm with a keen focus on architecture, ecology and water. Formed in 2008 through a partnership between Chitra K Viswanath and Vishwanath S, their work places a strong emphasis on creating ecologically sound buildings incorporating the indigenous wisdom of vernacular design.

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Images: ŠArchitecture Discipline; Akshat Bhatt, Holtmann & Co. GmbH

MEMORY, HISTORY AND MODERNITY

The Make in India Pavilion at Hannover Messe

by Architecture Discipline A pavilion demands condensation of content into an experience that dwells on a particular narrative. For the India Pavilion in Hannover Messe 2015, Architecture Discipline took the opportunity to reframe this narrative for a modernity that contemporary India represents through an architecture that envelops the specific identity of our culture, history and industry.

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Top and Facing Page: The Lions that guarded the entrance of the pavilion

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India was the official partner country for the annover Messe 2015 – a multinational expo in Germany. The representation of our involvement was to be designed as a pavilion that speaks about India’s contemporary culture, our aspirations as a nation of the young and perhaps, reinforce India’s global position.

Traditionally, pavilions and exhibits serve as platforms for exchange and interaction showcasing the offerings of the participating organisation in an almost boastful display that demands attention.

While the impermanence of a pavilion goes against the nature of an architectural endeavour, the scale of the enclosure, sense of structure, material applications and the human scale makes the typology an immensely appealing design proposition for an architect.

With more than 400 companies, 6 ministries and 14 state governments represented from India, the challenge for the architects was two-fold. The first test was to assimilate the many dimensions of the exhaustive content that was to be presented in a curated and edited form. The second was to create a design space that is conducive to both – the content of the exhibit and the human interaction with that content, all the while striving to create a contemporary spatial expression for a modernising nation.

The office designed this assemblage of information with a plan to convey pride in the many achievements in the domains of biotechnology, space, industry, information-technology, automotive industry and manufacturing – the verticals that form economic foundations of contemporary Indian economy. Architecture Discipline worked with a large team of consultants and collaborators for structure, graphic-design, lighting, fabrication and management.

Working across the globe and with people in three time-zones, the project was conceived for the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Government of India through a rigorous compliance process that had to meet international standards of design and project delivery. Over a period of a month, detail and shop-drawings were made to be sent to Germany where the pavilion was being constructed.

In Germany, Holtmann & Co. GmbH created a complex kit-of-parts that had to be assembled on site for the Pavilion. This included some of the most photographed and shared pieces of installation in the form of the many ‘Make in India’ lions that became a part of the identity of the presence of our nation at the Messe. These sculptures

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Exploded isometric reveals the components and their design in the Pavilion at Hannover Messe

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Flower Canopy

Automation dispaly pod Smart city display pod Reception

Space & Defence pod

LED Curtain

Demographic display on Bronze mesh wall Elevations

Mezzanine lounge area

Tea Bar Stage with back room

Yoga display Grey Ikkat Carpeting Tree sculptures Green Ikkat carpeting for Tea Lounge

Lion sculpture

Isometric drawing

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used a plethora of materials and forms to represent the many aspects of making in India. One such lion – a three-dimensional abstract stood at the reception of the pavilion.

The pavilion itself is organised on a conceptual grid resembling the ‘Navgriha’ or the nine planets. The ‘Ikat’ carpet that lined the pavilion drew from the culture of textiles in India while a deconstructed lotus with its dynamic petals stretching across the pavilion formed the ceiling – the top plane of the exhibit. “Each petal transformed into an exhibition pod, with vibrant displays of data, infographics and installations that illustrated the vast range of opportunities India has to offer.” says Akshat Bhatt, Founder and Principal at Architecture Discipline. Contemporary interpretations of nostalgic elements from the Indian culture like the screens or the ‘Jaalis’ and the material palette composed of brass, wood, textile and steel were chosen to compose the ‘pods’ – enclosures within the pavilion that held content within.

The complex narrative that was edited for the pods as objects and interactive displays that the visitors can engage with, talked about India from many vantage points. The infographics, signage and artworks designed in collaboration with Wieden+Kennedy Delhi complemented the three-dimensional objects often interpreting complex ideas in rich visual messages that envelop the content in the pods. Visitors could engage with interactive models and media on ideas like the ‘Smart City’ often soliciting active engagement with the material of the pavilion.

Core sections other than the pods included a conference space with screens, a delegation conference room and several meeting rooms for discussions and exchange. The architecture of the pavilion created multi-purpose spaces that served for a variety of events and forums that the space played host to. The colour palette of the pavilion exuded a sense of vibrancy with a pop-art language for a young audience at the Messe. Rather than pasting information on the wall, a cohesive strategy that was juxtaposed and woven with the architecture of the pavilion enabled India to tell its story in a nonlinear narrative rather than a simple visualisation of data.

As known symbols from India’s cultural past were deconstructed to represent India’s future, the Pavilion served a larger purpose than being a mere enclosure for display. It talked about aspirations of a

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Opposite and This Page: Photographs of the prototyping and construction process

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1. FLOOR PLAN Scale: 1:75

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1. Main entry 2. Trojan Lion 3. Reception/ Display 4. Stage/ Presentation area

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5. Tea Lounge 6. Service Counter 7. Kitchen

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Emergency Aisle with 4000mm min. clear height

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9. Server/ Control room 10. Office 11. Gathering space 12. Demographic display on jaali wall 13. Automation sector display 14. Smart city display 15. Space/ Defence sector dispaly

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Top: The aluminium screen that acted as a backdrop standing in contrast with the softer materials Left: Plan of the Hannover Pavilion with key components Facing Page: Human interaction and experience of the spaces

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Facing Page: The ‘Smart Cities’ design, visualisation and panorama in the exhibit Right: The interactive model design for Smart Cities Below: Amitabh Kant talks about Smart Cities with Angela Merkel and Narendra Modi

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new India – not the India of the ‘snake-charmers’ and ‘stupas’ but an India of the space and information age, all the while gesturing to the past in an abstract underlay that became the base-grid for design.

While history and memory were the ingredients of the message, the recipe ensured that they do not have a literal and a mundane presence.

In a discussion with Akshat Bhatt, he talks of a new India – an India of optimism and an India that deals with its history as an active layer rather than a relic. e reflects on en o iano’s thoughts “The design searched for contemporary forms of expression that cannot be divorced from technical innovation: this is perhaps the most characteristic trait of our civilisation and one that has the most rousing in u nc on th

at ial cultu

o d si n.” The India pavilion at the

Hannover Messe 2015 reaches out to achieve this critical balance – the balance between a history that renders India her identity and a modernity that takes a leap into the future

Facing Page: Guests, discussions and interaction at the pavilion Left: The three enclosures

Led by Akshat Bhatt, AR ITE TURE IS I LINE is a elhi-based architecture and design office that engages with Urban Design, Architecture, Public Art, Installations, Furniture and Product Design. They constantly explore building typologies such as town halls, hotels, schools, offices, residences, sound and video production studios and the public realm through installations. The outcome of every commission is determined by a series of critical design processes that result in an architectural expression that is contextually charged and contemporary. The studio innovates formal arrangements, engineering, M.E.P services and building physics parameters in order to advance the principles of sustainable design that are visible in the overall expression of the projects. Their attempt is to create projects that are integrated from conceptual framework to the tactile experience.

Architecture Discipline believes in the advancement of regional forms of expression. The practice is processguided and strives for programmatic technical exibility for the resulting construction. Since its inception in 200 , the office has received many critical acclaims and their work has been published in respected journals in India and abroad.

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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 t ohn the aptist hurch by Mumbai-based ikas ilawari Architects resurfaces the need for patronage in conservation.

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With the onset of economic liberalisation, the early

0s

witnessed generous patronage from the private sector for the onservation of Arts and ulture. Inheriting a rich legacy of architectural heritage, Mumbai was among the pioneering cities to ac uire 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

, ikas ilawari Architects was among the first to break

ground in restoring historic building interiors in India with the American xpress ank in Fort, Mumbai. For the past 6 years, ilawari has been conserving some of Mumbai’s grandest structures, resisting complacent approaches and focusing on dignified restoration of a formidable architecture. The recently restored t ohn the aptist hurch in Thane presents a uni ue 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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South (front) elevation before and after restoration

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Above Left Originally paved Minton-tile ooring from 192 and the new ooring as seen in the central part of the nave Above Right areful removal of ota stone ooring from the nave without damage to tombstones The Minton-tile oor was recreated by using a combination of Jaisalmer stone, black marble and Andhra red stone) Below: A detailed documentation of existing historic tombstones in the nave

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Above Left and Right: Lime plastering in progress using brick pellets and brick dust for final finished coats Left: East Elevation of the church before and after restoration Facing Page Above: Ornate details of the altar table recreated in teakwood with details from adjacent panels by skilled carpenters Facing Page Below Left: Teakwood fascia board matching the original design recreated as seen in a part of the western faรงade Facing Page Below Right: Gilding artists restoring the ceiling of the side altars

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ituated by the Masunda ake locally referred to a Talao Pali , the 00 year old hurch is among the oldest churches of Mumbai. uilt in late 6th century - an era when enaissance was reinvented with dynamism and grandeur, and the architecture of the hurch strived for divine absolution. While grappling with multi-layered and constantly evolving meanings, often, the process of restoration and conservation of socio-cultural spaces re uires critical imagination and an ade uate historic preface.

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Facing Page and Above: Post restoration - Transverse Section towards the main altar and Longitudinal Section through the nave

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ossibly the only surviving aro ue-style hurch in the Mumbai

In 00 , a detailed Fabric tatus eport elaborating major repair,

Metropolitan egion, the church clearly holds unparalleled historical

restoration and refurbishment work was submitted. After thorough

and architectural significance. In the absence of any evident traces, an

inspection and clearances from the Archdiocese, and eritage and

informed study of sites from a similar time period in India established

Finance ommittees, a proposal was prepared for approval from

that the church had a ortuguese influence. A hidden doorway, floral

Thana eritage onservation ommittee. The architect and his team

motifs gilded with gold, coffered stone concealed under an existing

commenced work in early 0

.

teak-wood vault and beautiful baro ue carving on a door masked

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with hundreds of coats of oil paint were among the other incidental

In an attempt to salvage as much of the original and to undertake

findings. The roof, the main wooden altar and side altars were the

repairs only wherever necessary, the main challenge posed was

few intact elements.

the refurbishment of the church to a historically appropriate state

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within the limitations of past ad-hoc alterations. In a forlorn attempt

and railings nearly a thousand people gather for mass every unday

of repairing, the existing exterior walls were found plastered to a

ever since the church reopened in eptember 0

thickness of

meanings of interiors past and present resonate visually, materially,

to

while an

aro ue extension had altered the

original fabric and interior spaces. alancing between conservation

. The richness and

technologically, spatially and socio-culturally.

techni ues and revival of craftsmanship, the approach arbitrates a mutual exchange of social capital between community, practitioners,

The work of ikas ilawari Architects presents a criti ue of the

and craftsmen.

pedagogical models for design education, maneuvering complexities in sustaining the built as opposed to building anew. atronage for

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A specialised team undertook the restoration of the lime-plastered

commissions in the past have enabled the architects to conserve the

walls, marble flooring, and wooden coffered ceiling to its original

less prominent structures that are part of the uotidian fabric of the

state. The e ueira brothers from asai, a family that has been

city. The restoration of t ohn the aptist hurch and its historic

specialising in wood carving since three generations, remodeled

building interiors is foregrounded in the understanding that these

the missing carved doors of the church, made new statues, restored

structures are constructed with finesse, positioned seemingly well in

missing details in the wooden altar, completed gilding work in the

a planned urban scheme or sometimes just organically fit in. eyond

main altar, side altars and helped restore the missing pulpit canopy.

the physical attributes of the architecture, townscape, roof-scape,

The completed restoration is a conscious layering of identity, tradition,

mass and scale, it is the conjoined uality of a space and its cultural

and necessity within the ethos of a contemporary culture. etrofitted

integrity that reaffirms the significance of heritage structures to a

with an energy efficient 0-feet blade fan, ambient

continued way of life

lights, ramps,

SPACE

VI AS ILA ARI AR ITE TS is a firm of dedicated professionals offering consultancy in the field of Architecture, onservation, Heritage Management and Urban Design for the past twenty six years. The firm s work has been awarded with 12 UNES O Asia- acific Awards for ultural reservation in South East Asia.

