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PREVIEW

DECOR CONCEPTS FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON This festive season, amp up the fashion quotient of your homes with the latest collections from D’Decor.

Whether you revel in subtle sophistication or bright pageantry, contemporary patterns or classical damasks, D’Decor has you covered.

With our themed collections, specially curated for specific tastes and available in multiple colourways, you can rest assured that your home is dressed perfectly for the occassion, just the way you’d like it.

Take a look.

The Wabi Sabi collection is a curated offering that aims for beauty using imperfect and asymmetrical building blocks in its patterns and designs.

Featuring contemporary patterns in curtain jacquards, upholstery jacquards, delicate sheers, a digital print on cotton base and some embroideries and wallpapers that come together in beautiful harmony, Wabi Sabi is a refreshing approach to interiors.

The collection is available in five subtle shades of Salmon, Moss, Tobacco, Wine and Stone.

AVAILABLE AT EXCLUSIVE D’DECOR STORES AND ALL LEADING HOME FURNISHING STORES DDECORDIARIES

DDECOR.COM

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PREVIEW

OUR VERY OWN INTERPRETATION OF THE LIFE COLOURFUL.

Cuban Fiesta is an homage to the vibrant, tropical melange of life, joy and celebration.

Inspired by the colours of the Caribbean, it’s a delightful medley of bold and beautiful batik prints, ethnic floral embroidery, lively jacquard scrolls, handsome metex velvet stripes and striking hues of plains, that come together in a brilliantly delightful and captivating canvas.

The collection comes in four flamboyant colourways - Mulberry, Ginger, Fern and Sundae.

AVAILABLE AT EXCLUSIVE D’DECOR STORES AND ALL LEADING HOME FURNISHING STORES

DDECORDIARIES

DDECOR.COM

pg 200

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2018

40 42

EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBU TOR S

D ISC OVE R

51

GATEWAY TO ART Colaba’s influential Jhaveri Contemporary gallery re-opens in an all new avatar— founder-sisters Priya and Amrita Jhaveri give AD a guided tour.

56

HEY, MISS T AD takes you inside Colaba’s sexiest new restaurant, designed by ZZ Architects and masterminded by Gauri Devidayal, better known as Miss T(able).

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The

The Light Issue

Light Issue

TOM PARKER

ON THE COVER

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The Light Issue

Designer Divya Thakur reinvents the rangoli (‘AD x Divya Thakur’, pg 185). (Left to right) ‘Stacked’ metal candle stand by Devi Design. Makrana white marble bulb by Rooshad Shroff. ‘Satellite’ candleholders by Paul Matter. ‘Gemini’ metal candleholder by Peter Karpf. ‘Rolling Round’ brass light by Casegoods.

Photographer: Jignesh Jhaveri. Stylist: Samir Wadekar.

contents 62

AVA NT GARDE Gallerist David Gill’s new book

T H E AD DESIG N SH OW

94

VINCENT IS COMING! Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen is one of the speakers at the AD Design Show, and will also release his new monograph.

66

JACQUES WIRTZ: 1924-2018 The Duchess of

96

TALK S OF THE TOWN For the AD Design

80

TREASURE TROVES This month, a Sotheby’s

98

POWER TO THE K ARIGAR In a celebration of

84

SEX Y BACK AD celebrates a decade of Antonio

100

THE PREVIEW What to expect at Mumbai’s

offers an unfettered look at his aesthetic—from the homes he has designed to the ‘design art’ displayed in his galleries.

Northumberland, Jane Percy fondly remembers the pioneering Belgian landscape designer who helped shape her dream garden at Alnwick Castle. sale offers design connoisseurs the chance to pick up objects and art from the personal collection of the late Pierre Bergé.

Citterio’s game-changing ‘Cestone’ sofa for Flexform.

86

IT TAKES A VILLAGE ‘The Curious Seeker’—an

88

PRISM EFFECT This curated selection of products

ongoing retrospective—titled at DAG in Mumbai showcases 50 years of work by artist Madhvi Parekh.

offers rainbow-like colours and faceted forms.

pg 130

Show, Asian Paints are hosting a series of talks and conversations.

Indian crafts, the AD Design Show will champion organizations and studios that are established experts in this field. first luxury art and design fair—the best global and Indian decor brands, the biggest galleries and art installations.

T H E LIG H T ISSUE

118

LE BOR NE BÉTON Le Corbusier’s ‘Borne Béton’

light is firmly cemented in the record books as a shining example of the architect’s aesthetic.

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Design + Performance and Legendary Performance Fabrics are trademarks and Sunbrella is a registered trademark of Glen Raven, Inc. ™ ®

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contents

pg 80

120

BLACK A ND LIGHT The three-part launch of Lee Broom’s latest collection culminated at London Design Festival, with a new black edition of the designer’s modular pendant ‘Orion’.

122

LET THERE BE WRIGHT

124

ENDLESS COLUMN The

126

FIBRE OPTICS In light&you, India finally has a comprehensive e-commerce space dedicated to light.

128

GLOW IN THE DARK Rolex’s

130

FIELDS OF GOLD British artist

132

HOW DIM ARE YOU? Your

134

TUR N ME ON Light switches

138

THE HIGHLIGHTS These are

144

THE LIGHT BRIGADE A repertoire of work that steers clear of convention, powered by a vision out of the ordinary, these designers are transforming light into a tool to create innovative work.

150

LIGHT & SOUND Light

155

ON LIGHT In-depth essays by an exceptional group of professionals—from architect John Pawson to gallerist Didier Krzentowski, artists Random International and more.

Japanese lighting brand Yamagiwa uses a variety of materials to add new dimensions to a reissue of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic ‘Taliesin 4’ light. founder of the Devi Art Foundation and collector extraordinaire, Anupam Poddar seamlessly fuses art and design in his latest line of handmade modernist candle stands.

latest, launched at Baselworld 2018, features a dial that lights up even in the darkest depths of the ocean.

Bruce Munro reveals the simple philosophies that drive his installations ahead of two exhibitions of his work.

dimmer switch setting can say a lot about you—and how much you’re willing to reveal. that put the fun in functional.

the lamps that lit the way. AD presents an illustrated list of iconic lights from the last 60 years.

artist, record producer and musician, Brian Eno sits comfortably at the confluence of disparate art forms, where sound and light manifest as vivid imagery.

INFINITE AUR A BY SWAROVSKI

LUXURY BY SWAROVSKI LIGHTING DELHI | Sultanpur MG Road, Opposite Metro Pillar 88 | +91 98 100 423 00 | smehta@audiovoiceindia.com HYDERABAD | Plot No: 1069/A, Road No- 45, Jubliee Hills | +91 96 666 666 29 | elitejubileehills@gmail.com BELGAUM |5697/A-2, Amar Empire, 1st Floor, Goaves, Khanapur Road| +91 99 451 667 71 | sanjaypatil591@gmail.com BENGALURU* | No.22/11, Park West Opposite U.B. CITY, Vittal Mallya Road +91 98 456 924 60 | esha@lightsquare.in CHENNAI* | No.48/1 & 2L, Sterling Road, Nungambakam | +91 97 890 766 66 | chennai@drapesanddreams.in COIMBATORE* | No.699, Avinashi Road | +91 97 890 766 66 | chennai@drapesanddreams.in BUSINESS ENQUIRIES CONTACT: LIGHTING.INDIA@SWAROVSKI.COM | + 9 1 8 5 2 7 9 4 4 2 8 8

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contents

166

THE LA MPSHADE PROJEC T Eleven designers create lampshades for AD, each in their own unique style and techniques.

179

AD

185

AD

191

AD x VISHAL K DAR The artist takes over a Mumbai apartment in his first exploration of light in a residence.

200

SKYLIGHT Architects Pankaj Vir Gupta and Christine Mueller designed the contemporary townhouse they now occupy in New Delhi’s Asian Games Village.

208

THE LUMINARY French interior decorator and

x INGO MAURER The lighting designer shares the story behind one of his studio’s most unique, and never released lights. x DIV YA THAKUR The designer reinterprets traditional rangoli patterns, pairing them with classic and contemporary lights.

designer Hervé Van der Straeten boldly mixes styles in his Parisian apartment.

pg 118

Melting Light collection

22060 Carugo CO Italy | Ph +39.031.760111 | india@turri.it | www.turri.it

contents

216

R AY OF LIGHT Architect Ini Chatterji applies

224

CASA MINOTTI Located in the town of Meda,

VISHAL K DAR

233

his local-material aesthetic and aerodynamic layouts to create a natural, well-ventilated, light-filled home. in Italy, the Minotti family residence was designed by then-unknown designer Gigi Radice and features a greatest hits selection of the furniture brand.

THE LAUR A HA MILTON APARTMENT

AD recreates the style that was a signature of the late Laura Hamilton, one of the best-known retailers of antiques in the country—with essays from her famous friends and fans.

260

SCOUTS The low-down on the hottest products

268 272

STOCKISTS An A-Z of the stores in our pages.

AD10 Kiran Shetty, the co-founder of lighting

276

THE MOOD Lights, books and objects—these

to hit the market this season.

brand Firefly, creates a design-themed top 10 list. are the many inspirations of Nikhil Paul, founder of New Delhi-based studio Paul Matter.

pg 191

etrohomeinteriors.jumbogroup.it

EDITOR GREG FOSTER

CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER ARJUN MEHRA

MANAGING EDITOR Sanhita Sinha Chowdhury

PUBLISHER Armaity Amaria ASSOCIATE ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kapil Tolani ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Rashmi Bhatia SENIOR ADVERTISING MANAGER Nidhi Gaur (New Delhi) ADVERTISING MANAGER Aditi Sharma (New Delhi) ACCOUNT MANAGER - ADVERTISING SALES Varun A Sama ITALY SALES REPRESENTATIVE Angelo Carredu US ADVERTISING MANAGER Alessandro Cremona MARKETING DIRECTOR Madhura Phadnis MARKETING MANAGER Medha Kapur AGM - ADMIN & SUBSCRIPTION OPS Boniface Dsouza PR MANAGER Amrita Hom Ray PR EXECUTIVE Sasha Nambiar HEAD - EVENTS Fritz Fernandes MANAGER - EVENTS Trishala Jailwala, Khushnaz Daruwala CREATIVE DIRECTOR - PROMOTIONS & CREATIVE SOLUTIONS Dipti Soonderji Mongia ASSOCIATE PROMOTIONS EDITOR Sherrie A Marker SENIOR PROMOTIONS WRITER Kinjal Vora SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Karishma Gupta GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Varun Patil, Vidhi Doshi SENIOR COPY EDITOR & WRITER - PRINT Akanksha Maker MANAGER - CIRCULATION OPERATIONS Jeeson Kollannur CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Amrit Bardhan FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Rakesh Shetty ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - VIDEO COMMERCIAL Kastubh Belur SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Dattaprasanna Bhagwat ACCOUNTANTS Nitin Chavan, Anthony Paulose SENIOR PLANNING MANAGER Alisha Goriawala HEAD - HUMAN RESOURCES Lopamudra Ghose SENIOR MANAGER - HUMAN RESOURCES Mohsin Ismail ASSISTANT MANAGER - HUMAN RESOURCES Ria Ganguly CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER Gaurav Mishra DIRECTOR - DIGITAL SALES AND BRANDED CONTENT Shreyas Rao ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - INFLUENCER MANAGEMENT Tarika Singh DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR Kiran Suryanarayana TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGERS Amrita Sudheendran, Dipak Raghuwansi HEAD - AD OPERATIONS Saurabh Sharma UX DESIGNER Anurag Jain DATA TECH MANAGER Dilip Patil SENIOR EXECUTIVE - AD OPERATIONS Akanksha Malik AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Saurabh Garg SENIOR MANAGER - DIGITAL MARKETING Vishal Modh MARKETING MANAGER - SUBSCRIPTIONS V Satyavagheewasan MANAGER - DIGITAL MARKETING Sushmita Balasubramanian ASSISTANT MANAGER - AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Isha Gupta ASSISTANT MANAGER - SEO Akash Kumar MANAGER - EMAIL MARKETING Avantika Pandey Bathiya DIGITAL BRAND SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR Salil Inamdar ASSOCIATE BRAND SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR Abhishek Mehrotra MANAGING EDITOR - DIGITAL BRANDED CONTENT Nisha Samson SENIOR MANAGER - DIGITAL BRAND SOLUTIONS Abigail Rodrigues CREATIVE PRODUCER - VIDEO Shreya Jain HEAD - ENTERPRISE IT Prem Kumar Tewari DIRECTOR - VIDEO Anita Horam SUPERVISING PRODUCER Ishita Bahadur ASSOCIATE CREATIVE PRODUCER Preshita Saha EA TO MANAGING DIRECTOR Karen Contractor Avari

ART DIRECTOR Ashish Sahi ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Almas Jani COPY CHIEF Tyrel Rodricks SENIOR FEATURES WRITER Maanya Sachdeva SENIOR STYLIST Samir Wadekar PHOTO ASSISTANT Talib Chitalwala WATCH EDITOR Rishna Shah MANAGER SYNDICATION Michelle Pereira SYNDICATION COORDINATORS Giselle D’Mello, Dalreen Furtado DIGITAL EDITOR Nilofar Shamim Haja DIGITAL WRITER Vilani Senthamil

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Sunil Sethi Nonie Niesewand Divia Patel Neha Prasada Namita A Shrivastav Divya Mishra Gauri Kelkar Gayatri Rangachari Shah Arati Menon

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ricardo Labougle Neville Sukhia Tom Parker

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LET THERE BE (GOOD) LIGHT

PORTRAIT: R BURMAN

I

’m a sensitive guy. Especially when it comes to light. When I first moved to India to work for AD, I had a dubious reputation for wearing sunglasses in my cabin. No, the Condé Nast dream had not gone to my head and I definitely wasn’t trying to be the Anna Wintour of Ballard Estate. The problem was that I just couldn’t handle the overbearing, way-too-bright, and pristinely white strip light oppressing me from above. It crippled me. It was so unlike my previous office, where I was bathed in natural light sitting next to a 12-foot-tall window overlooking Place Vendôme, that I needed those sunglasses just to stay sane. Things had to change and they did. I moved to a sunlit cabin and, for late nights in the office, I’m currently sat next to a charming lampshade embroidered by Jean-François Lesage. It is part of The Lampshade Project (page 166), in which we asked 11 bright minds to reinvent a classic. Its intimate glow has calmed me down, and how!

