ARCHITECTURE & INTERIORS
Delving into the roots of my design journey
Introduction
From 5 years of Architecture school to hands-on experience with sustainable building materials, tropical modernism and luxury interiors, my journey has been rooted in research, design thinking, philosophy and crafting user-centric solutions. Here's a peek into some of my past projects that have built a strong foundation for my design skills today.
1. Office renovation for OHC, Mumbai
(independent practice, 2023)
Project brief
Office interiors for a leading marketing agency that is opening it’s first offline workspace in Mumbai. The office is to provide for 65 employees with a hybrid mode of work setup.
PROJECT DETAILS
- 1850 sqft
- Type- Office interiors
- Location- Mumbai, India
MAKE OF THE TEAM
- I was the sole designer
- Mr. Sudhesh (Contractor)
MY ROLE
Design development, moodboards, client presentations, material selection, development of 3D renders and construction drawings
Design development
The client wanted a “cool” office for the young employees to make them want them to work from office. Requirements were 2 conference rooms, a social space, dedicated workstations, HR, edit rooms and a pantry- with part of the office to be ready in 2 weeks
The office was planned to have two zones (as shown in plan above) -
Zone 1- more social, fostering group idea exchanges & discussions, hosts clients
Zone 2- for productive work and focus
A pantry & cafeteria is incorporated in the narrow hallway in zone 2
Concept & development
The colour palette is inspired by the company’s logo. For the interiors, I stuck to an industrial-chic vibe to accomodate the client’s budget and not compromise on the aesthetics. A neutral colour palette with pops of yellow gives a playful vibe to the office while staying on brand.
A crucial element for the client was creating a strong sense of their brand in their workspace. A large interactive logo board was designed in the common area for this, along with incorporating the brand colours in the space
The entrance foyer is an accent blue room- a buffer zone- with a backlit logo emphasising the unconventional nature of the office.
Details of entrance backlit signage
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The interactive pegboard displaying the company logo
2. Apartment in Ho Chi Minh City
(professional practice at KRIYA, 2022)
Project brief
Located in an upscale location of Ho Chi Minh, client wanted the interiors to be reminiscent of his hometown back in Kerala with a luxurious contemporary overall feel, suitable for entertaining guests. He wanted the bedrooms to be more spacious and didn’t mind having one less room for this
PROJECT DETAILS
- 1800 sqft
- Type- Apartment renovation
- Location- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
MAKE OF THE TEAM
- Ar. Vinod Mathew
- Ar. Sharanya JC
- Ar. Dilsha K
MY ROLE
Design development, moodboards, client presentations, teamwork, client communication, material and paint selection, development of 3D renders and construction drawings
Design development
The client’s main requirement was bigger, spacious rooms- so one of the major interventions was to combine bedrooms 2 & 3, and include a part of it in the master bed for a walk-in wardrobe.
The new curved wall- It allowed for the walk-in wardrobe to be a seamless part of the master bedroom while maintaining optimum circulation space on either side. This simple intervention maintained the integrity of the flow of spaces and circulation.
Process & Execution
Communication with the Vietnamese team executing our designs on-site was done through a series of visuals and precise detailed drawings, as verbal comminucation was not possible.
The Vietnamese team executing our design followed our instructions and detailed drawings, updated us regularly regarding site progress on-site
Inspired by an earthy base palette of two tropical cities with pops of bright orange and teal, the space is contemporary while subtly rooted in the users' culture.
Final results
This project got featured in Elle Decoration Magazine, Vietnam. You can check out the article here :)
3. Bamboo yurt cottage, Auroville
(apprenticeship with Auroville Bamboo Centre, 2021)
Project brief
A cost-effective, basic cottage using bamboo as the structural material and experimenting with its properties to make a unique cottage that is both functional and aesthetically-pleasing.
PROJECT DETAILS
- 30 sqm
- Type- low-cost natural building
- Location- Auroville, India
MAKE OF THE TEAM
- Ar. Divij Bharadwaj
- Ar. Sharanya JC
- Ar. Hricha Lahari
MY ROLE
Research, material analysis, prototyping & testing, collaboration, adaptive learning & iteration, presentation & marketing
Development & prototyping
A major advantage of working with bamboo is the ability to test structural stability of design prototypes through scale bamboo models. I experimented with the roof, walls & whole structure with 1:10 scaled bamboo model prototypes.
The combination of the central compression ring at the top and the encircling tension band where the roof meets the wall- allows long roof spans without any internal posts, trusses or beams. This gives the yurt a feeling of spaciousness and uplift. This roof design also creates an incredibly strong and resilient structure that is uniquely equipped to withstand earthquakes & strong winds loads.
Evolution of the structure through weeks of experimenting
The form was developed and iterated to finalise and optimise the use of materials in the actual full-scale structure.
Also check out -
The story of building a citizen-scientist database for the local arachnid fauna of Belgaum