The firm has successfully worked on varied range of pro ects from historic homes, palaces, residential buildings, educational buildings, hostels, churches, dharamshalas, museums, banks, fountains and hospitals. Several of their projects have received national as well as international recognition.

This project was executed with active participation from the then arish riest, Bishop Allwyn Silva, the arish ommittee of St ohn the Baptist Church and the Church Finance Committee.

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CONTEXT AND PURPOSE

Studio Lotus and the Many Vantage Points of Their Practice

Images: ŠStudio Lotus; AndrÊ J Fanthome, Edmund Sumner

Studio Lotus has emerged as one of the most versatile design practices from India in the past decade. With many acclaimed works in their portfolio, the practice has led the narrative of a multi-disciplinary approach towards architecture and design in our context. This piece is an attempt to decipher the fundamental ideas that form the underlay for the endeavours of Studio Lotus and the purpose behind the width and depth of their practice.

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STUDIO

stablished as a multi-disciplinary design office by Ambrish Arora, idhartha Talwar and Ankur hoksi, Facing Page: Ambrish, Sidhartha and Ankur lead the collaborative practice Above: The design process involves physical and digital iterations Below - Left and Right: From an idea to the design in the aurav upta agship store

Studio Lotus has established itself as a versatile, energetic and ever-innovating spatial design practice in the Indian landscape. With projects that involve professional work in the disciplines of Architecture, Interior Design, Exhibition Design, Furniture Design and Graphic Design, Studio Lotus has often found themselves working in the interfaces between many demanding design questions. These questions are fundamental to design practice in India and its subcontinent. They relate to our landscape, the ethics of practice in the Global South and the themes that guide design engagement in our context.

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‘Process’ is important to Studio Lotus. This single word encompasses the many complex layers of interaction that the studio engages with. From a detailed understanding of the programme – much of what is re-written by the studio – to an intuitive grasp of the materials at hand, the architectural framework and the systems that need to be employed in each project. In this respect, each project is unique and an independent discussion for the studio. While a collective portfolio enables one to glimpse into the continuous threads of ideas that run through their work, each project is prompted into its own trajectory that continually references back to the Studio Lotus framework.

Sustainability is a consistent theme. But a deeper understanding of sustainability and its interface with the process of design and production is where the interest of Studio Lotus is located. This is a welcome deviation from the statistic-oriented idea of sustainability that banks heavily on the concept of reduction rather than economy. For Studio Lotus, the core aspects of sustainable design work in proximity with their concerns on the cultural, social and environmental impact of design.

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Above - Left and Right: Gaurav Gupta working with the fabric and the interior of the store

STUDIO

raft plays an important role in the work of tudio otus. This distinct definition of craft deals with the idea of making and the potential of artisanship in India. The office works closely and in collaboration with craftsmen, skilled labour and artisans on their project sites, often co-creating experiments in material research and construction processes to innovate at the grassroots. The process of experiment and feedback includes prototyping, scale-modelling and creating mock-ups that enables the designers to grasp the impact of detail at the human scale. In many of their projects of varying scales, Studio Lotus has been known to have invested in training people on the site. By contributing in development of their skill, the practice Above - Left and Right: The making and installation of screens at Raas, Jodhpur Below - Left and Right: Innovating with the artisans on the site

attempts to refine and improve the process of building construction and execution. ack in the studio, many repetitive iterations are tested, as a rigorous cycle of sampling and resampling aids design decisions.

Experimenting with materials and generating a bank of ideas – a pool of resources – is important to the Studio Lotus design process. In a conversation with the founders and designers of the Studio Lotus team,

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one can grasp the significance of human resource in their practice. At the office, many designers and enablers who collaborate are pushed to think of their work as a craft.

Facing Page: ‘House with a Brick Veil’ uses experiments with a simple material to generate complex spaces and surfaces Above: The process of construction becomes an opportunity to innovate Below: The eventual spaces represent a design thought and an execution skill

eople matter , says Ambrish Arora – one of the founders and

O at tudio otus. emocracy and

transparency are core values at their office. veryone is encouraged to contribute their thoughts and their position in the project deliberations. All perspectives count. Much of the exhaustive work that the studio does involves a conscious evaluation of their contribution to the society at large. While framing a narrative of a mainstream commercial practice, their idea of commerce and the implications of the word ‘mainstream’ are not delinked from their ideas of social and cultural exchange. This exchange is a long-term conversation

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that Studio Lotus has endowed in. The critical interface that the designers have with the larger network includes clients, contractors, construction labourers, managers, consultants and so on, enables them to contribute to a conversation that is more holistic and that impacts the society. The process consistently seeks a feedback from these externalities. This feedback prompts them to reference their work consistently within their context. o, what is the purpose of their effort As an outsider, one can understand the urge to establish a practice that concerns itself with issues that are larger than the practice. Yet, a certain commitment to excellence and the desire to push one’s known boundaries is expected by the office. This expectation is not limited

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to the architects and designers who work there. This common commitment is demanded from everyone who wishes to engage. In many ways, the purpose of work at Studio Lotus can be analysed to have an internal and an external impact. The context of their practice is very significant for them – India is a constant conversation at the office, and there is a genuine attempt to source and respond to critical regional parameters of their project sites. It is not just the physical context of their work that is important – also the intellectual context of their effort. While working with a fabricator, they seek an opportunity to push the potential of the fabricator’s skill and competence. While prototyping, they seek to engage with sophisticated digital modelling. On site, they are in constant negotiation for an emphasis on uality. This dual nature of practice – one that looks inward while looking outward – generates a positive feedback loop. A constant cycle of action and reflection which perhaps enables many individuals who engage with the work of tudio Lotus to seek their purpose in the practice.

Previous Page: Under construction photograph of the Krushi Bhavan the brick becomes the facade

The daily grind at the studio involves producing surplus ideas. Exhaustive iterations, revisions, re-imagined

Facing Page: The brick screen of the Krushi Bhavan - variations of the theme

thought processes, overlaid drawings, constant reworking of details, repeated conversations with carpenters,

Below: ‘Crafting’ the project in collaboration with artisans

nurtured a sense of ownership towards the practice and towards his/her work in the practice – a unique feat

masons and metal-workers, samples and swatches, and so on. Everyone working at Studio Lotus has

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for a reasonably large office. This shared sense of ownership also develops from a code of conduct that is at the foundation of this practice. Ambrish, idhartha and Ankur independently talk about the significance they associate to framing a culture of work that informs all their decisions and in turn, would inform the decisions of everyone who works at the studio. The questions of design, entrepreneurship, ambition and quality of life is referenced against this important primary layer of values that they have subscribed to in their leadership roles.

The process of design at the practice is both structured and sporadic, often swinging between rational decision-making and impulses of innovation. ‘Identity’ is a consistent underlay for their work. Studio Lotus is conscious of the fact that their practice is located in India – a landscape of human wealth and desperate human questions that one is regularly confronted with. The ability of the practice to engage with the more visceral layers of human endeavour without preconceptions or judgement renders their efforts in engaging with India more pragmatic and immediate. They view issues with great proximity. An idea of India that originates from her potential and revolves around the material and intellectual wealth of her peoples is perhaps a question of seeking one’s identity for Studio Lotus. India, for them, is a philosophy.

In a document that outlines the core values of their practice, a sentence reads “Genius as an act of the ollective . The concerns of tudio otus are uite distinct from the preoccupations of contemporary architecture and design disciplines. While the core competences of a mainstream practice that constantly seeks to innovate are a source of the many noteworthy projects they have executed, they are often reluctant to claim complete authorship of their works; attributing it equally to the craftsmen, masons, consultants, clients, contractors and the many individuals involved. The collective spirit of practice overrides the individual genius with an emphasis on work as a learning process for all. When one attempts to analyse the foundational layers of the practice, one finds that it is built on human relationships and exchange. The idea of shared authorship of all work is central to practice. A line from the ‘guiding principles’ framed by tudio Facing Page: ‘Context’ - The stepwell suite at Raas, Jodhpur and its environment

otus encapsulates their uni ue position in the landscape of professional design practice in India Our way of work is akin to that of a craftsperson. It needs to be constantly honed.”

STUDIO LOTUS is a multi-disciplinary design practice whose work seamlessly weaves together interior and exterior spaces, from large architectural ideas to small-scale furniture details. The 60-member team at Studio Lotus is from diverse disciplines of Architecture, Interior Design, Exhibition Design, Furniture Design and Graphic Design.

Being a collective of individuals from diverse backgrounds, their practice is informed by many creative perspectives and domains of work. They work with people at the core of the making in building trade and improvise on their processes. Their work has a strong affinity towards the phenomenon experience of spaces. Led by making, their designs are driven by identifying and encouraging potential in existing building practices and techniques. For Studio Lotus, technology is a medium to orchestrate experiences that are uni ue, specific and purposeful.

STUDIO attempts to document the intellectual position and philosophical narrative of an Indian practice with a critical and consequential portfolio.

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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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Above: Conceptual sketch of the plan - spaces as activities Left: Rendered plan with the ‘Follies’ on the base plane

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The process of designing is often a combination of the tacit and the explicit. In deconstructing the intent behind a piece of good design, one can indulge in articulating the explicit but the tacit and the experiential aspects of architecture develop from a process that is sporadic, intuitive and non-linear. The Folly House is a collection of complex, curious objects that occupy an otherwise gallery-like indoor space. A note from The Busride Design Studio outlines the design intent of the house: “The Folly House in Pune was designed as an open plan home where every functionality of the home was compacted into multi-functional or mobile objects. The remaining space was left untouched, activated only when these objects unfolded, rotated or Below: Sketch and renders of ‘The Living Room Folly’

pivoted open.”

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The primary space of the house hosts two follies: The Living Room Folly and The Study Folly. While the former is designed as a continuous, undulating object that assumes multiple roles as one engages in activities around the same, the latter is a box that un-boxes itself to reveal functional voids and surfaces.

The two are connected by the activity of watching television. Depending on the side it is oriented towards, The Living Room Folly assumes a role of a group seat, a divan, a couch and a horseback with its underside behaving as a cave where the kids in the family will discover a personal map of the world. As a strategy, The Busride Design Studio has designed these objects for most critical functions of the house – a table that rotates, a labyrinth that serves as a space for children and a Tangram graphic that rearranges itself into a house as one walks past it.

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Above: Idea-montage of the many configurations and roles of ‘The Living Room Folly’ Above Left and Right: Study model of the tectonics and structure of the Folly Facing Page: The in-situ construction of the Folly in steel and timber

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The making of these objects lean on complex details. The Living Room Folly that addresses six independent functionalities in the room uses a parametric software to generate its organic structure, and is eventually const uct d as a a

wo

sh o

nt

is th n s inn d with

plan s s t in a h

in

ild st l ats

stin on stainl ss

i ply on top and otto

anch li

and finally clad y

suppo ts. h ”

tal

” thic t a wood

on patt n.” The drawings and the study models enable the designers to decipher

the topography of this piece that is eventually made by carpenters and fabricators in-situ. Sophisticated workmanship and detail are critical hidden layers in the making of these pieces. Whimsy often needs great pragmatism in the background.

