Design… and a little of that human touch!

Projects

In the city of Xian, Tomoko Ikegai designs the YJY Maike Flagship Store - a bookstore and commercial complex that celebrates the intersection of people, cultures and books.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, We are currently enjoying a phase, where technology and its positives have spearheaded us into a futuristic aura that is at once appealing and adaptable. But with its several plusses come the little niggers of a life well spent before the onslaught of all things technology. An era that most of the millennials are not even aware of. The very fact that they are kickass about the remix of an old melody, are intrigued by a traditional and detailed process, or are happy to adopt a tried-and-tested formulaic solution... shows that the new generation needs to be introduced to choice segments of our past, exactly like we would refill a new bottle with aged wine! Look a little closely at our stories this week - a palatial home that caters to different personalities yet finds its balance via the overall design approach. A small café in Shanghai that uses the juxtaposition of opposites to carve out a niche space for a product (coffee) and an audience! A made-to-measure store that ups the oomph quotient of a bespoke, traditional craft. And our cover story that features a book store cum library cum café cum event space speaks of a cultural hangout that seems the need of the hour to bring the human touch back into the hands-on, jet-setting world! A little introspection goes a long way! Enjoy the issue. Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

Luxury Homes Special: Do plush residences mean evolved lifestyles?!

IAnD Exclusive

By designing a beautiful house nestled into Arizona’s mountainous rock, Kendle Design Collaborative celebrates the quiet and serenity that nature has to offer.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, This week, we started out to talk about plush residences and evolving lifestyles in this Luxury Homes Special. As we documented the projects, we realised that they were not just plush - in the various connotations of their application - but had a lot to do with communing with nature. While on the one hand, people seem to want the best in terms of a contemporary home; on the other, they also want that connect with nature that our concrete jungles have made increasingly elusive. So, when we speak of evolved lifestyles - we speak of a more-aware, more sensitive-to-the-times vocabulary that comes from an erudite mindset, wanting and making the most of available resources to make a difference to the environment in their own small way. So, can a plush residence be equated to an evolved lifestyle? Yes, it can; in more ways than one. We hope you enjoy the projects as much as we did, collating them for you. Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored Brinda Somaya: a woman for all seasons!

A conscientious design approach can define the essence of an educational institute

Thought n Impact

UNStudio blueprints the world’s ‘Smartest Neighbourhood’ in Helmond’s Brandevoort District in the Netherlands - a prototypical initiative that epitomises adaptable planning and future living.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, IndiaArtnDesign.com is all about you - the designer - the architect - your thoughts, your design approach, your creative juices... your work. Given the constraints on your time and the priceless nuggets of knowledge that you continue to garner every day, we have this section Thought n Impact especially tailored for your voice. Feel free to contribute to this section by airing your views on a topic close to your heart. It could be a learning that you'd like to share; or a design experience that could benefit the fraternity, and so on... This week, we have Ar. Shailesh Veera of SPIRIT air his insight on the changing interiors of schools. Please feel free to comment on his post and interact with him. Besides, our stories this week are diverse and thought-provoking. Browse through and leave us your views... Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored The interconnected life of Brinda and Alfaz Miller In case you missed it earlier.

Hospitality Special: Changing face of hospitality design!

IAnD Exclusive

Prepare to be amazed by Alberto Caiola’s latest project, Nyx, as it marks Shanghai’s skyline with a spot of electric blue.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, The food business is a booming enterprise. And the hospitality industry has been quite gung-ho about trying new things in terms of offering diners a memorable experience. Seeking an appetising gourmet spread and experimenting with different cuisines apart, what does a diner look for in a dine-out? With food at no. 1, ambience and experience come close to deciding where one would like to dine. This special issue on the changing face of hospitality brings to the fore that as gregarious and ever-seeking as we all are, eating-out offers diverse options that regale and engage a diner and a fine-dine affair. New ideas are freely experimented with, given a largely receptive mindset. In fact, it seems like an open field of competitive ideas that vie to hold out the longest on a very fickle and trend-driven notion of upping one's lifestyle. Browse through our offerings this week and come back to us with your feedback on - what is the one thing that you seek in a dine-out? Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

Does looking back in time make an impact on good design?