More than even music, lighting can change my mood in an instant. There are many reasons why I sometimes go to a restaurant called The Table, but mostly it is to do with pitch-perfect lighting that makes everyone look amazing. It’s so ingenious that I feel like I look 15kg lighter than I actually am, when I’m sat at their bar scoffing on truffle fries.

I prefer a glow, that’s for sure. In my own apartment, I’m still trying to get it right. Aside from the living room’s original chandelier, I have two ‘String Light’ pendants by Michael Anastassiades, which are hung super low over the dining and coffee tables and, according to the app that controls them, are set at just 2% on the brightness scale. In one corner, there’s a vintage floor lamp, a sexy sliver of brass, from Taherally’s that looks like it was designed by Michael Anastassiades, but wasn’t (hello again, Diet Sabya). And for reading, there’s a classic ‘Daphine Terra’—a 1975 design by Tommaso Cimini, the founder of Lumina. When I bought it six years ago (having spied it in almost all Vincent Van Duysen projects), it was the most expensive thing I’d ever bought for my home—it is still the piece I love most.

There’s one last dark corner chez moi, though, which is soon to be filled by the sculptural lamp I’ve just ordered from Ashiesh Shah (also made for The Lampshade Project). No, the project was not about decorating my personal spaces but the results from all the designers we collaborated with are so stellar, I could live with all of them. Except that would be way too much light for me!

But it’s not my sensitivity to good lighting that inspired this issue. It is, of course, the festival of lights. There’s a glittering line-up to our Diwali special, but the highlight (boom boom!) is our story on reinventing the rangoli. We asked Divya Thakur to take inspiration from the traditional (one might say garish) shapes to create sharp forms of coloured powder that are as contemporary as they are celebratory. Added to that, five exquisite little lights and candelabras that sparkle off the page and you have what I think is the perfect AD cover—Indian, design-led and like nothing we’ve done before.

So, Happy Diwali and see you at the AD Design Show in Mumbai, 26-28 October!

Auto-reverse sofa - design Giuseppe Viganò Barracuda armchair - design Giuseppe Viganò Moon Invaders coffee table - design Gino Carollo

contributors

INGO MAURER designer

Since 1966, German industrial designer Ingo Maurer has been making magic with lights. For ‘AD x Ingo Maurer’ (pg 179), the designer revisited his studio’s old work and shared a design that never saw the light of day. “The collaboration made me look at some ideas that weren’t realized, which is something I don't do often. I'm filled with a mix of regret and new energy to get them accomplished.”

D I V YA T H A KU R designer

Divya Thakur is the founder of product design studio Design Temple. Years of designing, curating and writing have made her a critical force in shaping tastes and trends. For ‘AD x Divya Thakur’ (pg 185), she gave the traditional rangoli a contemporary makeover.

“The possibilities of playing with geometrical forms are endless and exciting! We’re delighted to have collaborated with the enthusiastic team at AD in ushering love and light!”

P R A SA D NAIK

photographer

Since he graduated from the Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai in 1996, Prasad Naik has shot for some of the country’s top magazines, including GQ and Vogue, as well as for brands like Lakmé, Levi’s and the Taj Group. In this issue, Naik shot ‘The Laura Hamilton Apartment’ (pg 233). “To see her sensibilities translated into this space was such an experience— and it’s magnified when you see it through a photographer’s lens.”

DIDIER K R Z E N TOWS K I writer

A D I L H A SA N photographer

New Delhi-based Adil Hasan studied photography in Auckland and released his first book, When Abba Was Ill, at the 2014 Jaipur Literature Festival. In ‘Towards the Light’ (pg 144), Hasan shot Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth, the founders of light-centric, custom-installation brand Klove. “Gautam and Prateek’s installations don’t seem from our dimensions.”

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ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST| OCTOBER 2018

An expert in design and contemporary art, Didier Krzentowski is the co-founder of Galerie kreo. For this issue, Krzentowski wrote about his journey as a collector specializing in lighting, and his connection with the medium (pg 156). “Writing about my journey as a collector and my relationship with light took me back in time, making me relive the experiences that made me fall in love with light in the first place.”

photo Emanuele Tortora

table Skorpio Keramik chairs Norma H Couture lamps Cellini bookcases Airport

The Place we Live

cattelanitalia.com B a n g a l o r e G L O B A L L I V I N G E M P O R I O 1 6 / 3 , Ve e r a s a n d r a , O p p o s i t e E l e c t r o n i c C i t y To l l P l a z a , O n H o s u r R o a d 5 6 0 1 0 0 - T: + 9 1 8 0 6 7 6 2 9 0 0 0 - e - m a i l : r a k e s h v @ s t a n l e y l i f e s t y l e s . c o m Mumbai AND MORE STORIES 27, Raghuvanshi Mills Compound, Behind Elegant Marbes Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel Mumbai 400013 - T: +91 98 21040007, +91 98 21044114 - e-mail: info@andmorestories.com

contributors TA RU N TA H I LI A N I writer

Acclaimed couturier Tarun Tahiliani, whose designs have found takers among style connoisseurs, has, in recent years, set his sights beyond fashion to other areas of design, including rugs. In ‘The Laura Hamilton Apartment’, Tahiliani remembers Hamilton, her extraordinary penchant for creating compelling spaces with distinct character and her timeless ability to create style (pg 252).

R O S A LY N D’MELLO

JOHN PAW S O N

writer

Rosalyn D’Mello is the author of A Handbook for My Lover, an erotic non-fiction memoir published in India by HarperCollins. For ‘Ray of Light’ (pg 216), D’Mello visited the Goa home of architect Ini Chatterji. “Exploring Ini’s architectural sensibility compelled me to question my own conditioned notions of how one chooses to live.”

PABLO BARTHOLOMEW

writer

John Pawson is an architect whose minimalist style has made a strong statement across spaces large and small, public and private.

For this issue, Pawson wrote an essay about the role of light in architecture (pg 162). “For me, words are an integral part of the architectural process. Just as I use my camera in the way other people use a sketchbook, writing is a way of recording and ordering my thoughts.”

RÉGIS MAT H I EU writer

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B H A R AT H R A M A M RU T H A M photographer

ARUN DAS

Régis Mathieu is the head of French lighting firm Mathieu Lustrerie. In this issue, he writes about the history of chandeliers (pg 155). “My love for chandeliers is well known, and writing about them helped me understand, a little better, the reasons behind this love.”

Bharat Ramamrutham is a qualified architect and photographer whose work has been featured in a number of books, monographs and publications, both Indian and international. For ‘Ray of Light’ (pg 216), Ramamrutham shot the Goa home of architect Ini Chatterji. “Ini is, in my opinion, one of those unsung masters of contemporary architecture in India.”

And you thought it’s the nameplate that introduces you.

The model featured is the Rock Crystal Pull by Taannaz, length 60�, shown in silicon bronze light patina. www.taannaz.in

contributors

R ANDOM I N T E R NAT I O NA L writers

Hannes Koch (left) and Florian Ortkrass are the founders of experimental art studio Random International. In this issue, they write about how light informs their installations (pg 158).

“It’s been an interesting translation process, describing the thoughts that drive our practice and their material development in the context of light.”

VISHAL K DA R artist

Diverse in medium, Vishal K Dar’s art practice explores themes like transformation and the nocturne. Through place-making, he instils a dreamlike quality in his works. In ‘AD x Vishal K Dar’ (pg 191), Dar uses satire and scale to address deeper personal issues.

M I C H A E L A NA STA S S I A D E S writer

London-based designer Michael Anastassiades creates work with an enduring quality by focusing on proportion, the honest use of materials and the physical presence of an object. In this issue, using examples from his extensive portfolio, he explains his thought process, his understanding and his use of light (pg 164).

T O M PA R K E R photographer

Tom Parker is a regular contributor to AD. For ‘Skylight’ (pg 200) Parker shot the home of New Delhi-based architect couple Pankaj Vir Gupta and Christine Mueller. “It’s one of the most interesting houses I’ve shot in India. Their use of light in a house with limited windows is amazing. Its layout reminded me of London’s Georgian houses.”

SA R I TA G O S WA M Y & DIMPLE AHUJA writers

G A U R AV B H A T I A

writer

Gaurav Bhatia is the managing director of Sotheby’s India. In ‘The Laura Hamilton Apartment’, Bhatia writes about his first meeting with Hamilton and the impact she had on his taste as a collector (pg 254).

“Miss Hamilton and I had a 66-year age gap, but our love for beautiful things and madness for collecting connected us.”

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ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST| OCTOBER 2018

The co-founders of Studio Malabar, Sarita Goswamy and Dimple Ahuja share a passion for good design, honed under the watchful eye of Laura Hamilton when they worked at her store, Malabar. For ‘The Laura Hamilton Apartment’, the two penned their memories of her (pg 256)—“We admired her finesse and style. Studio Malabar is our tribute to her.”

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A NEW DESIGN LANGUAGE

Where fluid furniture design speaks volumes and promises freedom and style in equal proportions. Introducing Script by Godrej

Lagoon, the bed that lets you, should you choose, work on it, with its swivelling work desk

Today, the lives of people entail an interesting mix of multitasking, flexibility and above all, the freedom of living. They have new habits, new hobbies and new preferences. They are big on creating experiences, thrive on entertainment and depend on technology 24/7. They look for things that make their lives easier, unique and more enjoyable.

Catering to this evolving lifestyle is Godrej Script—a new perspective on furniture design. After all, the Just like interesting way you live is defined by the people, Script breaks the space you live in. rules too. There are no So the question remains—is rights or wrongs. There is your space a true reflection of just an imagination that Rhythm, the sofa that lets you pick beauty that isn't fragile you? Does your home double is given the liberty to run up as an interactive work place wild. Experimentation is for your freelance assignments? given importance, and the Does your living room offer the possibilities are endless comfort level you seek? Does your sofa allow you to watch movies lying sideways, for your weekend binge? Do you have that favourite arm chair to satiate the book worm within? And does your dining table expand to create space for an extra guest or two? Bringing these possibilities to life is Script, with products that are intelligent, purposeful, aesthetically clean and intuitively designed entirely around you. The objective is to go beyond the functional and offer innovative multifunctional furniture that is easy to move and is space-saving Cookie, a table that lets you indulge in long, lazy lunches to suit the lifestyles of those who like to break boundaries and live provide enough spinal support to provides an introduction to the life unconfined. Script takes note of turn into a work desk, with cleverly brand, explaining the philosophy the 21st century workaholic, foodie, nested coffee tables that make through prototypes and their back traveller and inventor and creates room for more than just coffee story. The good news: Script plans ecosystems that bring together to modular pieces that can be to launch two more stores—one in varied elements of furniture with assembled and disassembled in a New Delhi and another in Mumbai. fluid designs that are smart and jiffy—this new design movement stylish. has got all the nuances that For more information, visit Just like interesting people, celebrate you in all your glory. www.scriptonline.com Script breaks the rules too. There It gives you the power and the Visit their store in Bengaluru are no rights or wrongs. There is at 100 feet road, Indiranagar elements you need to craft the life and in New Delhi near just an imagination that is given the you deserve. With Script and its Kirti Nagar Police Station, liberty to run wild. Experimentation ingenious offerings, you can move, Furniture Market, Kirti Nagar is given importance, and the think, laugh and live the way you possibilities are endless. It blurs the want. lines, and enables you to ‘script’ Visit the brand’s first store in your own space based on how you Bengaluru’s Indiranagar, spread would use it. With armchairs that across an impressive 14,000 sq ft encourage lounging and beds that over three levels. The ground floor

TEXT: MAANYA SACHDEVA. PHOTOS: PANKAJ ANAND.