Left: Diagrams of unfolding ‘The Study Folly’ Facing Page Above: Diagrams representing the systemic unraveling of ‘The Study Folly’ Facing Page Below: Drawings that represent the complex construction and movement of the Folly as it unfolds

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ISOMETRIC VIEW

FRONT ELEVATION

PLAN

SPACE

THE STUDY CUBE

LIBRARY UNFOLDS

STUDY TABLE ROLLS OUT

WINDOWS OPEN

TV UNIT ROTATES

SHUTTERS COLLAPSE

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While the core living spaces revolve around two Follies many similar objects in quasi-architectural scale are designed as composite aggregators of functions. These pieces transform and are transformed with the activity within and around them. This approach creates compact local densities of functional points and enables The usride esign tudio to liberate space in the house. Once the use is fulfilled, the objects retreat within their compact original forms waiting to be engaged with again.

The design process of The Folly House is atypical. The designers lean on the accessibility, intractability and ambiguity of these Follies to generate both – objective use and delight. The open-plan is designed to be a neutral plane. The drawings and diagrams suggest two independent thought processes of association and dissociation as the Follies work within and independent of the plan. Anchored to their specific purpose in the space, they are unable to move but completely open to change and adopt thus being able to build Facing Page: The steel construct that assimilates the functions of the children’s space Below: Idea-diagram of “Soupy Spaces” – the conceptual framework for The Folly House

familiarity and relationships. As an idea, the creation of an amorphous and fluid volume is also a significant one. This formless space enables the objects to express their individual personality – almost as if they are dynamic sculptures in a gallery space. This space employs more tactile surfaces led by permutations of materials and lighting and complements the objects it hosts. The process of design places the people who are to use the house in the centre of the environment – a place that is activated by their presence

T E BUSRI E ESI N STU IO is an independent design firm specialising in the design and creation of built environments, ranging from hospitality and entertainment venues, to film and production environments, and from exhibitions and temporary installations, to institutional environments. Led by Ayaz Basrai and ameer Basrai, the office is a team of Architects, Interior Designers, Graphic Designers, Exhibition Designers and Industrial Designers, who work in a multi-disciplinary design environment across micro to macro scales ranging from crafting small products to urban design. The firm is known to have designed and executed many projects of critical acclaim. Apart from design, the studio is involved in social initiatives like The Bandra Project, pedagogy and research. They work from Mumbai and Goa.

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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? et 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. eing 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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©Rajesh Vora / Charles Correa Foundation

[IN]

In the other kind of exhibition – the one in which you have to deal with curators of art and intellectual content, what is the process of design like?

RB

When one designs permenant and specific exhibitions like the oin

allery for the eserve ank of India,

one has to design a museum exhibit. A historical background and a curatorial inclination is very important in such commissions. In a recent exhibition titled ‘Ten Art’ that we designed with the curator Veerangana Solanki, she brought in ten artists to interpret in their own way, the life of Sachin Tendulkar. The whole structure was created around the idea of bringing art to the masses through a popular subject and an iconic sportsman. Veerangana had curated the exhibition very carefully and it was not just about pictorialising Sachin and decorating him in media. Rather, it was about stories of his life, the ways he was reading into things, his innings and his extreme passion for the game. We took up the whole

MA and structured the

project which was very well-received.

So, where the curator brings in content in a purist understanding, the curator is also critical to establish a flow that is desired the grouping and sometimes, the oning. It is a great experience working with a sharp curator. Sometimes, curators get carried away and give you seventy two pages that you have to condense into three lines which you probably have to title into four words. So that really tough editorial skill some curators have and some do not. Working with curators can also be as painful as it can be exciting since curators have their own way of looking at things. While a curator looks at the heaviness of content, we have to look at the lightness of content in the entire visitor’s journey – the experiential quality of the exhibition is important to the designer.

[IN] RB

How involved are you, as a designer, in the curatorial conversation?

I like to get extremely involved in the conversation, because unless we understand the subject-matter thoroughly, we are not going to be good at what we do. We have subject-matter specialists for the same

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DIALOGUE

reason on our team. I often say “I am the only Jack in my business”. Everyone else is an expert. While my broad understanding is important, my team would be completely immersed in the content of the exhibition.

They are the ones who get into conflict with the curators as a personal point-of-view is established. I think it is critical to understand how a detail is communicated. An exhibition is only about communication. It is the elevator test situation where you have to communicate the entire concept of what you want to say in probably a one minute walkthrough or a five-minute duration and it should be good enough to last you for four hours if necessary. There is also a great distinction between temporary and permenant exhibitions.

[IN]

What is the value of human engagement in your exhibitions? Are you always imagining how people would react to the things you design?

RB

We are always looking at the exhibition from multiple points of view to primarily understand the way the visitor would look at it. We have a method of presenting the curator or the client the exhibition from the human perspective and they see their project in a completely different light. We are conscious of the engagement of walking through the exhibition and its directionality. Sometimes, exhibitions are very directional and sequential. Sometimes, they are simultaneously experiential and sometimes they are multidirectional. For example, in the Indian Art Exhibition, the sculpture punctuates the pieces of art. There is no real order unless it is a chronology or a monograph of the artist or something like that. The human is very critical to the exhibition space and you reali e that you have a narrow space – from two and a half feet from the ground till about eight feet – to engage at that level. Everything else is experienced in scale – an installation or a large graphic panel. It is important to also consciously see how crowds are managed because crowds are very critical and we do not design exhibitions for the opening night. We design them for the trickle of viewers that progressively visit. Handling people is also important. There is a classic Indian mentality of touching things or wanting to touch things and wanting to go close to smell. The demographic profile is also critical. If I have to design an exhibition for children, everything changes again. As designers, we have to be continuously conscious about this.

Facing Page Above: The timeline wall in the ‘Buildings as Ideas’ exhibition on the Unbuilt work of Charles Correa – a sweep of space capturing the life of the master Right: People interact with the ‘study exhibition’

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[IN] RB

How different are your exhibitions today as compared to when you had started?

We started with simple formats. We never did plaster graphics on the wall. I was more interested in sculpting space. Today, we use a lot more technology: animatronics, holographic projections, screens, multiple projections, video-mapping and many other things that make the interface. It is a combination of the dark box and lighting, wherein we work on the content and experience with all kinds of technology. Today, the exhibition experience leans on technology and much less on space. While earlier, exhibitions used to be about space, today, space has become expensive so there is a premium to the experience in that space.

We do not have the same luxury of space any more as compared to where we started. The twenty to thirty thousand square-feet that we used to work on earlier is not compressed in social media. So the content is compressed from this twenty thousand square-feet to the small screen but there is joy in exhibition. While the exhibitions of the past focused on experience, today, we have exhibitions which hinge on interaction. We also have to be conscious about the conversations that happen around the exhibition space – the discourse!

[IN] RB

What about lighting?

Luckily for me, I had worked with the stage for a long time doing theatrical lighting so lighting is built in my mind-space. Exhibitions tend to be abusive of lighting. The lux levels bleed and wash out everything! So, the multi-stall exhibits are a challenge. But when one is working on a museum or an art-space, or even an exhibition that deals with objects, you have a huge amount of flexibility to work with the best lights possible.

We tend to design our own lighting and not rely on the lighting provided by the space. This is precisely because we understand how one lights different planes or how one looks at shadows or how one looks at viewers’ comfort because one does not want to see the glare or reflection. When we light permenant exhibitions, historic and sculptural pieces of art, we are concerned about the

specifics of the light and the

heat generated. In the old days, one had to work with reflectors and they bleed light all over the place but now, you can use very tight optics with very focused beams and interesting light qualities. One can work with colour temperatures as some objects are comprehended in yellow light while some are better in white light.

Left: Permanent exhibit at the RBI Gallery – a history of currency

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DIALOGUE

Above: An artist’s interpretation of Sachin Tendulkar’s many innings at Ten Art

[IN] RB

Do materials inform exhibition design? What kinds of materials are you used to working with?

Contemporary exhibitions have large budgets – almost comparable to a permenant space. But because most exhibitions have a limited life, one can be more experimental with materials. Since the longevity is not a discussion, we use a very wide palette – aluminium, plastics, thermocol, fabrics, metallic foils and polyesters. It is very exciting and intriguing to study the behaviour of these materials, their compatibility and as a designer, one can cut, fold, bend, mould, blow, and so on. Most manufacturers give us material to fool around with, before we use it at scale and in mainstream exhibitions.

[IN] RB

How do you keep up with the pace of change?

We do not take too many exhibitions now because it is hugely trying. I have become very selective about what we take on as exhibition design now. It is very critical to stay in touch with what is happening on a daily basis. When I see the books we used to refer to in the 80s and the 90s, I wonder why we ever did anything like that! Technology has changed and the designers are experimenting substantially. One can get dated very fast in this field of work. The constant process of designing and referencing gives a lot of creative freedom to my team – the team is allowed to fly and there is no restriction. The bottom line is that the design has to be buildable.

[IN] RB

hat a

th

ss ntial id as in wo in with

aphics

typo aphy l

i ility colou fi u

ound tc.

When we talk about exhibitions, we are talking across everything – from temporary to permenant and from white-box to black-box. Some exhibitions are static and some have dynamic technological input.

One also has to account for people moving in the exhibitions against people sitting and observing. There

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are many exciting formats.

raphics are very crucial to exhibitions as one has to capture the message

really fast, and with precision. We are extremely focussed about typography and legibility. We consider the distance of viewing and the priority of message. I have my favourite fonts as well. Our graphic schemes are reactive to the content of the exhibition. Colour sensitivity is also very critical because sometimes, one can go overboard with it. Colour plays an important part in establishing the mood of the viewer. We also often work in several languages so it becomes very critical for us to compose these languages across exhibits.

[IN]

You have expressed that many have learnt and trained in the process. What is your engagement with the people who work on the execution end?

RB

The interesting part of our studio is that we also do interior design and architecture and these domains develop other kinds of skills that one brings to exhibition design. In most cases, the exhibition designers are refined film-set creators. Film sets have this crude back-end that exhibitions cannot have. Our execution team is much more refined as they have been traditionally trained on architecture and interior design projects. The people who used to work with us initially have all developed their own large businesses while some have specialised and stayed with film-set studios. xhibition design has also crept into the event space with high-production events, fashion shows, staged plays, and much more in stage and screen.

[IN]

To conclude, tell us a bit about the process and your engagement in the process of design. While you have limited your exhibition design work now, do new projects still excite you?

RB

In my position, I usually get the brief from the client. I will interpret the brief primarily because we have an experience of dealing with the people who are trying to articulate themselves. Sometimes, clients come with open-ended briefs while sometimes one is dealing with a product manager who thinks he knows exactly what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. The creative licence is a bit curbed but none of that scares me as we now know how to deal with both the conditions. I would take the brief and if I have a core idea and if I knew exactly how I wanted it, I would put it down on paper. I am the only one who uses pen and paper in this office so I sit with a bunch of tracing sheets on my table and three pens in different inks to sketch out my thoughts. I think graphically, in monochrome and in form with a hope that my colleagues can grasp what I am trying to say from my drawings. There are specialists in the team and thus, it becomes important not to step on their toes. Sometimes a fresh sculpted idea will come from a graphic designer and sometimes an architect will substantially contribute to the graphic uality of the project. My teams are fluid in their composition.

Answering the second part of the question, I think exhibitions are a great medium. Today, we are taking exhibitions into the domain of experience design. Every shop and every restaurant is centered around the experience. I would love to bring in other sensory experiences into the space. We normally see and smell but the temperature of the space, the texture, the heat, the slopes that give you a sense of unease are all essential ingredients. We have also become very dependent on technology. I like technology to be at the back-end of the experience. It makes huge sense there. We also seek feedback from the visitors. To do

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DIALOGUE

an in-depth analysis of the user experience can be a great learning for any exhibition designer. Often, designers tend to let design overtake content. I keep looking at design as packaging of content and one cannot let packaging to take over. The design is sometimes much understated

Right: Detail from the ‘Ten Art’ exhibition

RATAN . BATLIBOI is the principal at Ratan . Batliboi - onsultants vt Ltd - a three-decade multidisciplinary design practice. The firm has a significant and critical portfolio of Architecture, Urban esign and lanning, Interior esign, Retail esign and Exhibition esign. The office produces work of high uality and standard with a belief in an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to design. ith over hundred professionals working out of 000 s uare-feet office in central Mumbai, the practice works on design projects of great diversity in multiple scales and typologies. Immersed in contemporary ideas on design, Ratan J. Batliboi Architects has stayed away from a signature style responding to each pro ect and its uni ue framework in its specific context.