Heritage

In the heart of Old Delhi, Spaces Architects@ka designs a Heritage Park - a cultural and symbolic ode to the grandeur of the historical city.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, The problems that society faces today are as intense as they have always been. The key lies in the approach, awareness and desired solution. So how does design address this? Does it benefit to go back in history? Does contemporary intervention wrapped in historic tried-and-tested solutions assure better results? These and many more questions are addressed as design uses a cumulative to forge new steps each day. Our stories this week bring you urban interventions and building design seeped in socio-cultural impact. Architecture does not exist alone, is a given. Yet, how it interlaces with life and living is like a beautiful and intriguing lesson that unfolds a little a day. While we enjoy and imbibe as we go along, we invite you too, to this journey of revelations. Enjoy the issue. Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor

Everything is layered. Just needs peeling…

IAnD Exclusive

Whether in their work or home life, it’s all about details for this architect couple, who believes in creating personal spaces that are so inspirational that you never feel like leaving.

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How does subconscious learning impact design solutions?

Signature

With an exhibition design as well as an outdoor interactive installation that opened to the public last evening at Okhla Grounds in New Delhi, Ar. Amit Gupta gets candid about how exhibition design and installations are an opportunity to further one's skill set… Over to Amit…

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, Time and again we observe a going back to history. A going back to traditional ancient architectural methods and typologies. Of course, the signature lies in the smart tweaking that contemporises the design and planning to suit current living needs, even trends. A house built literally in the midst of a desert doesn't shut out the barren nature. Instead, Kendle Design Collaborative opens up the interiors using the courtyard typology and glass walls that promote seamlessness. The retail store by Labvert Design Studio too contemporises traditional Japanese craftsmanship and ingeniously contextualises the brand to its location. But going back in time also means going back to a strong value base. Our cover story - a simple thought and practise put into words by Ar. Amit Gupta of Studio Symbiosis, kind of underlines the premise that rootedness is a continuum. It resurfaces periodically, each time making an indelible impact - both physically and metaphysically; urging one to think and question the status quo. Agree?? Enjoy the issue and share your thoughts with us. Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored Watch the dynamic duo share the secret of their inspiration. For the very first time – for the readers of India Art n Design. We are #Incandidconversationwith Architects Krupa Zubin and Zubin Zainuddin – releasing on 19th Feb 2018  https://youtu.be/M3kv5R5Y5wM To stay tuned in – subscribe to our YouTube Channel and hit the bell icon to get notified when the couple comes online.

How much and when has a building impacted you?

Projects

Tadao Ando stated that “I believe that way people live can be directed a little by architecture”. Ar. Archana Shah designs this residence by not just manoeuvring contemporary living ideas but marking a posey for timelessness.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, When design drives a solution that is contextual in nature, what is the premise? Established that design speaks a subjective dialect: it means different things to different people; at different times; is situational; circumstantial even. Yet, there is a universal vocab that underlines a typology. One that guarantees appeal, acceptance. So irrespective of the premise, contextuality can be varied and manifold. We bring you two residential architectural projects - one in Noida - a fairly new township by many standards and the other in the Alpine ranges of South Tyrol, Italy. Both attest to the immediate surrounds without compromising on contemporary mandates. And when it comes to the interiors, we found the perfect adjunct in a recent project by Ar. Archana Shah (our cover story). Acknowledging the shift (existential and progressive), is the new academic building in Nottingham that illustrates the role of design beyond the physical. Deep dive and enjoy the read!! Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored When your spouse and your work roll into the ‘love of your life’, life is set! Watch out for the journey of architects Krupa Zubin and Zubin Zainuddin of ZZ Architects #inCandidConversationwith IndiaArtnDesign To stay tuned in – subscribe to our YouTube Channel and hit the bell icon to get notified when the couple comes online. https://goo.gl/imMqTX

Design plays facilitator of positive vibes in the human psyche!