OUR ROUND-UP FROM THE FRONT LINE OF DESIGN: TRENDS, OBJECTS, STYLE, EVENTS

discoverIES

Jhaveri Contemporary, previously in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill neighbourhood, now occupies a 130-year-old building in Colaba. The mixed-media artwork is by Anwar Jalal Shemza.

GATEWAY TO ART

Gallerists Priya and Amrita Jhaveri prove once again that they don’t follow the crowd, or the market, with a new super-raw gallery space overlooking the Gateway of India

Amrita (left) and Priya Jhaveri at their new gallery space in Devidas Mansion. Hanging on the wall next to Amrita are artworks from Manisha Parekh’s Waking Up series (graphite on Fabriano paper). On the other wall is Vasantha Yogananthan’s An Ocean of Uncertainty (2013), hand-painted on a blackand-white Jaykumar Shankar photograph.

Behind them are two 2008 artworks by Michael Müller titled Yorkshire (Part 2) and A Case of Exploding Mangoes during the Monsoon Season (Part 1) (right).

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G

eographically, the distance between Walkeshwar Road and Colaba is a reasonable nine kilometres. Atmospherically?

They couldn’t be further apart. The residential pocket in Malabar Hill is quiet; Mumbai’s top tourist destination is bustling.

“You don’t just happen to be on Walkeshwar Road; it’s out of the way,” explains Priya Jhaveri, who co-founded Jhaveri Contemporary with her sister Amrita eight years ago. Though its address never really stopped patrons of the art gallery from making the trek, better connectivity is one of the major reasons the co-founders decided to relocate to Colaba. Having turned the final page on the Walkeshwar Road chapter, the sisters consider this the next phase of their “accidental art gallery”. Priya says, “It started as a little space where we thought, rather than just having artworks to sell, we might actually make an exhibition or two; a gallery is a much more grown-up structure.” Jhaveri Contemporary, in its new avatar, has definitely evolved, and its founders kicked things off with a group exhibition—in a more accessible location for Mumbai’s collectors and connoisseurs.

LIGHT RELIEF Located on the third floor of the 130-year-old Devidas Mansion, the new gallery is a sunlit space that Priya fell in love with at first sight.

“Change is always difficult, unless you find something really exciting or compelling,” Priya says of their initial reluctance to move, especially “because [the previous location] served our purpose, was lovely, proved to be very versatile across the 36 exhibitions we hosted there, and was close to home”. Luckily, this new 1,500-square-foot plot came endowed with lots of light, high ceilings, beautiful proportions, balconies and a lift—“I didn’t realize that mattered until some of our clients brought up the lack of one in the previous building,” Amrita says—strong arguments in favour of what has become the revamped Jhaveri Contemporary. However, it was the energy of the space that ultimately sealed the deal.

This energy is palpable from the minute you enter the gallery. The small lobby-like area opens out to a large room in which the most noticeable feature seems to be the reclaimed-teak window that frames the view of the iconic Gateway of India. Till you take a closer look.

Entirely transformed from the bare-bones structure (with pigeons on the rafters), the sisters say that they actually didn’t redesign it at all.

“We made no structural changes; it had such lovely features and proportions that we worked to save, restore and, [sometimes,] enhance them,” Amrita says. The facelift that the duo have pulled off, then, is courtesy some smart but relatively smaller decorating decisions—“a million of them!” Amrita exclaims—and an unwavering focus on the ultimate purpose of the space. “This is a very practical, extremely usable and entirely functional gallery,” Amrita clarifies, completely different from the Bijoy Jain-designed Jhaveri Contemporary that Mumbai remembers. “Everything was beautifully concealed there, and everything is beautifully revealed or exposed here,” Priya says.

The original blue beams were repainted, lest they take away from the art on display. A wall to separate the office space and gallery was added—the only real construction that they undertook. The walls themselves are a lesson in contrast—pristine white paint against a raw, almost unfinished texture—beautifully offsetting the art that adorns them. Exposed steel pipes run along the walls, lending a vibe that’s decidedly industrial chic. The dusky red floors are mysteriously beautiful; Priya explains that they were installed by the landlord about 20 years ago, and are striking because of the use of red oxide.

CANVAS FOR ART The gallery’s first exhibition in the new space, titled

>

< ‘What’s Essential’, was on display through the month of

September. A set of three brass sculptures by the late Mrinalini Mukherjee was the showstopper. “It was nice to have a mature female figure anchoring the show in a way,” says Priya. Jhaveri Contemporary’s constant endeavour to bridge the gap between generations—via art—is one of the reasons it is so well-loved.

From a green neon ‘self-portrait’ by UK-based artist Prem Sahib to one of Rana Begum’s signature sculptures, the exhibited works were purposefully curated. Amrita explains, “If we can play even the smallest part in [disrupting] the dominant narrative of modern Indian art, and complicate that story, we will have done a good job.” This move to Colaba, then, can be likened to an exciting twist in the tale, and promises to be an interesting chapter in the gallery’s story.

Monika Correa’s Original Sin (1972) tapestry in dyed cotton yarn and hand-spun wool can be seen through the doorway. On the table are two ceramic pieces from Iftikhar and Elizabeth Dadi’s Neolithic (Metal Man) series (2018); beside them is Anwar Jalal Shemza’s Green on Orange (1974). Left: Two of the three brass sculptures by the late artist Mrinalini Mukherjee that were part of the ‘What’s Essential’ exhibition, which showcased the work of 21 artists.

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THE SPIRIT OF PROJECT VELARIA SLIDING PANELS, SELF BOLD SIDEBOARDS, EOS SHELVES DESIGN G.BAVUSO

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CO-FOUNDER, NEIGHBOURHOOD HOSPITALITY

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SUMIT GAMBHIR

CO-FOUNDER, NEIGHBOURHOOD HOSPITALITY

PANKIL SHAH

CO-FOUNDER, NEIGHBOURHOOD HOSPITALITY

GAURI DEVIDAYAL CO-FOUNDER, FOOD MATTERS INDIA

hey, miss t JAY YOUSEF

CO-FOUNDER, FOOD MATTERS INDIA

reviews Miss T, the sexy little sister of Mumbai’s most fashionable restaurant, The Table WRITER MAANYA SACHDEVA PHOTOGRAPHER TALIB CHITALWALA

T

he two-storey bungalow that housed Busaba—an iconic Colaba establishment in its own right—now plays host to the very chic Miss T. Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousef’s second restaurant finds itself in good company; the impressive facade of The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower is visible as you walk through its sliding doors. But once you’re inside, Mumbai melts away and you’re transported to Miss T’s world—a new South East Asian restaurant that moonlights as a cocktail bar.

DREAM TEAM Miss T is the result of a powerhouse collaboration between Devidayal and Yousef’s Food Matters India, and the Woodside boys’ (Sumit Gambhir, Abhishek Honawar and Pankil Shah) Neighbourhood Hospitality. Between the five of them, they run some of the city’s best-known restaurants, including Woodside Inn, The Table, The Pantry and pop-up space Magazine Street Kitchen. The foundation of the partnership was laid over the course of one drunken night, Devidayal tells me. Honawar clarifies that it was “more like a few drinks” and, already, the camaraderie they share is plain. “For Pankil, Sumit and me, Jay and Gauri have always been a sounding board. We’ve always been able to speak openly about our problems and issues, and vice versa.

When the opportunity [to work together] presented itself, it was really easy. The deal was done in three to four days,” Honawar says. The fact that their food philosophies aligned almost perfectly made things easier; Miss T, like Woodside Inn and The Table, is an ingredientsdriven restaurant. > The bar top has been constructed using a crystal quartz top and a clear mirror underneath, for a sleek finish. It is sharply lit by a strip light from FLOS’s Black Line collection. The bar stools are upholstered in a deep teal fabric.

ZUBIN ZAINUDDIN CO-FOUNDER ZZ ARCHITECTS

< Only a week old at the time this

article was written, Miss T was already running like a well-oiled machine.

Everyone plays their part to perfection: Yousef, Honawar and executive chef Nikhil Abhyankar ensure the food is consistently good; Shah and mixologist Jeremy Buck can be found at the bar; and Gambhir is responsible for the good vibes, personally curating the music every single day.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT While its founders collectively have over two decades of experience managing restaurants in Mumbai, the architects who designed Miss T broke new ground with this project. This is the first restaurant space that Zubin Zainuddin and Krupa Zubin of ZZ Architects have designed. They came on board only because they believed that the Miss T team “would do something entirely different and unique”—especially given the design brief. Their muse was the imaginary and enigmatic Miss T, described in the 20-word brief with adjectives like ‘sexy’, ‘smart’, ‘well-travelled’ and ‘glamorous’. ZZ Architects’ translation is a modern, pared-back and dynamic space.

The slate veneer and grey stone entrance is offset by the use of a > The architects at the stairs that lead to the dining area on the first floor of the two-storey restaurant. Right: The round table, which sits beneath a skylight, was custom designed. The accordion-like mirror is textured on one side and clear on the other.

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KRUPA ZUBIN CO-FOUNDER ZZ ARCHITECTS

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The individual booths, with raised glass backs, are lit by Davide Groppi-designed suspended lights. Below left: The entrance to Miss T—at the far end is the bar.

red make recurring appearances across the two floors. In addition, the clever interplay of natural and artificial light across the property ensures that Miss T’s ‘mood’ changes through the day. The walls have been finished in special, heavily padded fabric that mimics tree bark (a treetop is visible through the strategically placed skylight at the entrance), and mirrors have been reimagined as partitions and wall surfaces. “Nothing is frivolous,” Zubin says.

< rose-gold metal frame, inspired by the

architects’ trips to Tokyo. Booth-style seating on the right and custom-designed seating on a raised platform to the left lead the way to the T-shaped bar. Buck says, “Each station is kind of its own cocktail pit; when you come to the bar and look down, there’s a station on each side, and each bartender is in their own little area.”

The space is held together by the use of colour; shades of blue, orange, green and

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A NEW KIND OF ASIAN Influenced by the golden triangle of South East Asia—Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar— the menu at Miss T has been developed in association with Chef Bawmra Jap of Burmese restaurant Bomra’s in Goa. “We hosted a pop-up of Chef Bawmra’s food at Magazine Street Kitchen about a year ago; it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had,” Devidayal says. Given that the team was keen to bring a different flavour to Colaba, they asked Jap to help them craft the menu.

“There are quite a few Asian restaurants already, but they tend to focus on Chinese

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

or Japanese food,” says Devidayal. The result is an extremely modern take on South East Asian food, but, as Abhyankar clarifies, Miss T is not a fusion restaurant.

The team has trained with Jap as well as with consulting chef Tran Thanh Duc of Mango Mango in Vietnam, and that translates into an authentic gastronomic experience—a restaurant-style spin on local flavours. Crowd favourites include the vermicelli crab noodles, tamarind pork, and red snapper rolls, all served on beautiful china sourced straight from Vietnam and Thailand.

The cocktail programme is a big part of Miss T’s identity—together, Buck and Hong Kong-based luxury spirits firm Proof & Company have curated an experience that is innovative, unique and world-class.

It only takes a sip of the heady Princess Han—a perfectly balanced daiquiri-esque drink made with a basmati rice reduction— to realize that Miss T does happy hour unlike anyone else. The verdict is clear: Along with grown-up glamour, Miss T is bringing sexy back.

AVANT GARDE David Gill, the gallerist who created the market for design art, provides a first-hand account of his journey in a new book

PHOTOS: RICARDO LABOUGLE. IMAGES FROM DAVID GILL: DESIGNING ART (VENDOME PRESS).

WRITER MAANYA SACHDEVA

T

A corner of David Gill’s (above right) former home in Vauxhall, London, furnished with pieces from his personal collection, like the ‘Cut Out’ sofa and ‘Polyhedral’ side tables, both by Mattia Bonetti, and one of Paul McCarthy’s pirate drawings.

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he David Gill Gallery in London can be likened to an interactive art installation, not unlike those that have been displayed within its halls over the last 30 years. After all, it has consistently drawn viewers in, invited participation and, most importantly, challenged perceptions. The eponymous gallerist’s life-changing year in Paris in the 1970s initiated his interest in curation and all things beautiful, leading him to the work of designers who were contemporizing the world of decorative arts at the time—like Zaha Hadid and Mattia Bonetti.

They were dabbling in ‘design art’—furniture and objects that were not just functional but inherently collectable, had limited production runs, and were tailored to the tastes of a new generation— before the term was coined >

PHOTO: JAMES MACDONALD.

Right from when it opened as a small boutique on Fulham Road, the David Gill Gallery showcased the work of artists like Yves Klein and Henri Matisse, and architects like Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Today, it has established itself as an institution for the cutting-edge. From art-school dropout to pioneering gallerist, Gill has had quite a journey, which he recounts in his new book, David Gill: Designing Art, co-authored with British fashion journalist Meredith Etherington-Smith.

Besides showcasing pieces by artists that Gill has worked with, the book offers a peek into the houses that he has designed (including his own lavish homes in London and Malta), and in-depth profiles of 10 avant-garde designer-artists whom Gill has collaborated with. The book provides unique insight into the beautiful world of design art. Unseen photographs from parties, exhibitions and installations (including Jaime Hayon’s 2003 installation, Mediterranean Digital Baroque) transport the reader to an exciting period in the contemporary design scene. There are also never-beforeseen images of artists at work—like Michele Oka Doner in her SoHo studio—and presentations of some of the gallery’s most important pieces, like Zaha Hadid’s Liquid Glacial collection, as well as Barnaby Barford’s Seven Deadly Sins series of mirrors. It also charts the evolution of the gallery—from boutique to warehouse to showroom—as narrated by Gill himself.

The book is testament to his unparalleled contribution to art and design, best summarized by the inimitable Etherington-Smith in her introduction: “In thirty years, David has almost single-handedly created the increasingly important field where contemporary fine art morphs into design editions.”

David Gill: Designing Art (Vendome Press) releases this month.

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A date painting by Ugo Rondinone at the Vauxhall gallery; beside it are two tables

by Mattia Bonetti. Above left: Also in the gallery, a Jean Prouvé cupboard, table and bookcases with stools by Charlotte Perriand and a daybed by Ernest Boiceau, circa 1999. Above right: In the stairwell of Gill’s Maltese home hangs the 2004 light installation My Madinah. In Pursuit of My Ermitage by American artist Jason Rhoades.

PHOTOS COURTESY DAVID GILL GALLERY. IMAGES FROM DAVID GILL: DESIGNING ART (VENDOME PRESS).

< in 1999 by auctioneer Alexander Payne.

Jacques wirtz 1924-2018 The Duchess of Northumberland, Jane Percy pens a memoir of her time working with the late, great landscape designerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and the ambitious project that brought them together

AS TOLD TO MAANYA SACHDEVA. PHOTOS: BERTRAND LIMBOUR, THE WIRTZ GARDENS III, WIRTZ INTERNATIONAL.

The late Jacques Wirtz designed this private garden in Bruges, Belgium. Marked by a series of wavy hedges, the garden features fastigiate hornbeam shrubs, a mirror pond and a canal. Below: The work of Belgian sculptor George Grard is on display alongside the mirror pond.

I

wanted to create a public pleasure garden, something that hadn’t been done in England for hundreds of years. My vision was to build a theatre of sorts; I needed things to entertain people, like lighting and water. This meant that the garden needed really strong bones and a strong architectural line. A friend of mine told me I needed to come to Europe and look for a designer; it was in Paris that I met a wonderful man named Jacques Wirtz. He immediately impressed me.

He believed that “Green is also a colour”—that you don’t need pinks, whites and reds from the flowers if a garden has strong lines. It’s similar to a beautiful woman—if she has strong bones, you know she’s going to age well. This philosophy resonated with me, making Jacques stand out in comparison to the other designers I met.

The brief to him was quite a tricky one. Water and lighting were absolutely vital to me. Any designer I met, including Jacques, wanted to do everything but I was adamant and said, “No—design the garden, and show me the places where I can use water.” I would then take his design to water technologists and, at the same time, I would make sure Jacques would appreciate the work they were going to do. I hired a water sculptor named William Pye to whom Jacques gave seven specific areas to work with. To create Alnwick Garden, everyone had to work together; nobody took precedence over anybody else.

However, what I find truly amazing is that Jacques hardly amended the design at all from the one he presented at our initial meeting. The 68|

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

fact that it has endured for more than 20 years, and looks better with each passing year, speaks volumes about his ability. It’s not a seasonal garden and I think its perennial quality can be attributed to his mantra—if the lines are strong, it looks fantastic in frost, on a foggy day and in autumn. I only changed two little things; everything else he did might not have been exactly what I had in mind, but he was so right.

Jacques always said that we need to minimize the impact of the cascade by planting in front of it to lessen its dominance. Since he made that observation, many years ago, I have noticed that so many of our visitors are amazed by the cascade that they end up tripping over the steps. His clever design also ensures that Alnwick Garden looks amazing at night because the wonderful hornbeam arbours he installed shields the visitors. So, instead of looking at the cascade and seeing a large number of people (3,000 to 4,000 on a busy day), you don’t see them all because they go through the arbours and look out at the water through windows.

In retrospect, I think this was a difficult project for Jacques because I asked him to design for a large number of visitors. None of his gardens had visitors like we did—about half a million per year. He understood that and, most importantly, bought into that. Everywhere he was designing, he was designing with a big public garden in mind rather than a private garden that I could enjoy on my own.

During our time working together, he often spoke to me about >

PHOTO: BERTRAND LIMBOUR, THE WIRTZ GARDENS III, WIRTZ INTERNATIONAL.

The sprawling Alnwick Garden commissioned by the Duchess of Northumberland for her estate.

The garden is marked by stainless-steel water sculptures by British sculptor William Pye, a central serpentine hedge and hornbeam arbours.

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they’re similar. It was the simplicity. Similar to Axel’s style, there’s no room for clutter in Jacques’s work—I think he would consider summer planting or annual planting in some areas ‘clutter’. It’s almost like a woman not needing make-up. Jacques had something that I don’t think many other garden designers have—an eye and appreciation of space. He got the space absolutely right, which was very important at Alnwick since, by its very nature, you had to see the whole thing at a glance. It was very “in-your-face”. He had ideas for it that I still haven’t realized but I will follow his designs to bring our shared vision for Alnwick Garden to life; it’s at the very top of my ‘to-do’ list.

When I set out to realize my dream of a sprawling public garden, it was subject to a lot of criticism. Lots of people questioned why a duchess should have access to public funding and Alnwick Garden was, therefore, the subject of controversy in England. If I was anyone else, I don’t think it would have caused such a stir but it happened this way because I happened to be married to a Duke. Luckily, the garden has done wonderful things for the public economy and it’s far more successful than anyone could have imagined. Today, people appreciate it, and the work Jacques did, in a way that they didn’t 20 years ago.

One of the joys of working with Jacques was that he was so peaceful and tranquil; there were no major arguments. I think I appreciated that I was in the presence of someone who knew his job so well; he knew more than me which is exactly what I was looking for at the time. He was erudite and well-read but at the same time, he was a listener. Most importantly, he was a real aesthete. When he came to Alnwick, he loved looking at the art that was on display at the castle, and my sensibilities then shone through in his garden design. It was always a pleasure to have him stay. Most importantly, he was such a gentle soul, a true gentleman. In hindsight, it feels like one of those rare moments of serendipity where you meet the person you’re meant to work with, and that was absolutely the case with Jacques.

Above right: According to The Wirtz Gardens III—the third in a volume of books about the gardens and landscape created by Wirtz’s practice—Brussels’s hidden city garden is like New York’s pocket parks. Its dominant features include clipped boxwood patterns; a screen that filters sunlight into the area; and raised, green garden walls.

Right: The garden at the Pollmeier Massivholz guest house in Germany is marked by Wirtz’s use of parallel mirror canals and long, mixed flower beds. To the north of the garden, canals lead the way to an elevated hornbeam arbour. The oval mounds are planted with different cherry or crab apple varieties on a ground cover of a clipped shrub, and cherry trees “quietly start to tower out above the oval edge like ascending umbrellas”.

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PHOTOS: BERTRAND LIMBOUR, THE WIRTZ GARDENS III, WIRTZ INTERNATIONAL.

< an architect named Axel Vervoordt; I can see how

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T H E L A U R A H A M I LT O N A PA R T M E N T

Laura Hamilton was a mystery. But one with great taste. AD tells the story of the cult-status tastemaker and reimagines her Mumbai apartment in contemporary style. Using the very best of global design, along with masterpieces from DAG, this is our tribute to the style icon.

P OW E R TO T H E K A R I G A R

MANASI SAWANT

AD will curate a LIVE craftsmanship-focused pavilion at the AD Design Show. This will give the audience an opportunity to understand and interact with master craftsmen from across the country who are experts in handloom weaving, ceramics and more.

K EY N OT E S P E A K E R S

BV DOSHI

MANISH MANSINH

An architect, urban planner, teacher and the first Indian recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prizeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;meet BV Doshi at an exclusive opening for the AD Design Show.

V I N C E N T VA N D U Y S E N

ALEX SALINAS

Get inspired by this Belgian minimalist architect who will speak at the show on his passion for architecture, design and craftsmanship. See the exclusive launch of his 2018 monograph, and get your personal copy signed by him!

Subject to change

PRESENTS

ART LIGHTING ANTIQUES FURNITURE ACCESSORIES

FURNITURE

ART

ALSORG

CHATTERJEE & LAL

BENTLEY HOME BY SEETU KOHLI HOME

CHEMOULD PRESCOTT ROAD

BORZALINO@BEYONDNMORE

EXPERIMENTER

ETRO HOME BY SEETU KOHLI HOME

GALLERY ESPACE

FENDI CASA BY SEETU KOHLI HOME

GALLERYSKE

GIANFRANCO FERRÃ&#x2030; HOME BY SEETU KOHLI HOME

NATURE MORTE

IQRUP + RITZ

PICHVAI TRADITION & BEYOND

LIGNE ROSET

TARQ

PRIVATE LABEL BY SEETU KOHLI HOME

VADEHRA ART GALLERY

RAVISH VOHRA HOME ROBERTO CAVALLI HOME BY SEETU KOHLI HOME ROCHE BOBOIS

ANTIQUES & ACCESSORIES COCOON FINE RUGS

SARITA HANDA

JAIPUR RUGS

TACCHINI@BEYONDNMORE

PHILLIPS ANTIQUES

THE CHARCOAL PROJECT

THE CARPET CELLAR

THIS AND THAT TIMOTHY OULTON TRUSSARDI CASA BY SEETU KOHLI HOME WILLOW VIIEW

OTHER PARTNERS ALEX DAVIS DAG INTERSEKT

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PRECIOSA

KLOVE LIGHT&YOU SOGANI BY VIBHOR SOGANI

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Subject to change Names in alphabetical order

PHOTO COURTESY SOTHEBY’S ART DIGITAL STUDIO

treasure troves A Sotheby’s sale of the possessions of French collector Pierre Bergé, who co-founded fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, brings out of hiding a collection from his four luxurious homes Writer Gauri KelKar

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n and of themselves, they are, simply, objects. Books. Artworks.

Antiques even. Stunning they may be, with the kind of breathtaking beauty that gives pause, compels a double take or inspires an itch to possess them. But it is their association with their creators—or collectors—that breathes life into them, gives them a sense of history and makes them highly coveted. In the world of art, they call it provenance. And today, there can be no greater provenance than the collection of the late Pierre Bergé, put together over five decades of careful curation.

The Sotheby’s sale, in association with Pierre Bergé & Associés, pulls you inexorably into the life and times of the astute businessman who co-founded one of the world’s most iconic fashion houses along with Yves Saint Laurent, his long-time partner who shared his love for collecting. But Bergé was more than the businesses he gave wings to and the social causes he ferociously backed. In the fragile world of the 20th century, cleaved by conflicts, fractured by polemics, he was a patron of culture and creativity, with a keen eye for the panacea that art provided and an insatiable

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thirst to surround himself with things of beauty.

The auction, titled Pierre Bergé: From Home to Another, is widely anticipated and staggering in its proportions—with 800 lots and plucked out of his many homes—in France, in Normandy and Provence, as well as a Parisian duplex once owned by Édouard Manet, and in Morocco (Tangier). The items stretch across objects from antiquity to modern, Islamic, Asian and African art; works by French painter Bernard Buffet, with whom Bergé shared a personal history back in the 1950s; as well as antique furniture pieces. The auction is set to be held in Sotheby’s Galerie Charpentier in Paris at the end of this month. Another sale, set for December, will concentrate solely on the books and manuscripts from Bergé’s library; this includes work by those who peopled his inner circle— Buffet, John Cocteau, Sébastien Faure and Jean Giono.

Mario Tavella—chairman, Sotheby’s Europe, and president and CEO, Sotheby’s France—says, “Yves Saint Laurent once said: ‘People will speak of ‘Bergé taste’, just as now we talk about ‘Noailles’ taste’. [Marie-Laure de Noailles, a tastemaker in >

< 1930s’ Paris, influenced Saint Laurent’s aesthetic for interiors.] This exact thought is one I had as I first pushed open the doors of his homes.”

For art watchers, this auction echoes with nostalgia—of a similar sale in Paris from 2009, involving the same cast of characters. It was a year after the passing of Saint Laurent, when Bergé sold off 730 items at what was a record-smashing, three-day auction.

It seems almost poetic, then, that the possessions that he painstakingly and lovingly collected with Saint Laurent, which immortalize the spirit of two remarkable aesthetes, find new homes, create new histories and forge new memories. It’s time for them to move on.

The auction, Pierre Bergé: From One Home to Another, will be held from 29–31 October at Galerie Charpantier, Paris.

PHOTO: PASCAL CHEVALLIER

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PHOTO COURTESY SOTHEBY’S ART DIGITAL STUDIO

Right: A Bernard Buffet painting from 1954, Boeuf Ecorche, one of the many important artworks that belonged to the late French industrialist and collector Pierre Bergé (below). Previous page, top left and right: Bergé’s Paris apartment on Rue Bonaparte, decorated by architect FrançoisJoseph Graf, was adorned with his extensive collection.

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

Sexy back The Antonio Citterio-designed ‘Cestone’ sofa for Flexform heralded a new era where sofas no longer need to have their backs to the wall Writer Divya Mishra

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he hilly district of Brianza in northern Italy was—and continues to be—known as the centre for the production of high-quality furniture and tools. Close enough to Milan that it became a favoured summer retreat for the Italian design capital’s well heeled, Brianza’s craft history was enriched by interactions with students from Milan’s design schools, many of whom went on to become masters of their trade.

So it wasn’t all that surprising when a local family started a crafts workshop called ‘Flexform di Galimberti’ almost 50 years ago, and it went on to become one of the biggest champions of sophisticated Italian design. The company, now known as Flexform, was in the practice of collaborating closely with leading Italian designers—something that has shaped its later heritage.

One such partnership that has stood the test of time—for 40 years and counting—is with architect, and furniture and industrial designer Antonio Citterio. Over the course of four decades, Citterio has designed several pieces for Flexform, each displaying the brand’s signature of quiet luxury, created using the finest materials available.

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His ‘Cestone’ sofa (pictured) was first seen 10 years ago at the 2008 edition of Salone del Mobile. The piece made an impression not only because of its focus on materiality, but also for its unusual design. Till then, most furniture designs were based on the presumption that they would be placed around the perimeters of spaces, with their backs against a wall. Keeping this in mind, the backs of most pieces were designed to be plain and typically used low-grade materials. Citterio discarded that approach and reversed the idea; he gave the ‘Cestone’ a textured back and sides, making them as integral to the sofa’s design as its cushions. Suddenly, a sofa could be placed at the heart of the room.

The design is based on the idea of elegant contrast; the back and sides of the sofa are made of a metal frame on which irregular strips of cowhide criss-cross to form a chequerboard pattern. The strips can be woven either closely, to create a flat yet textured surface, or loosely, so that the upholstery fabric can be seen through it. With either method, the sofa becomes as much a design object as an experience of luxury—and there is nothing more Italian than that.

WORLD OF MAGICIANS BY MADHVI PAREKH

IT TAKES A VILLAGE Madhvi Parekh’s retrospective at DAG, now in Mumbai, brings together 50 years of work that straddles her rural sensibilities and contemporary references WRITER PALLAVI PUNDIR

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y first, rather fleeting introduction to artist Madhvi Parekh was in 2017, when her husband and fellow artist Manu Parekh walked me through their house in Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi. Manu was preparing for his 60-year retrospective at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in New Delhi. In another room, Madhvi was putting the finishing touches to one of her artworks. It just so happened that her husband’s NGMA show coincided with her own retrospective, titled ‘The Curious Seeker’, at DAG, New Delhi. A happy coincidence, according to Manu. “It couldn’t have come at a better time—a celebration of both our struggles,” he replied.

It’s now a year later, and Madhvi’s exhibition is on its second run at the Mumbai outpost of DAG. The self-effacing artist finds the sheer volume of work she has accumulated over five decades hard to believe. “I feel so strange going through my own retrospective,” she says in chaste Hindi over the phone from Delhi, “I often forget that I made these!” She laughs when I ask her about

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the course she has charted, from a childhood spent in the bucolic village of Sanjaya in Gujarat, to becoming a globally recognized artist. And the abundance of references that left a deep impression and became compelling art. Madhvi’s rise in the contemporary art scene has been steady. Her language is rooted in the folk traditions that she observed growing up, and which evolved a contemporary vocabulary over the years. What is also noteworthy is the influence of German artist Paul Klee’s abstract forms. “If the memory of Sanjaya, its people and its fields, its itinerant players and recall of temples was to introduce the first angle in her understanding of visual form, the second aspect of the triad was to be mediated through her understanding of Klee,” wrote critic Gayatri Sinha in her essay, ‘Reading the Artist: There is no end’. The retrospective is a testament to the work of this artist, who curiously seeks out the visual references that crowd her past and inform her present, all the while collecting inspirations along the way.

‘The Curious Seeker’, ongoing at DAG, Mumbai, till 26 October.

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1. ‘Susy’ rug, Rug’Society. 2. ‘Polygon’ bowl by Lasvit, vis à vis. 3. ‘Geometric’ pendant light by Ekaterina Elizarova, Preciosa. 4. ‘Diamond’ candlestick, BoConcept. 5. ‘Greenwich’ crystal double old-fashioned tumbler by Ralph Lauren Home, Seetu Kohli Concepts.

6. ‘Ombré’ glass chair, Studio Germans Ermičs.

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PRISM EFFECT A spectrum of colour meets crystalline radiance— ’s curation of home accessories creates a rainbow-like effect STYLIST SAMIR WADEKAR

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1. ‘Transience’ mirror (large triangle)

by Lex Pott and David Derksen, Transnatural Label. 2. ‘Equilateral’ side table, Linley. 3. ‘HYPERtable’ coffee table by Mario Bellini, Glas Italia. 4. Silver box from the Rock collection by Atelier Swarovski, Swarovski. 5. ‘Citadel’ (brown mirror) pedestal, Address Home.

6. 1940s’ Bohemian crystal glass (set of six with decanter), Taherally’s.

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For details, see Stockists

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26 | 27 | 28 OCTOBER 2018

AT DOME@NSCI, SVP STADIUM, WORLI, MUMBAI ADINDIADESIGNSHOW.IN | ADDESIGNSHOW@CONDENAST.IN

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BOLD ART PARTNER

THE AD DESIGN SHOW A PREVIEW OF MUMBAI’S LUXURY ART AND DESIGN FAIR

Forget Frieze and PAD, the only fair that matters this October is ours. The inaugural edition of the AD Design Show presents a new concept for India: a niche, boutique showcase defined by its sophisticated mix of furniture, contemporary art, antiques, lighting and accessories. But it’s much more than that: the Pritzker Prize-winner BV Doshi is opening the speaker programme, which also includes Vincent Van Duysen (pictured); we’re rebuilding the apartment of the cult-status tastemaker Laura Hamilton using the crème de la crème of global design; and we’re celebrating Indian craftsmanship with our Power to the Karigar project of live artisans. It’s going to be razor sharp…

26-28 October, Dome@NSCI, Mumbai; www.adindiadesignshow.in

PHOTOS: KOEN VAN DAMME (LEFT); JAN VER LINDE.

A residence in Belgium from Vincent Van Duysen’s 2018 monograph. Right: The architect and interior designer in his studio.

Vincent is coming!

The über-cool Belgian architect is amongst the speakers in the Asian Paints Power Talks series at the Design Show WRITER NIKHITA MAHTANI

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he founder of a new wave of Belgian minimalism, Vincent Van Duysen’s aesthetic is instantly recognizable.

The talented architect and interior designer opened his own studio in 1990, and since then, has become known, in particular, for his super-sharp (and much copied) private residential projects in Belgium, Europe, the Middle East and the US. His aesthetic is all about restrained, frill-free refinement, with a sleek look that epitomizes what luxury means today.

Right from the beginning of his career, Van Duysen has worked on building a close relationship among the three pillars of design—architecture, interiors and art. Through subtle transitions among the three, he has created a spatial view that goes into the absolute essence of what a building is in the present day. However, rather than the sterile visions that this description might bring to mind, Van Duysen’s work is warm, as it focuses on timelessness above all else. At the first-ever AD Design Show, the architect will be speaking about this relationship through a series of talks that will emphasize his close connection to minimalism.

“I am truly honoured to contribute to this exchange of passion for architecture, design and craftsmanship,” he says. “I

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am also looking forward to inspiring people through my work, and get inspired by the magical culture of India.”

Van Duysen’s first monograph, published in 1994, focused on permanence rather than trends. “I don’t believe in passing trends,” he says. Capturing the most eye-catching of his works over his first few years, durability and comfort are at the forefront of this first collection of his works. However, in his upcoming Monograph 2018 with Thames & Hudson, he shines a light on his projects over the last 10 years, with images sumptuously captured by architectural photography experts Hélène Binet and François Halard that focus on his incomparable ability to work with both the sensory and physical experience of a place, using both context and tradition. In addition to his talk, Van Duysen will also exclusively release this monograph at the AD Design Show, followed by a book signing.

Maturity and sophistication—evident in his attention to detail and understanding of material—lie at the heart of Van Duysen’s work. His unwavering commitment to design is evident, and his talks at the AD Design Show promise to be unmissable—for designers and design enthusiasts alike.

POWER TO THE KARIGAR A look at the craft-focused design studios whose teams will be at work, live at the

Design Show

MAXIMILIANO MODESTI

ASHISH SAHI

An intuitive understanding of fashion, cuts and silhouettes and an abiding love for the intricacy of craft comes together seamlessly in the work of master embroiderer Maximiliano Modesti’s Mumbaibased Les Ateliers 2M. He works with over 650 karigars across the country—experts in stitching, printing, painting and dyeing—to create embroidery that showcases immaculate craftsmanship and finds favour with clients like Hermès.

CASEGOODS X V I S H WA K A R M A FUR NITURE

R E H WA X A N AV I L A

KUBER SHAH

MANASI SAWANT

Mumbai-based Casegoods has possibly cracked the code to harness traditional carpentry for a contemporary world. Along with regular collaborator Poonaram Suthar, the firm produces furniture and decor that typify refined design.

C U R ATO R S O F C L AY

Helmed by Rohit Kulkarni and Bhairavi Naik, this studio is known for its beautiful, yet functional creations—like the handcrafted tableware created for Mumbai-based fine-dining restaurant Masque.

FROZEN MUSIC

Dedicated to the decorative arts, Jaipur-based workshop Frozen Music engages karigars, across disciplines, to make contemporary heirlooms. At the AD Design Show, they will showcase their mastery in mosaic and pietra dura inlay work.

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It wasn’t just a desire to preserve an age-old handloom craft, but also a need to empower its practitioners and prepare them for a new world that prompted Sally Holkar to establish REHWA in 1978. The organization has been ushering in a change in the way handloom work from Maheshwar is perceived today. On the anvil at the AD Design Show is a collaboration with designer Anavila Misra to make modern cuts out of heritage weaves.

‘Gulbahaar’ from the Sabyasachi for Nilaya – Chapter II: India Revival Project collection.

Talks Of The Town

The Asian Paints series of talks and conversations at the Design Show includes award-winning architect BV Doshi and fashion royalty Sabyasachi Mukherjee

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sian Paints is well-known for its wide array of paints, wallpaper and surface finishes. However, the brand also moonlights as one of AD’s favourite collaborators— especially when the brief requires integrating an element of artistry into the everyday. When it came to the AD Design Show, we knew we could count on them to pull yet another rabbit out of their metaphorical hat. Gear up for Power Talks—a lavish speaker lounge powered by title sponsor Asian Paints, and decorated in its signature style, with a formidable line-up.

Amongst the stalwarts that will be taking the stage at Power Talks is Pritzker Prize-winner BV Doshi. This seems only fitting given that Asian Paints helped bring our ambitious concrete cover (July-August 2018), a tribute to the pioneering Indian architect, to life.

India’s couture czar Sabyasachi Mukherjee will shine a

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spotlight on the country’s collective consciousness, and its powerful impact on his brand of design. The designer embarked on his first collaboration with Nilaya Wallcoverings from Asian Paints in 2015, one that has become one of its most successful. Continuing this collaboration in 2018, the brand introduced a new edition of wallpaper, the ‘Sabyasachi for Nilaya – Chapter II: India Revival Project’ (pictured) range in April.

The series celebrates Indian heritage—inspired by the designer’s experiences, travels and interrogations into our history and culture—in vibrant shades, from deep sea-green to pomegranate, indigo and more. Immersed in the narrative he has grown up with, one that translates effortlessly into the folds of his ornate lehngas, Mukherjee says, “Today, what everybody is looking for is a little bit of connectivity, and nothing can make a stronger impact in your life than a small connection from your past.”

SHOWTIME The design partners who are collaborating with us at the

Design Show

DAG

DAG has the very best by Indian masters—from SH Raza and VS Gaitonde to FN Souza and MF Husain— making it unlike any other gallery. At the AD Design Show, DAG will present, at our Laura Hamilton-inspired installation, a curated selection of artworks including Yashodha and Krishna by Raja Ravi Varma and a relief sculpture of tigers by Amrita Sher-Gil.

D’DECOR

Furnishing giant, D’Decor will accoutre its dedicated lounge in fabrics from seven collections, including Urban Tribe, an explosion of colours; and Black & Bold (below) in elegant monochrome patterns.

Man And Woman Laughing (1957), by FN Souza.

INTERSEKT

The world-class curation is what makes the display at Intersekt’s New Delhi store (above) completely unique.

The brand will showcase five collections—including Arazzi, a line of flooring from Orvi, and Bottega, a range of ceramic pieces from Porcelanosa—at the AD Design Show.

KOHLER

Designing for a better world, Kohler creates exceptional products for exceptional homes—like the ultra-modern ‘Veil’ basin (right). The 100-year-old American brand will be showcasing pieces from the Spectrum of Modernism, a collection that seamlessly switches between maximalism and minimalism.

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MAKING A STATEMENT These larger-than-life, site-specific installations will dot the landscape at the

Design Show

‘ B O M B AY ’

Alex Davis

It is a city of high-rise buildings and frenetic movement; completed structures and continuous construction; a city that never stops working, and is in a constant state of flux. Overcrowded with structures that are packed into its proportions, Mumbai becomes inspiration and muse for New Delhi-based artist and designer Alex Davis. His idea of the city is defined by “the romance between the scaffoldings and the buildings that they wrap themselves around”, says Sangeeta Sen, Davis’s wife. The husband-wife duo founded Indi Store to bring art into interior and exterior spaces; Davis also sells his art through the store. The city is represented by this geometric sculpture showcased for the first time at the AD Design Show. Titled Bombay, it is handcrafted out of 304-grade stainless steel and mirror-finished, before being tinted in gold.

‘CHROMO’

Preciosa Lighting and MUT

PHOTO COURTESY STUDIO MUT

Light as art, light as function, light as therapy—and light as installation. When Preciosa Lighting collaborated with Spanish multidisciplinary design studio MUT, it was with the idea of exploring the ancient healing properties of light and colour. The table lamp born out of the exploration was ‘Chromo’, a sculptural interpretation of chromotherapy, which combines the therapeutic elements of light with primary shades—red, yellow, blue and green. Metal and glass come together in the lamp’s art-decoinspired design, with a central metal shape, a large coloured glass plate and a smaller curved glass piece.

Versatile creations, the lamps are available in different sizes and colours, allowing for customization and creating a range of different effects based on how they are placed. ‘Chromo’ was first showcased at the Wallpaper* Handmade exhibition earlier this year and makes its India debut at the AD Design Show.

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DESIGN Some of the world’s best-known decor brands will be exhibiting at the

Design Show

F E N D I CA SA

FENDI Casa, an extension of the luxury label’s clothing collection, skilfully marries romantic Italian furniture design sensibilities with high-fashion materials, like fur, Swarovski crystals and handbag clasps. They craft glamorous pieces of furniture like the ‘Brigitte’ fabric armchair (left), home furnishings, lighting and accessories.

(By Seetu Kohli Home)

GIANFR ANCO FERRÉ HOME

BENTLEY HOME

This is the product of a partnership between artisanal furniture designer Club House Italia and Bentley Motors. The collections inject traditional and modernist designs with the spirit of the British gentleman driver, via elements like leather and veneers.

The ‘Bampton’ armchair (right) is a classic example.

(By Seetu Kohli Home)

This brand’s creations include refined furniture inspired by 19th-century explorations of new applications for menswear fabrics, Asian elements, iconic designs of the early 20th century and modern aesthetics. The ‘Hide Park’ vase holder (left) showcases these sensibilities effortlessly.

(By Seetu Kohli Home)

T RU S SA R D I CA SA

Furniture and accessories, with a Milanese soul, the Trussardi Casa collection is tailor-made for ever-evolving spaces. The ‘Happ’ sectional sofa and ottoman (below) is truly dynamic.

(By Seetu Kohli Home)

ETRO HOME

A special talent with prints, the use of high-quality fabrics and the ability to reimagine its iconic Paisley motif—Etro Home’s collections are saturated in colour and joie de vivre.

The ‘Babel Chair 56’ (right)) is quintessentially Etro.

(By Seetu Kohli Home))

RO B E RTO C AVA L L I H O M E

The range is inspired by the iconic prints and patterns of those collections that best represent the luxury fashion house. The mood board is a galaxy of vivid colours, precious textures and beautiful patterns, sculptural shapes and irregular lines—well-represented by the ‘Wire’ side table ((left).

Home) (By Seetu Kohli Home Seetu Kohli Home’s private label will be unveiled at the AD Design Show.

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R AV I S H VO H R A H O M E

New Delhi-based manufacturers of bespoke luxury furniture, Ravish Vohra Home will exhibit pieces from their Manhattan Tales collection (left)—a line of maximalist custom-designed furniture in velvets, precious stones and high-quality wood.

SA R I TA H A N DA

Sarita Handa’s aesthetic is marked by the use of natural fabrics, intricate handwork and contemporary design rooted in traditional techniques. The theme for their showcase is ‘African Modern’ and will include both furniture and soft furnishings (below).

ROCHE BOBOIS

With French roots and a global presence, Roche Bobois has a 50-year legacy of creating avant-garde furniture— like the ‘Evol’ cocktail table (below) by Cédric Ragot. Their latest collection, Globe Trotter by Marcel Wanders, is an ode to the adventurers and explorers who discovered new cultures and rare objects.

T I M O T H Y O U LT O N

Timothy Oulton’s showcase will include some of its most memorable designs—like the ‘Mars’ chair that channels art deco vibes—paired with a breathtaking light installation, titled ‘Rock Crystal Rain’ (above), conceptualized as an “infinite universe of crystal raindrops”.

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TAC C H I N I

Crafting premium pieces of furniture, while simultaneously shining a spotlight on the creative processes that guide their making—this is Tacchini’s style. Its display will feature a snippet of this design legacy—one that spans over five decades—including chairs from the Kelly collection (right). (@BeyondnMore)

I Q RU P + RITZ

The brand reimagines classic shapes as contemporary objects of desire—like the modernist screen (right) from the Gray collection. On the occasion of the AD Design Show, Iqrup + Ritz will be unveiling a new collection in its distinct aesthetic.

BOLZAN

Sleep solutions simplified, Bolzan is committed to producing the highest-quality beds and bedroom accessories. Two standout pieces from their oeuvre, the ‘Corolle’ bed (left) and the ‘Ares’ pouffe, will be on display at the AD Design Show. (@BeyondnMore)

BOR ZALINO

Rooted in artisanal traditions, Borzalino’s range includes upholstered furniture, sofas and armchairs.

Their display will include signature pieces like the chic ‘Diva’ sofa (above) that is engineered for conversation. (@BeyondnMore)

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ALSORG

Makers of bespoke furniture, Alsorg strives to create timeless and lavish living spaces. Its signature standalone bar unit, crafted with ebony veneer in a glossy finish, complemented by leather-finish bar stools (left) will be on display at the AD Design Show.

THIS AND THAT

Bridging the gap between gifted craftspeople and innovative design concepts, This and That will be presenting sculptural pieces of furniture from the Forest collection, including tables and consoles in colours derived from local woods (below), that was inspired by a trip to the Borneo rainforest.

LIGNE ROSET

A family-run company, Ligne Roset is well regarded for its line of elegant furniture. Regularly collaborating with established and emerging designers, its offerings also include everything from textiles to lighting and accessories— the ‘Ploum’ love seat (above) was designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and will be among the pieces on display at the AD Design Show.

WILLOW VIIEW

This brand is the channel partner of Talenti, an Italian outdoor furniture brand; Foglie d’Oro, a boutique brand of handcrafted Italian wood floors; and Studio 911, a surfaces brand. Willow Viiew will be crafting an immersive display showcasing creations from all three studios, including products from Talenti’s Domino collection (right).

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ALL THAT GLITTERS At the

Design Show, we’re shining the spotlight on brands that elevate lamps to works of art

KLOVE

This New Delhi-based studio began working with hand-blown glass to create lights and light installations right from its inception. Klove has quickly become a globally renowned name, in large part due to its unique creations, like the ‘Kathakali’ table lamp (left). Its display will include pieces from the Shamanic Soul collection, including the ‘Gypsy Caravan’ installation.

SOGANI BY VIBHOR SOGANI Award-winning artist Vibhor Sogani’s eponymous brand of lights and light installations fuses an innovative use of material with state-of-the-art technology—as seen in its faceted ‘Crystal’ sconce (right).

The studio, which will be showcasing six new collections, has an eclectic (and everincreasing) repository of over 60 indigenous designs.

L I G H T &Y O U

Launched in 2017, light&you is India’s most dazzling e-commerce platform dedicated to light and lighting fixtures. The brand retails the latest and most iconic creations—like the Melt series by Tom Dixon (above)—as well as pieces from prolific designers like Zaha Hadid and Le Corbusier, straight into the homes of India’s design connoisseurs. For the AD Design Show, light&you will present a specially curated showcase of new launches.

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FINISHING TOUCHES The

Design Show rolls out the red carpet for the pieces that make living spaces extraordinary

THE CARPET CELLAR

Kilims, dhurries, shawls and antique rugs—The Carpet Cellar’s inventory is enviable. The New Delhi-based brand will be showcasing its Architectural collection (left)—inspired by icons like Tadao Ando and Louis Kahn—at the AD Design Show.

COCOON FINE RUGS

Cocoon Fine Rugs uses natural fabrics to craft contemporary rugs. The brand will display an eclectic mix of pieces, from their most significant collections, including the ‘Charcoal’ rug (below) from the Le Corbusierinspired CHAND LC collection designed by architect Ashiesh Shah.

JAIPUR RUGS

Threads of love, craftsmanship, authenticity and simplicity are woven into every single Jaipur Rugs piece—like the whimsical wool-and-silk carpets from the Aurora collection (above). For the AD Design Show, the brand will be presenting Project Error, an award-winning collection that celebrates imperfections.

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PHILLIPS ANTIQUES

Everything antique, everything traditional—this family-run brand treasures the past. Their showroom in Mumbai is adorned with colonial furniture, South East Asian trade pottery and original engravings.

The selection that will be on display at the AD Design Show will include a set of ornately carved wooden angel wings sourced from Gujarat and a festival head of Narasimha from Odisha (left).

MASTERPIECES

COLLAPSE ANALYSIS: IDLIB (2018), ASIM WAQIF. PHOTOS COURTESY NATURE MORTE.

India’s most prominent contemporary art galleries will converge at the Design Show to display a selection of important works by the country’s leading artists

NATU R E M O RT E

Peter Nagy and Aparajita Jain, Directors

This gallery has on its roster names such as Anita Dube, Imran Qureshi, Seher Shah and Bharti Kher.

Synonymous with challenging and experimental art, it is known for showcasing diverse genres. The gallery will be exhibiting Tanya Goel’s new work, Raqs Media Collective’s work in Corian, and Asim Waqif’s creations in aluminium, including the hand-folded Collapse Analysis in Red, an aluminium composite panel, worked on with a CNC router.

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C H AT T E R J E E & L A L Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal, Directors

POLYSTRUCX1A, MARK PRIME.

Established in 2003, the Mumbai-based gallery focuses on works by emerging and mid-career artists with a strong India connect, and is expanding its portfolio to include historical material. It will showcase works by Sahej Rahal and Mark Prime, and a selection from the exhibition, ‘IMPACT: Design Thinking and the Visual Arts in Young India’. The first in a series to be hosted by the gallery, it charts the course of design thinking in 20th-century India.

C H E M O U L D P R E S C OT T ROA D

PHOTOS: ANIL RANE, MUSEUM PIECE #4, MITHU SEN. COURTESY MITHU SEN/CHEMOULD PRESCOTT ROAD.

Shireen Gandhy, Director

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It was founded in 1963, and over the course of 55 years, the gallery has retained its centrality in the world of Indian art.

Under Gandhy’s stewardship, it widened its scope to include experimental artists. Its artistic repertoire ranges from mid-career and young artists to the well-established names. For the AD Design Show, the gallery is collaborating with architect Suchi Reddy to present the works of six to eight artists.

ARTWORK BY SUDARSHAN SHETTY. PHOTO: ANDREA ROSSETTI/GALLERYSKE.

G A L L E RYS K E

Rhea Maheshwari, Director, New Delhi; Aruna Keshav, Director, Bengaluru

UNTITLED (9). PHOTO COURTESY AADITI JOSHI/TARQ.

Established in Bengaluru in 2003 by Sunitha Kumar Emmart, GallerySKE opened a second space in New Delhi in 2013, and continued its approach of engaging with contemporary practices from south Asia. The gallery represents emerging and established artists from Asia and across media. The exhibit will include works by Dia Mehta Bhupal, Sunil Padwal and Sudarshan Shetty. The artists will also collaborate with Devaunshi A Thackersey Mehta, known for her contemporary reinvention of traditional jewellery, to design jewel-like objects that are extensions of their respective practices.

TA RQ

Hena Kapadia, Founder

Founded as a laboratory for the many forms of contemporary art, TARQ encourages established and aspiring artists to push the limits of their vision and transform how their art is perceived in India. Apart from works by regular collaborators like Aaditi Joshi, Parag Tandel and Garima Gupta, across mediums, the gallery will showcase renowned photographer Shahid Datawala’s solo exhibition, titled ‘Datura’. The works are a study in monochromatic imagery, which crafts a compelling narrative of nature against a play of light—and finding beauty in the commonplace.

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BALLOON-INSCRIBED ARTWORK, SHILPA GUPTA.

VA D E H R A A R T G A L L E R Y

Roshini Vadehra and Parul Vadehra, Directors

The gallery’s significance on the Indian artscape is undisputed and reflected in its diverse representation. MF Husain, Ram Kumar, Tyeb Mehta and SH Raza—integral to its early years—occupy space with Arpita Singh, Gulammohammed Sheikh and Nalini Malani, among other contemporary artists. The display will include photographs by Shilpa Gupta and Atul Bhalla, paintings by both Anju and Atul Dodiya and a Sumedh Rajendran sculpture—fresh from their studios.

P I C H VA I T R A D I T I O N & B E Y O N D

Pooja Singhal, Director

It offers an important platform to tradition by mainstreaming it for a wider audience. Pichvai Tradition & Beyond is an endeavour to revive the art of painting pichvais, and empower their creators. Traditional compositions and processes are updated to be relevant to the current context. Contemporary pichvais from the atelier reflect this objective, by juxtaposing different styles with traditional methods.

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ARTWORK BY ABIR KARMAKAR FROM ONGOING EXHIBITION, ‘DRAWN FROM PRACTICE’. PHOTOS COURTESY EXPERIMENTER. KOLKATA.

EXPERIMENTER

Prateek Raja and Priyanka Raja, Co-founders

Championing contemporary experiments that are ambitious in scale and challenging in their scope, the gallery was founded in 2009. Its showcase will explore themes of form and materiality across mediums: Ayesha Sultana’s graphite drawings and scratched drawings on paper; Rathin Barman’s wall-based sculptures cast in concrete; Sahil Naik’s new body of sculptures, ‘Monuments, Memorials, Mausoleums and Modernisms’; and photographs from Soumya Sankar Bose’s ‘Let’s Sing an Old Song’ series, which explores Jatra, a dying folk theatre tradition.

G A L L E R Y E S PA C E

Renu Modi, Founder and Director

The gallery opened in 1989 with MF Husain’s autobiographical works; today, it has expanded its oeuvre with stalwarts like Zarina Hashmi, Nilima Sheikh, Amit Ambalal and Samit Das. Apart from encouraging active discussions centred on art, the gallery has also embarked on a cross-cultural exchange with artists from south Asian countries. On display will be Dilip Chobisa’s monochromatic mixed-media works set in wooden cases and rooted in memroies of his locale, and GR Iranna’s vibrant works that transcend time and space.

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THE LIGHT ISSUE DAZZLING DESIGN AND BRIGHT IDEAS

A never-beforeseen pendant lamp from the atelier of Ingo Maurer; The Lampshade Project, made in collaboration with 11 design luminaries; a journey to Bruce Munroe’s ‘Fields of Light’; and an insight into the creative process behind musician Brian Eno’s light-box installations—our first-ever issue dedicated to light is glowing with bright ideas. This mighty sculpture by Sunil Gawde, Still Alive – I, which will be part of the first Sotheby’s India auction in the country, on 29 November at the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower in Mumbai, is the perfect reflection of everything that went into illuminating this issue.

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le Borne BEton Le Corbusier’s iconic concrete lamp showcases his fascination with the interplay of light and shade Writer Pallavi Pundir

O

ur eyes are made to see forms in light”—Le Corbusier’s words in his seminal collection of essays, titled Vers une architecture (1923) or Toward an Architecture, bring forth his striking preoccupation with light. He goes on to speak of forms of light and shade; of cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders and pyramids as their primary forms; and of their unambiguity and tangibility. “It is for that reason that these are beautiful forms, the most beautiful forms,” he remarked. And sure enough, Le Corbusier’s manifesto has resulted in some of the most enduring designs—forms that go beyond his iconic structures that play with daylight and include his well-known lighting fixtures. One such achievement is the ‘Borne Béton’ (pictured)—a floor or table light for indoor or outdoor use, all at once—a singular, robust stroke of concrete.

Conceived in 1952 for the walkway of the Unité d’habitation in Marseilles, France, and for illuminating the Bhakra and Sukhna dams in India—it can also be found lighting up the driveway at Le Corbusier’s Villa Shodhan in Ahmedabad—the ‘Borne Béton’ is a remarkable narrative of his love affair with concrete and its interaction with light. Literally translating to ‘concrete bollard’, the

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design brings together the architect’s affinity for economical materials in the post-World War II world, and his explorations of concrete’s ability to be moulded into any form. The material inevitably harks back to Le Corbusier’s agenda of bringing purity to design, evoking the poetically raw and elemental nature of concrete.

In 2016, the ‘Borne Béton’ was reissued and updated by Nemo, an Italian lighting design firm, the ninth Le Corbusier-designed lamp by them. During the firm’s exhibition at Milan Design Week, titled La Luce—in which they recreated lights by Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand—CEO Federico Palazzari noted: “[The] quality of [Le Corbusier’s] product is found in its discreet presence in every environment. Its being does not need aesthetic justifications and it lives simply by doing its job. In the same way, those lamps, created for innovative and strongly modern architectural and interior projects, suggests a timeless quality that makes them simple, iconic and always authentic.” An architect whose oeuvre has inspired people at either end of the spectrum, from the late Alexander McQueen to Kanye West, Le Corbusier’s body of work continues to express its relevance—even in the 21st century.

FASHIONING FABULOUS FURNITURE After creating masterpieces for global brands like Ralph Lauren Home, Restoration Hardware and Swoon Editions, amongst others, Sankara—a manufacturer of innovative furniture—showcases two outstanding collections that will take your breath away

What transforms a space with four walls into a place that you can call home? The answer is fairly simple.

Furniture is an integral part of any living space, and while its main purpose is functional, a beautifully created furniture piece is nothing short of being a work of art. It is the kind of art that Sankara—the most respected and sought-after furniture manufacturer in the world—creates.

Headquartered in Jodhpur and founded nearly two decades ago, it has a reputation of spinning out handcrafted designs of exemplary quality. And while they’ve created outstanding pieces for Ralph Lauren, Restoration Hardware, and One Kings Lane, to name a few, their own brand C-BenchMade is pretty incredible.

From hand-cast bronze and iron to marble tops of the finest quality, as well as subtle antiquing and handrubbed wax finishes on hardwoods, each piece of furniture feels like it was tailormade for you. And here are two extraordinary collections from its atelier.

THANE COLLECTION

Inspired by traditional metalworking techniques from the Iberian

Peninsula, this compilation of avant-garde coffee tables channels a sleek Bauhaus vibe with contrasting materials, simple geometric silhouettes and an organic look.

While a rustic iron top rests upon a brass base, each table is forged, hammered and polished to a beautiful lustre.

PRAIRIE MODERN

Smooth and tactile, this eclectic furniture anthology marries exquisite material like acacia wood, hardworked steel, brass and marble with inimitable craftsmanship and top-of-the-line finishes. While some of its pieces fuse Persian art with contemporary styles, others find inspiration in pebbles found on river banks and seashores. But one thing remains a constant—each piece has been created to make an effortless statement in your living space.

For more information, visit www.sankarafurnituredesign.com or email Praveen@sankarafurntiuredesign.com

black and light With the final instalment of his celestially inspired lighting collection launched at London Design Festival, it is clear that, for Lee Broom, the future is bright Writer Divya Mishra

L

ee Broom has his head in the stars, as evidenced by his Observatory collection. It was seen early in the year at Salone del Mobile, bringing to the fair the designer’s latest inspiration via his signature experiential installations.

Broom’s Observatory comprises five new lighting designs— ‘Orion’, ‘Eclipse’, ‘Aurora’, ‘Tidal’ and ‘Lens Flair’—inspired, as their names suggest, by the stars. The collection was presented in three parts with the first showing at Salone; the second at NYCxDesign in May; and the third, and final, at London Design Festival in September. At each showing, new designs were added, making this a year of bright ideas for brand Broom.

Using spherical forms and discs made of reflective materials like mirror-polished steel and polished gold, the lights are equipped with concealed LEDs that use reflection and refraction to create diffused halos of light—much like the ones seen in the night sky.

Adding to their attraction is the fact that they can be customized; users can create their own “constellations” using multiple fixtures from the Observatory collection. “It was a strong intention to

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create a lighting collection that could be adapted by the end user,” says Broom.

‘Orion’ is based on two simple shapes—a tube and a globe. The lights are modular and can be hung either singly or in a cluster, vertically or horizontally, as an installation or even just “as a vertical cascade of lights in a stairwell”, says Broom, adding, “It would have a completely different effect but be equally beautiful.” The development of the collection took two whole years, from the seed of the idea to its realization. An intriguing aspect of the final design is that the internal parts cast no shadow on the light itself.

The new edition of ‘Orion’ that debuted during London Design Festival replaced the original polished-gold finish with black spheres and tubes that can connect and expand horizontally and vertically. The new black edition (pictured), by means of reducing reflection, highlights the illumination from the globes and the tubes. Much like how stars are seen better in the night sky, the black edition of ‘Orion’ throws the spotlight on the shapes and forms of the pieces. Want to light up a room? Reach for a star.

FOR THE LOVE OF WOOD

Design a perfectly crafted gateway to the room of your dreams with dru’casa

by Coast to Coast Designs’ exquisite range of prefabricated wooden doors How many times have you heard the phrase ‘Opportunities await on the other side of the door’? A symbol of both transcendence and new beginnings, doors are the least talked about and yet, one of the most important design elements of the quintessential home. Promising you that impeccably crafted gateway to new spaces are Gautam Baid and Vinit Agarwal, masterminds behind dru’casa by Coast to Coast Designs.

To fill up a gap in the market, they began manufacturing artistic, pre-fabricated doors and frames.

Their signature bespoke designs help breathe life into the doors of your dreams. Functioning wholly on a made-to-order basis, a competent team of design experts take your personal preferences into account, right from measurements and style to fabrication and installation, to give

you exactly what you’re looking for... maybe better!

The result is an exquisite work of art – a sleek, highly customized product that reflects the character of your home. Using cutting-edge fabrication methods and the highest quality materials, each finished product echoes a certain timelessness. If that’s not all, they give you the freedom to pick from an internationally sourced selection of 150 finishes for doors and the choice of solid wood or veneered door frames up to 10 feet high. Add in style elements to suit your tastes such as metal, glass, leather, stone or even mother of pearl and voila! That dramatic gateway is ready for you to breeze through.

The brand’s offerings are the perfect embodiment of timeless design, unparalleled quality and

precise workmanship. Stop by one of its experience centres in Gurgaon, Bengaluru and Delhi before availing of their services. The next time you’re on the lookout for that perfect door for your picture-perfect room, you know what to do.

At Experience Centre, Shop No 122, DLF Grand Mall, MG Road, Gurugram. Also at Kirti Nagar, New Delhi and Bengaluru. For more information, call 09711632168, email info@coasttocoast.in or visit www.coasttocoast.in

let there be wright The ‘Taliesin 4’ lamp, a reissue by Japanese lighting manufacturer Yamagiwa, is a glowing testament to creator Frank Lloyd Wright’s timeless design Writer Pallavi Pundir

I

n his pursuit to develop an architectural legacy that melds with nature, architect Frank Lloyd Wright also made sure of one thing—that all the components designed for his houses are specific to the very nature of the structures they inhabit. This was especially true of his lights in glass, wood and metal. And so in 1992, when the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation decided to offer reproductions of the lights Wright designed for his most prominent residences, they licensed the task to Japanese lighting brand Yamagiwa. One of the outcomes of this journey is the ‘Taliesin 4’ table lamp, which Wright had designed for his

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Wisconsin residence of the same name. The structured series of boxes, connected to a stem at alternate perpendicular angles, exhibits a remarkably innovative construction. Available in Walnut, Cherry and Black (pictured) editions—the last in chestnut—‘Taliesin 4’ exemplifies Yamagiwa’s execution of the architect’s demanding geometry, combined with new technology and manufacturing processes that were considered unimaginable in Wright’s day. As these reproductions continue to make waves in the world of design, it’s evident that Wright’s legacy still shines bright.