DIALOGUE chronicles a conversation with an eminent architect / designer / thinker on an idea or issue pertinent to contemporary design practice in India.

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OB

JECT

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Left: Gridlock

Images: ŠAjay Shah Design Studio; Vihan Shah, Karan Arora, Malavika

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Facing Page: Sketches of the design process

OBJECT

DESIGN OF THE IDEA Ajay Shah Design Studio [ASDS], Mumbai

Industrial Playground (now a part of Rubberband) – a furniture design initiative by Ajay Shah Design Studio – juxtaposes playful formal and visual qualities of the objects they make with process-driven industrial manufacturing for characteristic precision and uniformity. Their contemporary aesthetic is derived from the intrinsic quality of materials they work with and the nature of this specific process.

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Design, in a context like that of India, can mean many things.

While much of contemporary design deals in creating objects for

From improvisations on existing situations to ideas that are points

lifestyle, the domain of a boutique studio producing unique and

of genesis of the new and un-explored avenues; the context of a

crafted pieces was not of Ajay Shah’s interest. His NID background

developing nation enables one to deal with a range of unprecedented

had incited in him a passion for exploring the prospect of materials

challenges. In 1990, Ajay Shah, then a young NID graduate, founded

and an approach to design where the expression of materiality

the Circus Design Company after a few stints of working as a

is intrinsically linked to the nature of the material at hand. In this

designer and a furniture producer. This new company was imagined

tradition of thought, wood must behave like wood and serve a

to be a multi-disciplinary design firm that dealt with design as the

purpose that is specific to its nature. Influenced by research in new

process of thought rather than a professional service. The conceptual

materials and the power of design to unravel known characteristics

framework of the present-day Ajay Shah Design Studio can be traced

of common materials like wood, mild steel and aluminium, the

back to this office.

initial work of Ajay hah’s studio was influenced by global thoughtinitiatives like the Memphis Movement and industrial design by

In 2002, a design commission that started out as an interior

furniture companies like Steelcase, Herman Miller and Vitra – the

design assignment began to emerge as a holistic project centred

brands that dealt with large-batch productions, global standards

around a brand that unified graphics, furniture, spatial design and

and precision engineering. Ajay Shah was interested in designing

communication design in a cohesive exercise that prompted Ajay

for mass-consumption as against creating hand-crafted pieces for

Shah to establish ASDS. He says, “For some years, we decided to

boutique markets.

simply call ourselves `suppliers of ideas and impulses’. I see myself

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as a `purveyor of good design’.” This inter-disciplinary nature of

The contemporary products of Industrial layground find their roots

work defines the studio as it is today. A

in this line of thought.

is a diverse professional

want d to find a way to thin o u nitu

company that deals with a multitude of design and production

from a serious Industrial Designer’s perspective and yet combine

verticals from interior design to communication design and produces

a visual playfulness” says Ajay Shah. While the objects designed

many things that includes stationery and furniture. As a ‘purveyor of

within Industrial Playground and Rubberband initiatives have a

good design’, ASDS has lent a unique aesthetic and appeal to their

certain toy-like accessibility, they are designed within the discipline

creations that locates itself between rational functionality, and playful

of serious, logical and material-driven industrial design that leans

visual and human interfaces.

towards standardised, large-scale production. While the outcomes

OBJECT

of this continuous process of design are varied, and frame a diverse

Another approach that seems significant to the Industrial layground

catalogue, a uniform ideological foundation is clear in their design

aesthetic is to tinker with the known and existing production and

character. The concept of economy - not from the perspective of

design systems to generate surprise outcomes. This process of steady

affordability but from the perspective of material use - is central to

and informed disruption helps them to improvise on existing and

these objects. One can also read the finesse in detail – the weld, the

popular mechanisms for pieces that are familiar and yet uncannily

junction, the bend, the joint etc.

distinct in personality. Versioning also adds to the incredible variety that is generated from a singular potent idea. In a discussion on the

The furniture that ASDS has designed as a part of the Industrial

range of furniture created by ASDS, Ajay Shah says “I have been

Playground and Rubberband catalogues can be imagined as a

reprimanded by people for not thinking of a customer.” This lack of

consistent design effort: a work-in-progress idea that runs as a thread

a presumed audience puts the pieces they make independently in

conceptually tying all the objects produced as a result. This idea deals

the market and attracts a design-aware clientele. They also become

with serious ergonomic furniture design effort, juxtaposing it with

a part of larger interior design projects that the studio works on.

strong material associations that references the industrial production

The sophistication in detail enables Industrial Playground to appeal

process. A workshop-culture enables ASDS to experiment frequently

to corporate clients who use the furniture in public areas like food-

with the possibilities constantly improvising on design in the making.

courts, training centres and lounges. The retail space also gives these

At the core of the effort, their design process is a combination of

designs an opportunity to appear at unlikely places.

sophisticated computer modelling and a back-and-forth idea that involves sketching and making paper models in the studio. As a

As a discipline, there is dissonance in terms of what furniture

furniture designer, there are certain universal standards that one deals

design in India stands for. Till very recently, not much contemporary

with – the dimensions and ergonomics – and while these standards

urban furniture used to be designed in India. In recent times, some

become benchmarks for comfort and utility, the design goes beyond

companies have invested in production of contemporary designs from

the functional concerns and engages the user with curiosity and play.

India which have a certain demand and relevance in our context. The

Constantly experimenting with materials at hand becomes an integral

present landscape of mass-produced furniture in India is dominated

part of the process of design.

by moulded plastic furniture manufacturers and makers of office

Drawings for ‘Sit’ - a bench by Rubberband

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furniture. Venturing into a more immediate and relevant domain of institutional furniture, Industrial Playground is also enabled by a fresh demand, the changing ideas about office and study culture and a shift in user behaviour in recent years. This change can also be attributed as one of the factors for the growing appeal and demand for Rubberband - Ajay Shah’s stationery brand and now a label under which the furniture designs are produced, can be evaluated to have common philosophical foundations to Industrial Playground. With beautifully produced notebooks, writing bricks and desktop items as a part of the collection, ubberband leans significantly on the character of paper as a material in its design – an essential quality that contributes to its appeal.

The nature of the design process is important for the kind of work ASDS in interested in. This process is non-linear and does not originate from the visual attributes of the eventual product.

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OBJECT

Facing Page Above: ‘A Table that Almost Wasn’t’ with ‘Grid’ seats Facing Page Below: Sketch: process for ‘A Table that Almost Wasn’t’ Above and Right: The ‘Pipe’ chair

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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

Not all furniture designed by ASDS is produced in quantity even

w a

though intended for mass production and manufacturing. This pushes

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o

caus w

s l cti

in what w d si n and what w p oduc

alis that th lan ua

o i inal in thou ht and st

o p oducts w li

out o an id a o a

n d

them to think consistently about economy of form and substance to

to

at ial 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

ounded by A ay Shah in 2002, A A S A ESI N STU IO AS S 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 rivate Limited before starting an independent firm in 1990 by the title ircus esign ompany . AS S 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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arametric profile variations of fish net fabric panels

TREADING THE MIST The materiality of a transient architecture has an intrinsic relationship with nature and locally-available resources, dating back to nomadic ways of living and construction. In ‘Treading the Mist’ through careful layering of translucent fish-net fabric, the drapery is reminiscent of the fishing communities. A double side mirrored portal designed as part of Kolkata’s national design festival titled ‘The India Story’, the object internally reflects the search for a contemporary culture under a slivered sky. ssentially a cube of 6 fish-net fabric layers, the hint of silhouettes in the folds manifest into a metaphorical journey from the inner mists of Kolkata to the outer reality of Calcutta.

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Exploring materiality of the fish net fabric and unfolding of the execution process

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BAMBOO PAVILION Set on the fringes of Kolkata in the small town of Bansberia, the Bamboo Pavilion discreetly resembles a pandal: the traditional model of a temporary structure. Assembled with the help of an enthusiatic community, it showcases a staggering 1800 locally-sourced bamboo poles meticulously painted in festive colours. Spiralling towards a focal idol, the Pavilion is conceptualised as a circular volume with a choreographed movement that entails the journey through a vibrant confetti by day and a glowing mirage by night.

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iagram of illumination with retro-re ective vinyl stickers

onceptual sketch of the pavilion

etailed layout of the scheme

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PAVILION OF CANOPIES

and the ceremonial stages as a familiar model by attempting to raise awareness about the conservation of the forestlands and the

Built in a cultural setting to yield a more permanent architecture

communities residing in them. Abstracting the traditional mandala to

is the Pavilion of Canopies situated in the lush countryside of

recreate intimate memories of a place, planes of undulating fabric

Kolkata. Catering to the neighbouring tribal communities, the

render a journey through a dense forest of canopies to arrive at the

activities facilitated through this construct foreshadow the floats

sight of glorious divinity.

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Context Plan

THE PINNACLE ARCH In another instance an object aspires to renew an institutional cultural through placemaking. In a setting compounded with traces of a distinct pedagogy and architectural vocabulary, ‘The Pinnacle Arch’ occupies the central courtyard space of the historic Presidency Univeristy in Kolkata. Borrowing elements from its setting, the installation lucidly suggests s l su fici ncy in th hi h st o

o

attainin sta ility in th a ch o

to p o idin

sta ility as th pinnacl .”

Elevation, Section, Plan and Isometric

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OBJECT

REFLECTING (ON) THE INHABITED CROSSROADS In the myriad encounters between the past and present nuances of urbansiation, ‘ eflecting on the Inhabited rossroads’ explores how

Fixed Panels: Also Structural

architecture and meaning are conceived through abstractly familiar relations and perceived through an embodied experience respectively.

Abin haudhuri in collaboration with contemporaries in the field of arts and architecture as part of The Hashtag#Collective positions su

cti

dislocations to ais

u i s in th

inds o

i w s”.

Mirroring the context of Kochi as a centre of urbanisation in Kerala, h wo o

u stions th

ala which has

t a ll s and i

ol o n ho

o y and id ntity in th cont t to a a i ty o t ad s con u

i ants in th past

in today s lo al u anscap .”

u stions pa ticula ly

s l ant lan derived from the traditional Nalukettu homestead of erala

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OBJECT

IN CONCLUSION ecent 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, ochi Facing Page Below: The installation held together with criss-crossing of hinese or heenavala fishing ropes Above An assembly of hand-made alloy mirrors called Aranmula Kannadi

ounded by Abin haudhuri, ABIN ESI N STU IO was established as a multi-disciplinary practice in October 2005. Since then, A S has executed a range of diverse pro ects that has engaged with multiple issues, and of varying scales, from interior design and architecture to urban design and art. Their work encompasses pro ects of varying scales ranging from institutional and urban pro ects to private residences and installations. A conscious effort to explore the unknown ourney, experimentation with materials and technology, and the engaging of art and culture has been the approach for realising each pro ect from inception to execution.

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

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THE GENESIS OF AN OBJECT

Material Immaterial Studio, Mumbai

The ‘Ensemble’ Collection

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OBJECT Images: ©Material Immaterial Studio

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Founded by Nitin Barchha and Disney Davis with their shared passion for design, the Mumbai-based practice ‘Material Immaterial’ indulges in the sheer joy of crafting and the process of experimenting with the character of materials. The studio forges unconventional handmade curiosities which appeal to the architectural intellect as reductions of spatial scale by “exploring the bare beauty of materials”.

Every once in a while, one entertains an idea of a peculiar venture; the grounds of which tend to be less pragmatic and more whimsical.

While these ideas end before they take off, Nitin and Disney fostered their fascination with materials into a unique endeavour which celebrates craftsmanship. The practice, located in the interface between architecture and sculpture, conceives work that is idea-led and process-driven. Handcrafted products that are one-of-a-kind: the artefacts produced by the studio can be labelled as collectables.

With an inclination of designing objects that gravitate more towards Above and Facing Page: From ‘Ensemble’ collection. Below: ‘Mirage’

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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 eter umthor, arlo carpa and ohn awson 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 ‘ paces’ collection is a fine

OBJECT

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

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This Page: ‘Elements’.

Facing Page: ‘Organic’ - experiments with paper-maché

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example of an additive and reductive process that enables crafting

pieces. ‘ lements’ is a collection of micro-concrete cufflinks and

of complex architectural objects. The pieces – each a variation of the

earrings. With designs that are minimal and sharply defined in

theme assemble in an organic formation on the plate to generate

form, each pair is unique and each pair refers to the genesis of

multiple permutations and combinations in configuration.

the idea. They acutely reflect the makers’ fascination with concrete, characterised by the material’s malleability, formal strength and

‘Mirage’ captures the essential quality of light-and-shadow:

signature finish.

the negative and the positive in a tribute to the works of arlo carpa. The assortment consisting of robust concrete handles , is

True to its title, the ‘Organic’ series tests the flexibility of paper-

characterised by crisp edges, reducing planes, and a set of ocular

mach to capacity with its fluid form, stretching the possibilities

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This Page: ‘Spaces’ - drawings and objects

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OBJECT | MATERIAL IMMATERIAL OBJECT

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Left: ‘Spaces’ - The complete set Facing Page Above: A maze of arrangements of ‘Spaces’

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OBJECT

of the material at hand. The collection of lamps and furniture takes inspiration from earthy elements like flowers and mushrooms, revealing the natural colour and texture of paper pulp.

The tactile quality of the products of this collection is used in The White Room architecture projects like ‘Organic House’ and ‘Rooftop Garden’. Being able to produce good design all the while working within the constraints is a critical ingredient of practising design. Over a period of time, the venture has developed products that are beginning to have a functional aspect to their personality. Yet, at the core of the work of Material Immaterial, there is a consistent desire to create non-objective things – things that have their own distinct identity that is disconnected from the limits of use.

At the heart of it, the practice is driven by the elegance in simplicity - of both form and material. The designs hold a refreshing candour in crisp lines and bare colours. The absence of any additional layer of finish on the products extends the purist idea to the whole. The process of design is rigorous and at the core of this design approach, there is a reluctance to subscribe to the confines of the eventual utility of the products. The joy of the design process is evident in its many manifestations. “Tireless repetition” is intrinsic to what Nitin and Disney seek and the outcomes are certainly rewarding!

Founded by architects Nitin Barchha and Disney Davis in 2015, the Mumbai-based design practice MATERIAL IMMATERIAL STUDIO is responsible for creating objects of desire for architects and design-oriented individuals. It is built on the basic principles of bare beauty of materials, exploration of form of reduction and experimentation with techniques of creating. Beyond Material Immaterial Studio, Nitin and Disney also head The hite Room a Mumbai-based architecture firm with a passion for exploring innovative ways of approaching fundamental problems of space, proportion, light and materials.

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SUR

FACE

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REVIVING THE INDIAN PATENT STONE

A contemporary expression of a traditional practice

Images: ©DUSTUDIO and MATTER

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SURFACE

Although the interior space makes the experience of architecture at the scale of the human experience palpable, it is the phenomena of colour, sound, tactility and light that bestows character and authenticity to a space and connects it to an imagery that is reminiscent of a cultural nostalgia.

In many creative processes that involve making, both the artist and the craftsman are directly engaged with the existential experiences of space through materiality. Natural materials possess an innate richness which enables a user to discover atmospheric characteristics of a space, a place and a setting before any conscious observations of details are made. It is in the subconscious haptic imagery of these spaces that one gathers lasting lived experiences. ot too long ago, oxide floors were a common sight across the households of modern India. Originally brought to India by ortuguese and Italians tradesmen, it first prompted an exploration of self-created and customised floors in erala and later, across

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outhern India. The history of oxide floors in India is a standing

a high grade of cement set uicker than the originally used slow-

testimony of its longevity and cost-effective implications as a surface

setting cement, which is bound to render a different colouration than

craft. The rich, black oxide floor of more than 00 years old

the yesteryear floors. As is the case with every handmade process,

admanabhapuram alace in the erstwhile Travancore ingdom is among the oldest surviving examples of the traditional use of oxides.

time is the key to the final uality and life of the finish. With oxides, the presence of the human touch is constant - from start of the mix to the finish of the floor and thereafter.

nown more popularly as the Indian atent tone, oxide surfaces are essentially cement-concrete floors topped with a layer of cement

The colour of the oxide depends on the mix. The oxide powders can

mortar and finished with pigmented cement slurry. The floors may be

be mixed in different proportions to achieve a hybrid colour or a

grey or coloured depending on the mix of the oxides and the intended

single-colour oxide can be mixed with varying uantities of lime or

use. Although pass , the traditional red oxide floors still gleam with

cement for variations in colour. It is imperative that one understands

a ‘ avaratty finish’ in many homes across outhern India and ri

the maker’s process before the product. At the core of this process, is

anka. The term avaratty finish derives its nomenclature from the fine

a uni ue finesse in the maker’s sense of aesthetics and touch. With

marble-like finish of the floors and walls mastered by masons from

the aid of locally available tools, every stage of mixing, applying,

the town of avaratty in Thrissur, erala.

levelling, flooding and polishing uses a different pair of hands that leave a uni ue mark. The oxide laying process is nuanced with innate

The oxide mixture primarily comprises of the mineral in its powdered

human errors accepted for a choice of this style.

form the powder has colour variants depending on the desired finish

142

with white/grey cement to make the mix viscous, and lime to retard

The process is largely artisanal. In the preliminary stage of prepping

the setting process for better finish and colour. Another aspect of the

the cement mix, multiple samples are produced before the desired

revived flooring is the difference in the uality of materials available

colour is achieved for the rest of the process. Once the mixture is

today - be it the lime, cement or the oxides, the materials available in

ready and of the right consistency, it is poured over a dry

their natural and compound mixes keep varying. Oxides, mixed with

and levelled in re uisite courses with a ‘gurmal’ flat, s uare trowel

floor

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SURFACE

145

146

147

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SURFACE

149

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SURFACE

or a ‘karni’ flat trowel , depending on the surface of application.

DUSTUDIO in Auroville has trained a large group of artisans, who

Once it is set, the final touch of a wax polish is applied with and

have learnt from experimenting on the sites within the principles of

scrubbed to perfection with coconut coir. An exhaustive handcrafted

the studio and developed an independent expertise in such traditional

process, the skill is mastered after years of practice to the extent that

techni ues. A fine-tuned set of skills completes and seals a floor for

trained teams of masons may complete a floor all in a day’s time.

generations to come. While the possibility of creating continuous,

With skill and relevant knowledge, the possibilities with oxides are

seamless floors is certainly a reason for its comeback, many practices

endless. Honed by practice and patience, every handicraft has the

like Dustudio are able to incorporate the tradition of creating

advantage of evolution by intuition. Architects across the country have

these floors within their contemporary language of architecture.

successfully gauged the versatility and durability of this material in

This collaborative process with the artisans have enabled many

designing various surfaces that make a home - floors, walls, ledges,

traditional craftsmen in this techni ue to employ their skill and join the

counters, shelves, basins, bath ware and other surfaces alike.

mainstream, prompting a slow but sure revival of the oxide floors

DUSTUDIO [formerly Buildaur] is a collaborative, inter-disciplinary, architectural design practice based out of Auroville, Tamil Nadu led by Dharmesh Jadeja and Dhruv Bhasker. Inspired by the wisdom in honed skill, the work of DUSTUDIO aims to create a strong link between past, present and future of building traditions in Indian context, using existing traditional knowledge as well as innovating within the framework of its social relevance, economic viability, environmental impact and culturally-rooted aesthetics.

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DESIGN & DÉCOR

With Canna Patel (Chairperson, HCP Interior Design Pvt. Ltd), Sandeep Khosla (Founder and Principal, Khosla Associates), and Ambrish Arora (Principal & CEO, Studio Lotus) This discussion sought perspectives and viewpoints on the perceivable aspects of interior design and the emerging tangential domains of the discipline – interior decoration / visual décor and styling.

[IN]SIDE

What according to you, frames an Interior Design Practice in the Indian context? What aspects of an interior design practice are fundamental to the discipline?

CANNA PATEL

An interior design practice when placed in the Indian context gets tied to not just our culture and aesthetics but more importantly, to how it is practised. In India, interior design has not been separated from architecture as a result of poor or no legislative or licensing control. It has, therefore, become a profession that architects adopt to create liquidity more often than not - an intermediary ball to keep rolling between architecture projects.

In its minuscule understanding but more commonly seen, interior design is taken up as a part-time occupation and not a business. On the other hand, it becomes a part of a complete design package in fields headed by contractors, engineering firms or furniture manufacturers.

Thus in the Indian context, the percentage of hard-core interior design practices is relatively small. When focused upon what makes an interior design practice, the below stated points surface through a large ocean of possibilities, passions and convictions for this profession: • It requires to be a passion driven profession, and not just something taken up as an alternative to a related field.

• Train Interior designers not only through their education but also through their skills and abilities. Hence, their role to take key decisions is more valuable.

• As a practice, one needs to take keen interest and initiatives into governing associations that could help form some kind of a structure for the profession. It could mean becoming a member or getting your company registered.

• While practising, the value of a good book library, as a form of constant referencing and a material library which aids the tangible aspect of a design process and helps build the core of the practice.

SANDEEP KHOSLA

Primarily an Interior Design practice must be able to spatially plan the character of a space by understanding the psychological needs of the people who will inhabit it. This is a universal re uirement. More specifically to the Indian context, the design practice should have an understanding of the dynamics of Indian living, of our culture, traditions, and habits. The

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POLEMICS

practice should create work that is climate-sensitive, providing protection from the harsh western sun while still remaining well-ventilated, and providing respite from the monsoon rains. Moreover, the practice should be contextually driven with an empathy towards local material, craft, re-use and should find innovative solutions with our wealth of customisation that are cost-effective.

Even though we have a middle class that is rapidly evolving and technologically enabled, we are still a traditional society with a strong belief system. A common requirement amongst most clients is Vastu compliance and this sometimes extends to the placement of different functions in a project according to Vastu/astrology/other faiths. This can be viewed as very stringent parameters in contemporary design but I feel that design practices that embrace these constraints as part of the design challenge rather than rejecting them as an obstacle to the design are most successful. astly, I believe that an Interior

esign practice should have the ability to steer, influence, and

educate their clients. With the art of continuous dialogue and engagement Indian practices must be influencers, showing their clients new ways of seeing.

AMBRISH ARORA

I think interior design is our only tool to influence the experience of a built form and that is the way we at Studio Lotus perceive interior design. To that extent, it is not different from architecture because architecture generates the built form and our critical perception and experience of that built form is largely from within. In the Indian context, interior design is perceived to be less technical than architecture or engineering. It is more accessible.

Therefore, you have all kinds of practices - for better or for worse. From practices that are highly evolved, to people who think they have a flair for design. The discipline of design and dĂŠcor has got a very low threshold of entry within our country. Even otherwise, globally, interior designers have a very wide spectrum of practitioners. The difference now is that an increasing number of people are seeing the value that a professional designer can bring to their experience of design, and so they are choosing to engage with professional practices.

Slowly, there’s a shift towards a more professional engagement versus something analogous to styling and decoration.

[IN]SIDE

ow si nificant do you

li

is th id a o stylin and d co in int io d si n p actic

o

you thin it is alua l CANNA PATEL

y definition, decoration is an object or an act intended to increase the beauty of a person, or a room. tyling is a manner of doing or presenting something. oth of these are the finishing touches, which are inherent to the process of design for a good interior design practice. It lends itself at a higher position when it is embedded in design decisions instead of a last minute add-on. This way they become less superfluous and impart a deeper significance to the space.

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SANDEEP KHOSLA

I always ask what the happiness quotient of a space is, how comforting it is to be within a space. How should we design an interior space that has the capability of being loved? I think styling and décor are valuable if they enhance this feeling, and if they work within a certain narrative. I feel that the importance of décor elements and styling is often undermined in our profession. Being a good stylist requires an immense skill. All faculties need to be present to create the correct balance of composition, to use the right textures, colour and proportion between differing elements. Décor and styling is a profession operating mostly from the faculties of the right brain. I find design that emerges purely from instinct fascinating.

AMBRISH ARORA

I will take the analogy of a human body and how we engage with the world. So, there is a skeleton, a body, and there is the flesh on the body. The skeleton would be the architecture, which gives form to the built environment the flesh would be the materials whether inside or outside which are a permanent part of the skeleton. And much like in fashion, if you have a beautiful body then it is easier for any clothes to look good on you. A good skeleton of architecture lends itself to the interior space. For this, it is important to first understand the structure, which will then enable you to choose an appropriate fit.

This is what one would call a cultural ornament – it is not ornamentation but the cultural expression of what the identity of the space is. There is no right or wrong as long as one takes it through. To me, while these conversations are important, the matters are extremely individualistic and personal and need an independent thinking because they add a lot of value and one cannot deal with the idea of an environment without understanding the bones, the flesh, and the skin the architecture, the interiors, the volume, the space, the light and so on.

[IN]SIDE

n a ti chann ls

wh n th

is a hu

in u o i a

s th ou h

ainst a

dia and social n two

diu s th popula p c ption o int io d si n is o an i a

d i n isual

culture. What is the role of image-making in Interior Design?

CANNA PATEL

Design is a culture that needs to be driven through multifaceted acts, or experiences that can be identified in places like exhibitions, museums, theatre, etc. It is an amalgamation of visual, experiential and meaningful experiences. While it becomes important for it to be accessible, as one cannot experience it like architecture, it takes its position in different forms of visual media.

Unfortunately, at the same time it has failed to create a “design awareness” amongst the mass and simply remains a means of imitation.

SANDEEP KHOSLA

I do not have a problem with ‘image-making’ as long as it is an effective tool to communicate a design intent. The problem I have is with interior designers blindly ‘image-receiving’. The seductive barrage of imagery on the Internet and media often provides interior designers with an easy cut and paste approach, often devoid of the real context. However, there is a real opportunity in India to create ‘original’ images, and I am optimistic about this because I see great hope and innovation with the younger generation of designers who are so enthused by

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POLEMICS

depicting a cool new progressive India.

AMBRISH ARORA

I think the reason people go to an image is because they do not have a fully formed idea of what is it they want. I remember doing this self-development workshop several years ago and one of the things that subliminally emerged within all of us was how we model ourselves on imaginary or real figures who we admire and who lend us a position in life. The way we present ourselves to the world is governed by that. Social media is like that. It is easily accessible and allows us to anchor ourselves quickly.

Whereas, design is really about being comfortable with ambiguity and the reason I think people are hesitant about ambiguity is because the idea of having faith that something will emerge if you allow the parameters to inform the process is a difficult leap for many to make. There is a quote by Bruce Mau that I go back to very often, “When you allow the process to inform the sult you

i ht not now what you a

oin to

t

ut what you

t is d finit ly what you

want.” Of course, one cannot reject images. We try having an engagement with the image that is deeper than the image itself by dissecting it to see the aspects that are working and what could be learnt from them. As a practice, we never start with an end result and so the image is not really relevant at that point.

[IN]SIDE

o you thin d si n and d co stylin a lat

CANNA PATEL

hat is th int

ac wh

disciplin s ind p nd nt o

ach oth

ow do th y

a d co p actic can op at with d si n thin in

A décor practice is based upon short-term changes, in some cases forms of makeover that tend to be area specific or event specific. When this activity finds its hold in a concept, it becomes a part of design thinking. This way décor forms a subset of design.

SANDEEP KHOSLA

As an interior designer I do not think of styling as an independent discipline at all. I feel that it is integral to completing the overall architectural or interior narrative of a space. I lay emphasis on the narrative, as décor elements would otherwise reduce themselves to being mere style/fashion statements that can be short-lived. A décor practice that is purely about surface application and does not look into the subliminal qualities of a space can be problematic. But interior design practices that embrace décor and styling as part of a certain language are strong.

AMBRISH ARORA

As a practice, we believe that a key attribute of design is listening to all the voices that inform the project. For example, sustainability for us is not forced because the frameworks are determined by the nature of the project without imposing our prejudices. This is not easy. I really do not believe we are artists. I like to believe that we are more like craftsmen with a certain skillset, and that skill needs to be directed towards the necessity. And that is how a practice gets richer, because you allow a lot of voices to speak and question, as long as you make sure they are part of the same framework. This framework is design for me. Décor may be a voice inside this framework.

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[IN]SIDE

hat a

th

ind o p o a

s and p o cts that o

th co

o you p actic

ll us a out

the interests and concerns.

CANNA PATEL

As a design practice, we constantly aim at approaching a project from all sides. Apart from being functional and aesthetically pleasing for the clients, a powerful design concept drives us towards a more meaningful act. This is supported by activities, initiatives and daily routines of the design studio.

• Open houses form an important part at the end of the project. This is a great exercise as we believe that interior design is more through an experience than visual media. It also allows the user to interact with the designer which almost never happens.

• An ‘A-Z’ of the standards that one must learn and adapt to as a designer becomes an important approach while heading a design studio.

• Educational initiatives such as research with students, workshops on various topics related to the practice and lectures in Universities constantly help bridge the gap between education and practice which is important for a good design practice as a form of reflection, to be able to critically look at your own work.

SANDEEP KHOSLA

At Khosla Associates, we are “contextualists” who believe that our work should be rooted in one’s environment and to a particular site. While we work with an international style, we draw inspiration from traditional concepts, craft as well as local materials.

Our design is experiential and attempts to modulate space to create beautiful, peaceful or dramatic spaces. There is a certain romanticism to our work, a narrative quality that leads the viewer into varied experiences, and we enjoy creating work that references the old while being wholly contemporary and innovative. Living in a tropical environment, our design is climate sensitive and often blurs the boundaries between indoors and outdoors making spaces permeable. The relationship/dialogue between built form and the external environment/ topography is very important.

I find it crucial to uestion ourselves on some of the basic values ualities of good interior space. We try and put our design to the test each time we take on a project. Is there an honesty of material and expression , are the basic values of light, air and ventilation fulfilled , and is the project climatically sensitive, contextually rooted and conceptually relevant? Beyond these essential aspects we strive to create the more subtle, hidden and subliminal qualities that make the spatial quality soulful. The gentle modulation and interplay of natural light on various surfaces, creating environments that are tactile, spaces that are uplifting, that bring us closer to nature and attempt to connect us back to our primordial selves.

AMBRISH ARORA

Our practice has two distinct kinds of manifestations- the architectural team and the interior design team. They function independently as well as collaboratively, but the skill sets required to deliver an architectural project are different from that for an interior design project. I think

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programmatically, what we offer is not domain expertise but process expertise. Currently, we are working on a range of projects from industrial to commercial to workplaces and even adaptive-reuse projects. We engage deeply in mutually establishing the premises of how things ought to be. This has been a very rewarding exercise with our clients and for us as a studio

CANNA PATEL is an Architect and Interior Designer with over twenty eight years of professional experience. Having completed her Bachelors in Architecture at CEPT, Ahmedabad she did her Masters at University of California Berkeley, USA. She is the Chairperson at HCP Interior esign vt. Ltd. I , widely regarded as a reputable and professionally managed firm. ocus on detailing and integration of art in her interiors and architecture are trademarks of her work. Her Indian upbringing and exposure to cultural diversity and rich heritage has significant in uence on her creativity. She has been a ury member on various prestigious awards for designers. She is a ounder Member and Past Chairperson of IIID, Ahmedabad chapter. Her works are being regularly published in various Indian and International publications.

SAN EE OSLA is the founder and principal of hosla Associates, a Bengaluru-based multi-disciplinary architecture and design office.

Sandeep studied architecture at Pratt Institute, New York, then returned to India to establish Khosla Associates in 1995. He developed a philosophy and design language which is still twenty years later, at the core of the firm s vocabulary and approach. Sandeep was picked by India Today magazine as one of the fifty men and women under the age of 35 from various fields of enterprise who are poised to be leaders of tomorrow. He has been a speaker and panellist in several Indian and International conferences and continues to be actively involved in design discourse in India and abroad.

AMBRISH ARORA trained and worked as a boat designer before moving to Spatial Design. He founded Studio Lotus in 2002 along with Sidhartha Talwar & Ankur Choksi. The Studio is acknowledged as a thought leader in the country for their work in the domain of Architecture and Spatial Design. In the course of his working career of over thirty years, Ambrish has lectured extensively and served as visiting faculty and juror at various international and Indian design forums. A member of the CII National Committee on Design, he is on the executive board of the awahar ala endra, and is currently working on co-founding a new School of esign. Ambrish has an active interest in the role of design in society.

POLEMICS is a record of discussions with respected design thinkers in India from multiple vantage points on the common concerns of the profession.

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ORI

Images: ©H & 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).

161

Pesi Elavia Consultant and Former Plant Head

I began my journey with H & R Johnson on 2nd May, 1959. My

Of the 58 years of my time in H & R Johnson, I have thoroughly

interview was at Nanabhai Mansion at Flora Fountain with Mr

enjoyed the technical job at the Thane plant. I started and was

Kenny Pedder, the then Director and his father. Previously, I worked

incharge of about

for National Helicopters in the aviation industry. In the beginning, I

when I personally trained my team as a General Manager. For 35-36

worked in ohnson’s sister company, Fordham ressings briefly before

years, I did not ever produce a defective tile with a hairline crack.

shifting to Johnson. It was a big company with a collaborator in the

From a 1000 labourers in 1986, we were down to 440 in 1995

UK. In those days, we would commute by a ‘tanga’ as there were no

because of an efficient technology. I had to convince my superiors and

auto rickshaws or taxis. At the time, we had four Department Heads -

deter them from firing staff as I did never want to see good people

Mr Dalal, Mr Keshav Sharma, Mr Datar and I. I was in-charge of the

leave the company. For almost everyone, we found an alternative job

press-room. We started out in a very small way with semi-automatic

and we began a conscious investment in skilling and training human

machines and a total of 75-80 workers. In 1960, Mr John Doorbar,

resource. I always like to retain an efficient person who is flexible

a tile body making expert, was appointed to train us in a standard

optimistic about giving results.

0 manufacturing presses. My first milestone was

procedure in order to increase efficiency. We followed his recipe strictly through production and kept one tile of each batch in the lab,

I was the plant head when I retired back in 1995, since then I have

one in my cabin and one tile would go to Johnson UK for checking

been working as a consultant now for the last 22 years. The Pedders

and quality control.

sold the company to Mr Rajan Raheja in 1993. At that time, it was a loss making company & Mr Vijay Aggarwal transformed the company

The sales market was consistent for more than ten years, it enabled

into a profitable venture. After a few years, he became the irector

us to collect money one month in advance and supply tiles. Some

of ohnson

of these were delivered by bullock carts. When I started, Mr Kenny

impressive accolade. The present organisation is very different from

Pedder was the Managing Director and we were working for him at

the one I was with at the very beginning. We now have many more

the Thane Plant. We were running short of labour in the sense that

people and much more business to cater to. We are one of the most

there was no consistent labour, and so we used to keep a ledger of

culturally diverse companies in India. I feel that the reason for my

about 60-70 workers. Slowly the situation stabilised as we upgraded

success over the years has been my loyalty and dedication towards

from a semi-automatic to an imported automatic press. In 1969-

the company. I always like to look at problems in a positive way and

1970, with a limited license to import presses, our supply dropped

never give up. I have had a deep connection with the company for

and the demand was increasing. Thus, along with tiles, to increase

so many years and I believe that one must always be adaptable and

production, we began manufacturing tile presses – a completely

acceptable to changing situations

Indian innovation that had export standard! This was when I was made the Director for Fordham Engineering.

162

which was a first for an Indian irector – a very

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

Facing Page: Pesi Elavia in an archival photograph receiving an award Right Archival Image of the first plant at Thane Below The first team at Thane lant L-R Mr B alal ilns Mr eshav atar ipping Mr esi Elavia ress Shop Mr Nurullah ersonnel Mr eshav Sharma Slip ouse

163

The irst Executive ommittee formed in March 199 from the left Mr R urup ead of Sales Mr S egde, ead of ewas lant Mr eshmankar ead of ommercial Mr B A Baliga ead of R Mr Vi ay Aggarwal Managing irector Mr Ra nish Sacheti ompany Secretary Mr A avira ead of en lant Mr S atnaik ead of unigal lant and Mr Rathi ead of inance

Ramachandran urup onsultant and Former hief uman esources Officer In October

,

ohnson opened its first non-metro branches

of our creations, starting with Marbonite – a brand that went on to

at Kochi, Hyderabad, Indore and Pune. After a period of turmoil in

revolutionise the flooring industry for decades to come. atering

1992-1993, the company was transferred from the Pedder Group

to aspirations for marble in Indian households, it was a successful

to the Rahejas. At the time, H & R Johnson was driven by a compact

fusion of the lightness of marble and toughness of granite into one

group of

product. Today, the scenario is drastically different. With the advent

people, working from an office in Worli, Mumbai. This

was a new beginning for the company. With three factories - one in

of digital technology, we have been manufacturing on vastly efficient

Thane, one in Kunigal and one in Dewas, the initial years after this

and sophisticated machines. This is certainly the biggest change the

transition posed several challenges since most of the recruits were new

industry has seen in the past few revolutionary decades.

to the industry of ceramics. However, the biggest advantage was that the company had an in-house team of experts and easy accessibility to

After three decades of experience at H & R Johnson, it is clear to me

the latest technology owing to the company’s holdings in the UK.

that designers and architects are a different clientele. While almost everyone in the design industry has an eye for a good finish or a

164

For a very long time, ceramic tiles were restricted to the walls. It was

palette of colours, there are very few who actually understand tile as

the first time that six-inch ceramic tiles were being produced in India.

a material innovation, thereby helping us to serve them better. With

Until 1986, ceramic tiles were mainly used for bathroom walls. Mosaic,

every growing year, the challenges get bigger too. From a small

marble or oxide floors were the preferred choices in other parts of the

company back then, today we are a corporation of nearly 400 and

house. It was not until 1989 that we cracked the Floor Tiles market

more, just in Mumbai. Among the bigger challenges is the ability

through our innovations and by

to retain a culture in which work is pleasure, amidst a nurturing

, polished vitrified flooring had

become a common sight across Indian households. In the years to

environment that allows every individual to grow. In my time here,

follow, the company took the tiles market by storm with consecutive

I have realised that beyond a certain monetary comfort there is an

and successful innovations driven by design, material innovation and

organisational strength that imparts values at H & R Johnson which

marketing outreach. Market surveys and global trends informed most

makes one a better individual

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

H & R JOHNSON MANUFACTURING PLANTS IN INDIA BADDI . DEWAS . KARAIKAL . KUNIGAL . PEN . RAJKOT . SIKAR . SAMBA . VIJAYWADA

165

Extreme Left R ohnson avilion at A ETE 2011, Mumbai Left anel of a 4 x4 tile made in ebruary 19 0 on Press no. 43 with the brand name ‘Cristal’ acing age State of The Art Technology at the lant in en

Anoop Sreekumar Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing In 1999, H & R Johnson launched a new division for Marbonite. I

state-of-the-art technology and we were able to manufacture quality

joined the company in 000 when Marbonite was a first-of-its-kind.

replicas of tatuario and arrara marble finishes with profiles that

The marketing strategy for brand Marbonite focused on how to

were remarkably similar.

convince the consumer to choose an expensive floor finish that has much greater durability over a regular tile which costs as little as

Another one of the company’s successful initiatives was the

forty rupees per square-foot. The following year, a select group of 20

education programme launched in collaboration with the Academy

individuals from diverse backgrounds were inducted into the company

of Architecture, Rachana Sansad. In an attempt to bridge the gap

and trained for a period of twenty days at the company plant. The

between the manufacturer, designer and the skilled worker, the idea

idea was to orient the team to the manufacturing process of vitrified

was to start the Pen Learning Centre where one could learn about

tiles. With the advantage of a background in chemical engineering,

the entire process of tile making. The classroom at Pen trained young

it was relatively easy for me to grasp the technical know-how of the

architects, students as well as masons on the history, process, usage

product. The task at hand was clear - to communicate the make of

and safety involved in tile manufacturing. Upon completion of the

Marbonite against the make of natural marble or Italian marble in

one or two-day long workshop, a certification was awarded to all

accordance with the brand tagline, “Preferred over Italian Marble.”

participants on behalf of H & R Johnson and Rachana Sansad. This

After building a successful portfolio for the brand, 2008 saw a shift in

gives skilled workers and masons a credibility and we try and bring

career for me from Retail Sales to Marketing.

them into the formal industry. Otherwise, people continue to treat them as ‘labour’. After 17 years in the company, one of the most

166

Marketing was different back then. The work mainly focused on price,

rewarding things has been the freedom and encouragement to excel.

positioning and placement. One of the most important innovations of

Every individual is given opportunities in pursuit of entrepreneurship.

my term was the innovations in visual merchandising. H & R Johnson

We are also a deeply ethical organisation. Everyone – from the

for the first time was participating in large expos such as A

management to the people who work in the plant is a part of this

T

,

showcasing the company’s many brands to an audience mainly

ideological system. We invest in grooming our employees not just

composed of builders and architects. H & R Johnson was also among

from a profit-motive but with an idea that this company is built on

the first companies in India to explore and innovate with digital

human resource! Passion and Integrity are the core values that have

technology in the manufacturing of tiles. The company developed

held the company together for 59 years

167

Shivram ednekar Officer, eramic esign I joined H & R Johnson in the year 1989. Prior to that, I worked as a

primarily is a powder mixed with specific oil base. ost-firing, this

textile designer in Khatav Mill, Vimal Textiles and several other small

mix would turn to glaze and impart a shine to the surface of the

design studios. Around that time, H & R Johnson had just inaugurated

tile. As a textile artist, my understanding of colours helped me a lot.

a new Tile Design Department under the then Director Mr Cyrus

Mostly, the output was as expected unless the tile itself broke into

Pedder. This is where I met the sculptor Shekhar Vechalekar. I was

two during firing I have never remade a tile. Today, the third-firing

asked to make a free hand design on six tiles of 6”x6” with ceramic

machine is absent and I cannot recreate any of these processes I

colours, oil and brushes. I drew a flower which I knew from my time

have just shared. Instead we use what is called High-Firing. But only

as a textile artist and directly applied colours to it without any cone-

in third-firing process, one can make a relief on the tile. The tools

work. I was more confident with this medium In the process, any

mostly used for painting were brushes and sponge. The sponge

painting on tile was first left to dry in the dryer after which the tiles

was used more often for better gradation and highlighting results

were placed in the kiln for sixteen hours of firing. The next day, when

on the tile. The time consumed to make a set varied depending on

the results were presented to the Department, Mr Cyrus Pedder was

the original material received from the client. With state-of-the-art

impressed with the colours and my skill. The Department Head, Mr

technology today the results are still as good, and the speed of work

ao asked me to join immediately and confirmed that I would be

is accelerated.

handed an appointment letter within two days. This is how I began my journey at the H & R Johnson, Thane Plant.

When I began twenty seven years back, we were a team of four.

Apart from me, there was Mr Sunil Bhalerao, Mr Manoj Patil and

As a Trainee Artist, I mainly worked on drawing, hand-painting, and

Mr Shekhar Vechalekar, the sculpture-artist who was our senior at

cone-work. In the beginning, we made cones like the ones used for

the time. We also trained over fifty artists in our time. The training

‘Henna Mehendi’. On the raw base of the tile, drawings were made

focused mainly on the usage of ceramic colours because unlike other

followed by careful carving of the outline. The niche created by

media, ceramic colours behave differently post firing. Interestingly,

carving was then covered with CMC glue. The next step was to add

while applying a colour in the pre-firing stage, one cannot tell the

an outline of clay with cone work. After this, it was sent for firing in the

difference between what is light or dark. The original colour is

kiln. Thereafter, the tile would be covered with a layer of glaze and

seen only post-firing. I have been associated with

then would be sent for a second round of firing. At this stage, colours

for twenty seven years now. In 2003, I was promoted as a Senior

were filled into the design before it was sent for another round of

168

ohnson

eramic esigner and today, I am an xecutive Officer with the

firing. This process is known as the third-firing process. The original

company. After moving to the corporate office in 00 , I was given

photograph that was shared with us was never enlarged. We painted

the role of market research to understand the designs and sizes

by hand based on the original material given to us. The enlargement

launched by competition in the market. Post that I looked after the

process happened on the tile itself while drawing, depending on

showroom display concept design work wherein I was responsible

what the requirement was - 12x12 inches or upto 12x8 feet if it was

for creating display concepts of new tiles. For this, we created the

for a mural. The base material for drawing was always the glazed

concept for a theme based on the tile designs we have. Today, my

tile on which we applied the cone-work. Besides the requirement in

role is diverse I oversee the distribution of all marketing collaterals

the domestic market, we have even exported our hand-painted tiles

across India. This company has given me a lot. Today, I do not

with images of gods and goddesses in sizes of 24 x 24 inches. The

design anymore because the technology of digital printing directly

Glaze Department had one expert who used to provide us with the

prints the design on to the tiles. There is a new system in place

materials to develop new mixes. Based on that, we decided the tone-

Draw, Photoshop and several other digital platforms have replaced a

darkness, lightness, percentage of colour shade and its proportion in

lot of the manual work. At home, I still continue to nurture my artistic

the mix. First, we used to develop the base-mix for the colour which

side but professionally not so much

orel

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

Above and Extreme Right and-painted Tile Murals after the third-firing process ustomisation at R Johnson Right Shivram ednekar and his team pioneered the process

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Arun Rao Senior Vice President, Product Management & Technology I joined this company as an Assistant Manager at the Thane factory

The other product that we launched soon after was called Porselano

in June of 1994. With a background in ceramic engineering, I was

which was India’s first joint-free tile. y a design and production

looking after one part of the production unit – the Glaze Preparation

process called rectification, it became possible to avoid joints between

Department. At that time, this was the largest factory that the

tiles and the body was vitrified to prevent expansion. Another product

company administered. Thane plant was considered a premium

we pioneered in the post-Marbonite era was christened the Anti-skid

factory inspite of the production lines being the oldest. For a long time

tile. Today, these tiles have practically become the norm, and people

prior to the company being managed by the Rahejas, the area of

no longer use normal tiles in a bathroom. From a brand-imagination

product development was dormant. The tile industry by that time had

point-of-view, one of our most innovative and successful campaigns

migrated to parts of Europe with Italy and Spain leading innovation.

was advertising on the railway-reservation forms. It was a very

With a small team that I led, we focused on reinventing the aesthetics

cost-effective and an extremely powerful way of reaching out to the

in tiles and looking beyond its functional attributes. For this, there was

masses since television in those days was not as accessible. From the

a need to further expand our capacity and modernise our plants.

time I joined 23 years ago, the Management has always given every employee enough freedom to innovate.