Thought n Impact

Sasaki Design Studio engineers their design Incubator with a lively and peppy vibe to spur creative thinking…

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, Collaboration and transparency are like two sides of the same coin - an empathetic state of mind that has been endorsed by projects like the Mumbai office interior by Rajeev Sathe Architects, a community housing project in Hiroshima by Masahiko Fujimori Architects, and the incubator at Sasaki Design Studio in Massachusetts. These projects show how an open-source approach in the physical realm fosters a green pathway in the physiological domain, paving the way for a smooth interface, focus, and consequent growth. As we sit mulling over the impact of design on the human psyche, the other element that subtly comes to light is the presentation or aesthetics that forms the primary visual tool that facilitates the appreciation of the real design. The discipline of architecture and design masters this tool. We revel in uncovering this mastery time and again, day after day... Enjoy the issue. Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored The interconnected life of Brinda and Alfaz Miller

Working with linear spaces and vertical typologies!

Projects

Shashi Prabhu and Associates designs the Airoli Sports Complex in Navi Mumbai, playing on a vertical program..

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, Burgeoning population, infrastructure and a heaving societal aura has given rise to terms such as linearity and verticality in building layouts. Constraints in space vis-à-vis expanding aspirational requirements are making way for newer footprints that make inroads into breakthrough typologies. An example is our cover story - the Airoli Sports Complex by Ar. Shashi Prabhu and Associates - perhaps the oldest and much revered in the hall of architectural fame. Turning a generally laterally-spread typology into a vertical format without compromising on any of the essentials is what this project approach is all about. And it raises the bar. Do take a look. Besides, an architectural extension to a home in London, a linear interior design for a luxe home in Gurgaon and a highly eloquent architectural exercise in Valencia keep you intrigued... also reveal some idea-gems, where interiors and architecture are concerned. It has been a revelation of sorts for us. Hope it is for you too... Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored The interconnected life of Brinda and Alfaz Miller

The success of a design lies in the personal make-up of its designer/architect.

IAnD Exclusive

The bond between the artist and her architect husband is a meeting of two creative minds, fuelled by the enriching crosscurrents of drastically different personalities.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, Our cover story this week is the third episode of #inCandidConversationwith - our video series that aims to get to know the personal characteristics of professionals - to better understand what makes them the way they are... what drives them as highly successful achievers. This delightful episode features Architect Alfaz Miller and his very talented wife, artist Brinda Miller. Seated in their collector's paradise - a home filled with their love for all things inanimate and animate, the couple get candid about their very personal lives. Watch the video if you haven't already - https://youtu.be/NAf7l-EO-mo Besides, we bring you the interactive-façade building in Taipei; a plush hospitality venue in Delhi, India, and a perfect travel locale in the paradise island of Mustique refurbished by none other than the maverick genius, Philippe Starck. Enjoy the issue and keep us posted with your feedback. Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

Can thoughtfulness be the third dynamic, besides form and function?

Projects

ZZ Architects undertakes a study in the sensitive and sagacious use of contemporary elements to highlight a home filled with mementoes…

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, Wish you all a very auspicious beginning to all things fulfilling in the year ahead. As we make a rejuvenated comeback - relaxed, re-energised - we surface to a brimming cup of varied design projects that diffuse the essence of design addressing human emotions at the core. Each of the design stories that we've picked for you this week has an underlying sensitivity and sagacity that looks at the problem from a humanist viewpoint. Be it in the progressive environment that we see in the Microsoft research centre - although an open office is a given in these times; or the classic ambience and the subtle undertones that characterise the beauty and nail salon by Minnie Bhatt Designs; or more impactfully, the home that ZZ Architects has designed (our cover story) for a couple passionate about their collectibles... a thoughtful approach is the new high! Let me leave you to explore... Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored Does practicality have a place in the marriage of two creative souls? Stay tuned to catch the enjoyable chitchat between Artist Brinda Miller and Ar. Alfaz Miller... Coming Soon… To stay tuned in – subscribe to our YouTube Channel and hit the bell icon to get notified when the couple comes online. https://goo.gl/jveEf5

The who, what and why of 2018’s most popular design stories at IndiaArtnDesign!

IAnD Exclusive

Interacting with design stories day-in and day-out leaves a residual impact on one’s thought processes. Join me in sifting out some profound take-aways from our bouquet of 2018!

