India’s perfume capital in the limelight| Reviving the traditional Kanjivaram sari| Titan’s just launched Khadi Collection| and more

Heritage

Kannauj, India’s perfume capital plays host to UPSIDC’s Perfume Park and Museum, giving impetus to the time-honoured expertise and craft of perfume making.

Read more

Editorial Dear IAnDian, Four diverse stories fill your plate this week as we revisit nuances of heritage and how we continue to establish continuity till date. Team IAnD had the opportunity to visit the oft-spoken-of textile revivalist, K. Radharaman and his work with the mix-blends of Kanjivaram – making it a luxury wanna-have with the millennials. The fantastic job he is doing is endorsed by our architect and design fraternity as well, as we present two representational opinions here by Ar. Brinda Somaya and interior designer, Lipika Sud. I totally recommend this 2-minute read. With Atelier Zebulon Perron refurbishing Le Germain’s Hotel in Montreal, layering the old Brutalist architecture with as much respect as his commitment to contemporary mandates; and Titan watches launching their Khadi Collection, the trail of visiting the old in a new avatar continued. Do check out the simple yet charming interventions. And our cover story. Ar. Amit Gupta is designing the Perfume Park and Museum – and out-of-the-ordinary homage – intriguing in more ways than one, bringing India’s oldest ittar-manufacturing city into the global limelight. Do let us have your views on this. Wishing you a leisurely read. Warmly, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

Workplace psychology and office design| Celebrating layers of history in a 500-year old building| Technology-aided baby monitoring for new parents| and more

Projects

Setting a precedent for expressive workspaces, Ippolito Fleitz Group curates the Roman Klis Design HQ to be the ‘Maldives of Design’.

Read more

Editorial Dear IAnDian, A hearty "Thank you" to you for the overwhelming response to our year's first Special Issue - Looking Back - Looking Forward that briefly traced trends gone by and those upcoming for the year 2020. What a way to begin the year, with so much love and encouragement. Thank you yet again. You help us continuously raise the bar. Keeping pace with our reader's habits and giving you ample time to soak in the Special issue, we bring you only three new features this week - a boutique hotel in Spain, a restaurant in Vietnam and a progressive office in Germany. Quite uncannily, the underlying common thread is celebratory - just as the mood you've induced in our office this last week. While the Vietnamese restaurant celebrates the aesthetic of an all-encompassing natural material - wood, and the traditional ethos of Vietnam and neighbouring Japan, the hotel in Mallorca revisits several layers of history in a 500-year old building, carefully assimilating and restoring influences and amalgamating them with contemporary ones. The office design on the other hand - also our cover story - nurtures hope of more sustainable and humane environs by celebrating greenery in the workplace. Using the psychology of creativity to design the interiors has its fair share of impact and one hopes the design-creativity nexus will offer a long-term insight into even more progressive workplace design. Enjoy the issue. Warmly, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored

Special Issue “Looking Back - Looking Forward” What 2020 holds in store!

IAnD Exclusive

The concept of sustainability is constantly evolving to encompass a growing number of ideas. IAnD speaks to four distinguished architects championing the cause to uncover ways in which designers have explored this umbrella term in 2019. As the global focus shifts towards climate change and resilient solutions, they explain the strategies that need a boost and how ecological and climate sensitive architecture expects to take shape in 2020.

Read more

Editorial Dear IAnDian, In life, change is the only constant. We hear these words repeatedly and they ring true in more ways than one. Trends are an important influence in both, fashion and interiors. They guide change. Team IndiaArtnDesign, therefore, dived deep into some influencing factors in design - looking back at the year that was, reviewing some key design trends that dominated 2019 while taking a sneak-peek at the buzz that would run the show this year. The result - a Special Issue titled "Looking Back - Looking Forward", where we bring you some expert opinions from 13 stalwart designers/ architects pertaining to fashion, sustainability, façade illumination, interior styling and technology in design. The issue scans through the design developments that were and looks ahead at the year 2020 and in some instances, at the decade ahead and where design is headed. Mostly 3-minute reads, the features are engaging, informative and can be bookmarked as a go-to resource. As always, we await your valuable feedback. Warmly, Savitha Hira								sponsored

Humanism in design - endorsed one way or the other!

Ideas

Conceived by Panorama Design Group in central Hong Kong, the K11 MUSEA is a kids’ shopping arcade cum playhouse – the very first of its kind.

Read more

Editorial Dear IAnDian, The highlight of last week's activity at our office was mulling over the goings-on at the Women in Design conference, where several aspects of the profession of architecture and design were discoursed and contemplated upon. Whilst the highlight of the conference was the attention to the intangible - that perhaps is intensified from the point of view of a woman architect - amid the abundance of tangibles, the sheer assimilation of information and knowledge that the packed 3-days were all about, was certainly a rejuvenating experience. Take a look at the concise gist that we've brought you from the WID2020+ held in Mumbai over the last weekend. Our stories this week bring you a little from various quarters - design for children; healthcare in sports; nurturing simplicity and trendiness in a contemporary home; and cultural architecture. Our cover story that talks about the development of a holistic personality in a child, which begins from unhindered interaction with his immediate environment and is impacted by space, colour and materiality manifests in the interiors of a playhouse cum shopping arcade - the intent being what the owners call an "edu-shopping centre". Check out how designer Horace Pan of Panorama Design, Hong Kong crafts this interesting enterprise in what is being called the first-of-its-kind for kids. As a special initiative, we begin a Special Issue tomorrow, where we will familiarise you with pertinent aspects of design as they broadly gained ground in 2019, and where the professionals feel they are headed to in 2020! So, keep an eye out for the upcoming stories... Warmly, Savitha Hira								sponsored

When architecture is vocal| Wabi-sabi and luxury interiors| Contextual facade design| and more

Projects

tHE gRID Architects design a bungalow in Nagpur that holistically integrates light, air, greenery, materials and views, providing a living experience that extends beyond the built form…

Read more

Editorial Dear IAnDian, We bring you four very strong stories this week. Our cover story - The Axis House is eloquent about how architecture can be vocal. Well, in the past too, we've brought you many such built forms that communicate on a metaphysical level. Here again is a footprint that defines an excellent balance of seamlessness and elegance - the base to nurture the growth of home and hearth. The home in Ukraine too and its distinctive wabi-sabi references steer a similar path. Minimalist... Introspective... Invoking the sublime. And the two facade stories intrigue with a narrative that goes beyond the built fabric, looking holistically at the social, economic and cultural context. Whilst the Tokyo hotel establishes its signature culture and vies for tourist interest; the Gurgaon facade attempts to break the industrial stereotype of a neighborhood, integrating sustainable solutions in the bargain. Let me leave you to enjoy the read. Warmly, Savitha Hira Editor								sponsored