Our unigal factory used to produce third-fire border tiles. The third-firing process re uires a special arrangement in specific low

Multiskilling has empowered our employees. As an organisation,

temperature to produce decorative tiles with expensive metals such

H & R Johnson invests in their employees. Professionally, I too

as gold and platinum to enhance the value of the tile. By 1998, we

have certainly grown in this organisation and today I serve as a

had commissioned a new factory with the latest technology at Pen to

Senior Vice-President. With the company growing by the year, it is

develop new products in line with global trends. H & R Johnson was

difficult to understand that degree of integration. We have reached

the first company in the country to import gla es for production of

the stage where technical differences between products are slowly

tiles. In 2000, Marbonite revolutionised the Indian tile industry.

disappearing. Today, we have a specialist for every product, design, task and process. There is a separate marketing team and a product-

As the Head of Product Management, I was in charge of product

development team that is invested in researching materials. We have

development, pricing and marketing. The marketing strategy for

instituted an independent wing that focuses on innovation. Innovation

Marbonite was very different - from the way we positioned the product

lies at the core of what we do

to the way the logo was designed for the brand. For the first time, a tile-manufacturing company participated in a large design exhibition – Inside-Outside. A majority of the audience that visited us belonged to the building industry. Our pavilion was minimal with nothing except one sparkling floor and some pillars designed to look like the good old antheon’s pillars. ven today Marbonite is one of the flagship brands of the company despite the competition. When we launched Marbonite, we set up a helpline service in Mumbai. Any consumer who had purchased Marbonite was provided with a pre-lay service.

So, the moment a consumer purchases the product, the dealer would immediately inform the company and one of the company’s service engineers would attend to the site of installation to assist masons in laying of the tiles. This direct involvement of the company with frontend processes instilled a lot of trust in our brand.

170

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

acing age onstruction of Tunnel ilns 19 5 Right igh-tech kilns inside the present-day plant at en Above - Left and Right: Marketing creatives of H & R Johnson: Scratch-free and Stain-free tile innovations

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arhan Akhtar Senior General Manager, Corporate Business Development H & R Johnson has been in India since 1958 as pioneers of the

close to the emotions of the people of the city. The trams in Kolkata,

ceramic tile industry. Originally owned and instituted by the Pedder

one of the oldest modes of transport, were in a state of despair

Group, in 1993, it was taken over by the Rajan Raheja Group who

as a result of age and neglect. We got them painted with H & R

subsequently bought all the shares from Johnson UK to make it an

Johnson branding on them connecting the name of the brand to

independent Indian company.

the spirit of the citizens of Kolkata.

When I started my career as a management trainee with H & R

To outline a few achievements during my assignment as the Export

Johnson in 1996, it was only a small company manufacturing wall

Head in 2010, we also manufactured and supplied 20x10 cm

and floor ceramic tiles with the tagline,

ceramic glazed wall tiles for Johnson UK and 30x30 cm tiles in

esign

ood nough to

Steal.” Working as a radical stimulus between the vendors and

1.5 cm thickness for a tyre-remoulding factory in Kenya. Our

the company,

interchange with the clients and the users helps us deliver on

ohnson was the first to design a multimedia

kiosk for their products. In

,

ohnson was the first tile

innovation. Over the years, of all the innovations in the ceramic

company to introduce a Customer Care Cell covering all of India -

industry, H & R Johnson has pioneered the Germ-Free tile, Scratch-

a national helpline for ‘end-of-line’ assistance. We were resolute on

Free tile, olar- eflective Index tile, exterior wall cladding tiles, step

the idea to address all complaints within 48 hours.

tiles, Anti-Static tile, swimming pool tiles and heavy duty industrial tiles. It is undoubtedly a huge achievement for us. With regard to

As the Assistant Manager, ales, I took over my first assignment

exports,

ohnson is the leading exporter to more than fifty

in 1998 in Indore. I think that was a watershed moment in my

countries including Mexico, USA, Brazil, South Korea, the entire

life. I have been working for the past twenty-one years in this

Middle-East, and African countries.

organisation and have learnt that an opportunity to serve should never be missed. During my tenure in Indore, I worked on a

In Europe, H & R Johnson supplies to four major DIY stores, which

lot of prestigious projects like the Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple,

have more than 00 outlets. In 0 0, we got our first order from

Ujjain, Army War College, Mhow, Indore and many more. H &

a DIY store in Europe. Back then, in Europe only white-body tile

R Johnson was commissioned to restore the Shri Mahakaleshwar

was used. It was a challenge for us to convince not only Johnson

Temple. We had to have a lot of scrutiny in order to replicate the

UK but all the DIY stores that red-body was equally good and in

existing ancient look of the temple and were successful in providing

fact sometimes better. Since 2010, one kiln is dedicated to the

scratch-proof and skid-proof tiles. In 2004, we accomplished the

20x10 cm wall tiles in red-body for the consumers in UK. They

restoration of the Temple.

have accepted our way of manufacturing tiles. It was just a matter conviction and of technical knowledge. Presently, we are promoting

We were also able to receive the purchase order of about Rupees

H & R Johnson as a brand in 15 countries, including Nepal,

Seven Crores for the renovation work in the MES, Mhow. Owing

Bhutan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Seychelles, Philippines,

to their special need for the Army War College, a new series of

Coco Islands, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Cambodia, Laos,

Endura Tiles was developed and supplied. One has to be extremely

Maldives and Mongolia. Apart from these 15 countries,

sensitive to local knowledge when one is dealing with products in

H & R Johnson exports to other countries under the title of Prism

a context. When I was in Kolkata, in the year 2005, I was looking

Cement Limited: its parent company. This covers all four brands

after the East market as the regional head. We worked with the

- Marbonite, Endura, Porselano and Spectrum (ceramic wall and

local police and helped them organise traffic during ‘ urga uja’

floor tiles . rism

ement imited is our export identity.

by maintaining the barricades with our branding on them. We actively contributed to civic institutions and ideas that we felt were

172

I have dealt with some of the most respected architects and

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

designers in my career. It is quite evident that if one is clear about the technical parameters of the product, one can discuss ideas like aesthetics, durability, innovation and use. The technical understanding of the marketing teams at H & R Johnson is our cardinal focus. From the year 2016, I have been serving the company as the National head of Corporate Business Development (CBD). It is a new vertical created to penetrate the market and generate business through key specifiers. It focuses on the influencers Architects and Interior

esigners . In brief, we

are reliable tile experts who have complete knowledge of all the divisions of H & R Johnson. It has been more than two decades and my devotion and loyalty towards the company remains undeterred, and I hope to see many more good years here

Above Right: Branding on Police Barricades Above - Left and Right: Illustration of Branding on Trams in olkata Right Branding on Trams of olkata

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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

174

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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TIME

ELINE

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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

1976

1975

1974

1973

1970

1969

1968

1967

1966

1965

1964

1972

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

1963

1962

1961

1960

1959

1958

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

1971

1959: Mr Pesi Elavia Joins

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

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

1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

1989

1988

1987

1986

1985

1984

1983

1982

1981

1980

1979

1978

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 eceive the I O 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 ange of itrified Tiles and an Iconic Brand

2002: H & R Johnson (India) Becomes a Government of India ertified xport ouse

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

2007

2005

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 ecame first tile manufacturer to implement SAP | Initiated backward integration for tile manufacturing with IPNR division

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

Introduction of Endura tiles and Milano bath brands | Closing and Relocation of Facilities at the Thane lant The first set up to get approvals from the epartment of cientific Industrial esearch, Government of India

2001: Purchase of Mines as a Step Towards Backward Integration

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

2006

2000: Launch of H & R Johnson Bath Division

2003

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

ORIGINS | H & R JOHNSON (INDIA)

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 ertification

2017

2016

2015

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

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

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 aif as their first rand 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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IN

NSIDE

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AHMEDABAD TEXTILE MILL OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION BUILDING [1954] Changing light, dramatic volumes and stark concrete frame the space within Le Corbusier’s concrete construct - a masterpiece of modernism in Ahmedabad.

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Images: ŠMatter

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Winter light in Ahmedabad is smooth, crisp and as these photographs stand testimony – beautiful. The west façade of the Ahmedabad Textile Mill Owners’ Association [ATMA] Building in Ahmedabad is designed to protect the interior space from the harsh, west sun. On rare days in December, January and February, the late setting sun washes the concrete walls and stone floors of the building in a uniform layer of light.

This light is moderated by the detached screen – a ‘free façade’ that is anchored to the building frame yet independent of the same. The curves, straight lines, double walls, free columns and dramatic mezzanines of the building cast complex shadows. Le Corbusier’s concrete – formed in many incredible casts arrests the light and reflects the right amount with the right intensity. Slowly, the golden hour passes and everything fades to darkness

INSIDE is a gallery of photographs that explores important buildings of India’s modern architectural heritage from within.

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Samira Rathod Design Associates [SRDA]

Abin Design Studio [ADS]

Unique Industrial Estate, Gala No. 421, 4 Floor,

62/2 Hindustan Park, Gariahat,

Veer Savarkar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai - 400 025

Kolkata - 700 029

srda@srda.co

contact@abindesignstudio.com

th

Biome Environmental Solutions Limited

Material Immaterial Studio

#15, 1 Floor, 1 Main, 1 Block, BEL Layout,

Address: C-3, Om Shiv Krupa CHS

Vidyaranyapura, Bengaluru - 560 097

MTNL Lane, Dadar West, Mumbai - 400 028

contact@biome-solutions.com

studio@materialimmaterial.com

Architecture Discipline

DUSTUDIO

Palm Avenue Farms, Sector D,

Swayam, Auroville,

Vasant Kunj, New Delhi - 110 070

Tamil Nadu - 605 101

info@architecturediscipline.com

info@dustudio.org

Vikas Dilawari Architects [VDA]

HCP Interior Architecture Private Limited [HCPIA]

273/3, First Floor, Jawahar Nagar, Road No: 12,

302, Paritosh, Usmanpura,

Goregaon (West), Mumbai - 400 062

Ahmedabad - 380 013

vdarchitects@gmail.com

hcpia@hcpia.co.in

Studio Lotus

Khosla Associates

F 301, First Floor, Chaudhari Prem Singh House,

#18, 17th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar

Lado Sarai, New Delhi - 110 030

Bengaluru - 560 008

contact@studiolotus.in

info@khoslaassociates.com

st

st

st

Ratan J.Batliboi Consultants Pvt. Ltd. 233 D Bharat Rice Mills, Dr. S S Rao Road, Near Hilla Tower, Lalbaug, Mumbai - 400 012 info@rjbx.in

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The Busride Design Studio

Matter Design Services LLP

10-A, Ranwar Village, Veronica Street Off Waroda Road,

#456, The Blue House, Monte Villa Road,

Off Hill Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai - 400 050

Monte-Guirim, Sangolda, Goa - 403 511

thebusride@gmail.com

think@matter.co.in

Ajay Shah Design Studio [ASDS]

H & R Johnson (India) - A Division of Prism Cement Limited

41F, Regal Cinema Building, Northern Side,

7th Floor, Windsor, C.S.T. Road, Kalina,

1st Floor, Apollo Bundar Pier, Mumbai - 400 001

Santacruz (East), Mumbai - 400 098

info@asdswow.com

inside@hrjohnsonindia.com

[IN]SIDE

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