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, The year 2018 has sped by! Eventful, exhilarating, a pure fun and result-oriented sojourn as new stuff unfolded at our studio and our team grew from 12 to 19 members. We touchdown on our systems every single day with renewed energy - thanks to you - dear architects and designers, who share the first look of your creations with our audiences We take this opportunity to apologise too - as our flooded mailboxes sometimes keep us from responding promptly to you. Please do bear with us. Our global readers - a growing discerning base - thank you for your appreciative emails and your valuable suggestions. We're constantly working on bringing you an enriching design information experience with that one select project every day. Speaking of which, our milestone introduction this year has been the web series titled "in Candid Conversation with" that explores the personal lifestyles of your favourite architects, designers and artists, bringing you glimpses of the pulsating personal energies of the person behind the professional. We thank you for your immense appreciation of the series; we've equally enjoyed making these videos for you. There are many more coming your way in the new year. So, see you in the new year with new beginnings and lots of fresh ideas. Wishing you a joyful, successful and healthy New Year 2019! Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

The value of uniqueness in design

Projects

The Grid Architects designs home units that are visually connected yet subtly separated, with the focus on the responsive, inclusive lifestyle of a large family.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, So how important is it for a design to be unique? This week's stories majorly explore the residential typology and yet each abode stands out - attuned to distinct sensibilities. So, the question that arises is - should design within the same typology be unique? Studies show that uniqueness in design is in fact not a mandate. Only because there is a more generalised ruling set that has already determined user-comfort. Therefore, nuanced alterations are key; and not necessarily a fresh design. Well, let's say then that it's the approach that counts; and this is what we celebrate in tailoring unique solutions. From a home with glass walls perched on a lakeside in Lechlade, Gloucestershire celebrating the scenic waterscape; to a chic apartment in Pune; to our cover story - an expansive luxurious home segregated into individual units and woven into a beautifully landscaped abode, design solutions run deep and distinct to the said premises. On another note, uniqueness also comes forth in being sensitised to the human-built-form equation. Find out more as you browse through... Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

When simplicity rules, design soars!

Heritage

Archohm’s urban renewal of Lucknow’s Hussainabad is a momentous endeavour that composes quasi-pedestrianisation, landscape and the built forms onto one heritage-themed canvas.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, It is a well-known fact that simplification comes long after one had tired the most complex of things; the most convoluted stuff. It is also known that simplification is the key to realisation - of body, and soul; physical and metaphysical. On an abstract plane, our stories this week hint at this phenomenon. A good representation of minimal... Zen... is the rice-crackers store in Tokyo. A humble abode, yet so beautifully designed by Ar. Ineyama, the all-Cedar-wood store showcases a dynamic play of design with just a single material and method. Do check it out. In the same vein, the humungous colonisation of housing for the neophyte urbanite being built by studio MVRDV in Pune veers towards the learning that people are open to simplified explanations of life and life practices; it only needs to be communicated. Our cover story this week - which glides through the heritage precincts of Lucknow depicts how purity of thought and approach can win over the masses - it preserves and rejuvenates - at the same time. Enjoy the issue and write in to us at editor@indiaartndesign.com Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored If you have not already do subscribe to India Art n Design Youtube Channel https://goo.gl/ACXUZ9

The underlying human connect!

IAnD Exclusive

The ease with which Brinda Somaya aligns her personal and professional life is enviable.

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, Team IndiaArtnDesign just crossed a new milestone. Episode 2 of #inCandidConversationwith - our newly launched video series on the personal style statements of creatives like architects, designers and artists - premiered yesterday, Dec.4, 2018 to a wholesome audience who have loved the look and feel of the concept. Thank you, patrons. We're humbled. Featuring renowned architect and urban conservationist, Brinda Somaya, the 4-minute episode touches upon the real woman behind the garb of the absolutely lovable professional. If you haven't already, or even if you'd like to catch it again - here's the link https://youtu.be/mKMBb24RPUQ Everything revolves around a human connect. It is a palpable connect. And when it thrives between the built form and human interaction via colour, form or even space - both positive and negative - it effects a relationship. And this intensifies when one gives back to, goes back to... nature. Our many stories from around the world - the oncology healing centre in Netherlands by MMEK Architects, the bio-inspired medical spa in China by Ar. Alberto Apostoli and the nature-driven design of the Anant University in Ahmedabad - put the onus on the human connect as the ultimate this week. Enjoy the issue, especially the video. Like, share and subscribe to our YouTube channel. There's so much more in the offing... Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored