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

In dialogue with brick and mortar

Projects

Very few architects have a way with walls. The way they chisel the built form speaks volumes for the spaces carved, the human interaction with them and the surrounds. The 5-Element House by Studio PKA is one such abode…

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, An innate social responsibility shines through all our stories this week. Responsibility that is born out of respect for nature, for heritage, for human and plant life; almost like an ode to inherent aesthetics. Handcrafted sensitivity of Bangladesh meets the precision of the Dutch as a collaborative effort by both architects culls out a village supermarket more like a community centre. A beautiful merger of function and humanitarian values. Just as serene and sentimental, is the restoration and refurbishment of an old mansion in East China that is now transformed into a boutique hotel. Restraint proves to be the showstopper in this architectural makeover. And of course, our cover story on studio PKA from Mumbai that yet again endorses the fact that when architecture speaks it's potent language, it results in a bonding of human and surrounds as none other. Enjoy the issue. There's plenty to mull over... Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

Psychology in design

Ideas

Studio TAB fashions a retail space for JJ Silks in Bangalore, drawing a parallel to the celebration of colours, patterns and the royalty of the quintessential Indian silk sari, using the thematic as their muse for the showroom design…

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Editorial Dear IAnDian, In the age-old tussle between form and function, our stories this week clearly border on the premise - function follows form! Whether it is the Jasmine flower inspiring the built form in Fuzhou, or the splashes of paint inspiring an interactive public installation in Shanghai or even the exclusive silk sari showroom in Bangalore being a take-off from the sari itself, the underlying emotion that connects with the masses is a representation - an identity that appeals to the senses, making them receptive to the built form, the interior surrounds... So, in this race for empathising and relating to human behavioural patterns, aspirations and motivation, success of a project is measured by how design works with the psyche of the user to deliver the needful - so the surrounds assist in boosting purchases, in enhanced footfall... making users perform the actions that are expected of them. Also referred to as Design Thinking. A very gainful tool. Let me leave you to mull on that note... Warm regards, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored Subscribe to India Art n Design Youtube Channel https://goo.gl/ACXUZ9 Comimg Soon… Ar.Brinda Somaya