AD PROMOTION

ENRICH YOUR HOME WITH COLOUR Jaipuria Silk Mills, in collaboration with international designers, presents VAYA HOME—a brand of luxury draperies and upholsteries for homes

VAYA’s stunning range of fabrics is what you need to elevate the style quotient of your living space. Marrying internationally trending colours with innovative designs and rich techniques, VAYA helps you create the perfect backdrop for a relaxed, modern lifestyle with each collection, offering you specialized fabric that truly reflect who you are.

MADISON This collection is inspired by modern, midcentury Manhattan and the Art-Deco styles for an elegant makeover for your home.

LUXVARA Chic colours and metallic accents of the Luxvara collection is what you want if you’re looking for luxury that’s minimalist in nature.

VENEZIA Inspired by the Palazzos of Venice, the Venezia collection brings you bold jacquard fabrics with embroideries, beaten damask and metallic textures.

FANTASIA With vibrant designs in sophisticated colours, the Fantasia collection will spark stories of travels near and far.

Jaipuria Silk Mills is a definitive name in the world of textiles for decades now, having supplied designs and fabric to almost every couture textile editeur in the world.

The mill, spread across its vast campus in Bengaluru, produces jacquard, dobby and velvet, and embroidery fabrics that inspire awe, in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Let VAYA envelop your life with warmth and glorious colours. Choose from its wide variety of curtains and upholstery fabrics to build a creative identity for your home.

For more information, visit: www.vayahome.com or visit a reputed home furnishings dealer near you!

endless column Art collector and designer Anupam Poddar unveils a collection of candle stands that is the peak of modernity Writer Maanya Sachdeva

T

he form-versus-function debate has been hotly contested over the years. Meritorious arguments surfaced in favour of both schools of thought— shaping and reshaping the notion of design over the years—and you thought you’d heard it all. Anupam Poddar, designer and founder of the Devi Art Foundation, offers his own take: “Forms in art are inspiring and this inspiration becomes its function. This is rare, but when it happens, the boundaries of our imagination are stretched, and a fresh perspective manifests.” In the light of the candles softly perched on his latest collection of stands (pictured), evocative of the work of Constantin Brâncusi, emerges the shape of an ultra-modern perspective.

A labour of love, these candle stands are painstakingly assembled piece by piece. A wax pattern is made by hand for each of the individual shapes of a stand. Then the pattern is placed in a special sandbox to create a mould, into which molten aluminium is poured. These rough-edged sand-cast metallic pieces are buffed and finished with electrical tools, after which they are nickel-plated and fixed into place on a central spine. Aluminium seemed a natural choice for Poddar since it is both light and durable.

Moreover, it offered him the freedom to experiment with colour. “We played with the silver base colour by finishing the different stacks in varying shades, something we achieved through nickel-plating,” he says.

The man with an enviable art collection was inspired to create these functional sculptures, unsurprisingly, by art.

“Art has always influenced design; I have just removed the separation between the two to create a single object.” Just like art and design, these candle stands are also better together because, in Poddar’s words, “you get to see their similarity and difference at the same time”. He adds that, with these, you need little else to spruce up a space. After all, simplicity often shines the brightest.

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‘Melt’ copper table lamp by Tom Dixon.

fibre optics Light&you is India’s first e-commerce platform dedicated to dazzling design Writer Maanya Sachdeva

P

ioneering lighting designer Richard Kelly believed that light, when used correctly, has the ability to reveal and enhance forms, create hierarchies of perception and even alter moods.

Despite the evident importance of good lighting and the fact that homeowners in India are more detail-oriented than ever before, the market for lights and light fixtures was largely unorganized—until 2017.

Last year, Samta Nadeem started light&you with Amit and Hardeep Gupta—co-founders of luxury lighting brand vis à vis—to fill a specific gap: “We found that young interior designers and architects struggled to find a high-quality, comprehensive destination for lighting solutions.” Light&you is an “online high street of the world’s best-known brands” that makes shopping for lights a breeze.

India’s first e-commerce platform dedicated solely to lights, the site stocks products by over 200 designers, including Zaha Hadid, Tom Dixon, Le Corbusier, Lee Broom, Michael Anastassiades and Nendo. Of the curation process, Nadeem says, “We identified brands that were committed to quality processes and associated with professional designers of a certain repute.” But instead of showcasing entire collections, the light&you team zeroes in on the designs that they believe are most suited to their “design-initiated” target audience.

However, the brand doesn’t just do a stellar job of choosing the latest and most iconic designs—the co-founders envision a world

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where high-end pieces transition into objects of everyday use. “It is imperative to make good design affordable if we want to spread wide and penetrate deep among the design-discerning, value-conscious Indian audience,” says Gupta. By leveraging the goodwill of vis à vis, the entrepreneurs have been able to convince light&you’s partner brands to retail at exceptional discounts.

In addition to being affordable, the website strives to be informative: “Other than a carefully curated collection of products, the website has sections that introduce the audience to the designers, explain the brand’s philosophy and narrate stories about the products and the ideas behind them,” Nadeem says. The website also has a section that features the latest launches, trends and technologies in lighting. Earlier this year, the co-founders launched the ‘India Series’ project (desi-gn.in) in which three contemporary design practices in India—AKFD, Klove and Rooshad Shroff— created quintessentially Indian, yet modern lamps. Phase two of this project is in the works, @ with the ultimate goal being “to create a global passage for these designs.” As product-driven as it is knowledge-focused, light&you’s future looks bright.

DESIGN SHOW DESIGN SHOW lightandyou.com

glow in the dark The latest edition of Rolex’s ‘Deepsea’ is a shining example of the Swiss watchmaker’s ability to plunge into innovation, dial up the high-end tech and keep a cool head 13,000 feet underwater Writer Tyrel rodricks

B

esides its name, which is a dead giveaway, you can tell the Rolex ‘Deepsea’ is a diver’s watch by its genre-defining waterproof construction—a dome of 5.5-millimetre-thick sapphire crystal, a middle ring of nitrogen-alloyed stainless steel, and a case back in titanium and Rolex’s trademarked ‘Oystersteel’.

Noticeable among the other materials used in the watch are the ceramic on the bezel and the 18-carat white gold used for the markers and hands. The watch, part of Rolex’s Baselworld 2018 launches, is fitted with its latest in-house movement, the calibre 3235, which offers a 70-hour power reserve and possesses a ‘Superlative Chronometer’ certification—in simpler terms, making it precise to -2/+2 seconds per day.

Another telling symbol of the watch’s unique abilities is the ‘D-blue’ dial—colours Rolex adopted for this line after auteur James Cameron made his record-breaking dive to the deepest point of the Mariana Trench. And, in the farthest reaches of the ocean, the display shines in legible fashion. Its markers and hands are made from ‘Chromalight’, another Rolex-trademarked material, and offer the time and a connection to the surface—even thousands of feet below, in unfamiliar surroundings. Most ‘Deepsea’-sporting divers, however, are unlikely to venture to the watch’s maximum operating depth; so, while you might not be planning to dive 12,800 feet below sea level, it’s nice to know that you could.

fields of gold Ahead of his two upcoming shows, British artist Bruce Munro reflects on his tendency to be corny, his simple philosophies and learning from Indian spiritualism Writer Pallavi Pundir

B

ruce Munro doesn’t think he is clever. In fact, the British installation artist risks being labelled a cliche, corny or even saccharine. “All I want is to leave people with a smile and a happy heart,” he laughs over the phone from his studio in Wiltshire, UK. This simple philosophy has been at the heart of his 30-year oeuvre, one that includes dazzling, immersive landscapes made up of glass spheres connected with optical fibre threads. Ahead of his two major exhibitions this month—at the Montalvo Arts Center in California and Avenue of Honour in Albany, Australia—the 59-year-old reiterates what he is known for: “To communicate a feeling of a time and place to others.”

Munro traces his process back to when he was 16, when his school art teacher advised the class to document everything in their notebooks. “He said, ‘Write your poems in them, put your bus tickets, keep theatre tickets, put your love life—everything.’ I’ve got 43 years of those sketchbooks today,”

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he says of the visual notes that became a precursor of sorts for his approach to the work—to immerse the audience in his mind space, “without being self-indulgent”. His illuminated landscapes play out his iterations of the site and its history, but his work is “complete only when people come to see it”.

In Montalvo, the artist’s ‘Field of Light’ takes off from CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series, wherein he creates a silver sea of “giant lilies” (pictured), while the Albany site commemorates the lives of the Anzacs, who fought in World War I through a blanket of blazing golds and yellows. There’s a distinct whiff of spiritualism in Munro’s methods, and he immediately confesses his wish to come to India. “My philosophy and meditation practices for the last 20 years have come from India,” he says, “I think Indians will really get what I’m doing!”

Bruce Munro is represented by Impeccable Imagination (impeccableimagination.com).

How dim

are you?

What your d immer switch setting says ab out you

100% “Oh my god, I’ve lost my Viren Bhagat earrings.

Switch on all the lights!”

90% Pinky Reddy walks into a room. Put on your shades; there are carats everywhere.

0% You’re hidden in Anish Kapoor’s patented black, Vanta. Darker than dark.

80% Guess who just had their teeth whitened!

69% It’s not just the lights going down.

3% The twinkle in John Pawson’s eye right before he renovates a Benedictine monastery.

60% Natasha Poonawalla in a golden Versace at the Met Gala.

5% Bijoy Jain can’t-find-thedoor-handle moodiness.

40% Roohi Jaikishan’s secret dinner-party trick that makes everyone look beautiful and thin.

35% A cheerful, uplifting Scandinavian film.

50% Goldilocks’s dream lighting— not too bright, not too dim.

30% The perfect just-backfrom-workand-need-aglass-of-Barolo mood.

10% First date fumble in the dark.

20% You’re a south Bombay princess in a Sabyasachi store.

Nickel dimmer by Lithoss.

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TURN ME ON They are easily overlooked, completely utilitarian and absolutely ubiquitous. But light switches can still be the height of chic STYLIST ARUJ CHAUDHRY

‘Lapris’ push switch, Van den Weghe

‘Nova T’ (bright brass) dimmer, Lutron

‘S-Color’ (pure white) switch by Odo Klose, Gira.

Black porcelain switch from the DØ collection, Fontini by Font Barcelona

Switch (natural ash) from the Elo collection, Realitem ‘XFIP1’ (iridium) push switch, Varilight

‘Lisa’ (red copper) switch, CJC Systems

‘Neva’ (pure white) twobutton switch, Luxonov

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‘Piano’ (unicolour) switch by David Dos Santos for Lithoss, Vinshek ‘Walnut’ switch by John Pawson and Atelier Areti for American Hardwood Export Council

‘Ellipse Duo’ (copper patina) switch, Meljac

‘Sentido’ (brushed brass) switch, Basalte

‘Copper’ quadruple dimmer, Dowsing & Reynolds

‘LS990’ (ultramarine blue) switch from the Les Couleurs Le Corbusier series, JUNG

‘Invisible Lightswitch’ (nickel) dolly switch, Forbes & Lomax

For details, see Stockists

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S T H HLIG across nearly

G I design, ntessentially g H n i t h g THE lution of li eces are qui

the evo e standout pi ly genius g n i c a r T es, thes d undoubted d a c e d an six porary stAvA m e t n o hrivA , AD’s d by c s A t to know shi ze

eed uali s you n been concept orn t h g li e to th s that have frica-b designer e guide rk outh A definitiv includes wo inds. From S mp to Dutch by a n curatio htest design m ‘Cantilever’ la es are marked n eye for ig z’s r da iec b e th amovit ht, these 36 p e unusual an truly sets r b A ld t Gera ss that y for th ttle’ lig architec my’s ‘Milk Bo ent, an affinit of timelessne y Tejo Re ess to experimthe rare qualit n willing owever, it is part. . il deta Hodern lights a these m

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‘Snoopy’ table light (1967) by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos

‘Cantilever’ table light (1961) by Gerald Abramovitz, Best & Lloyd

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‘Twenty-Seven’ table light (1986– 90) by Ettore Sottsass, Yamagiwa

‘Passiflora’ table light (1968) by Superstudio, Poltronova

TEXT: MAANYA SACHDEVA

A

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‘Tranquil’ table light (1966) by Bill Curry, Design Line

‘Sinerpica’ table light (1978) by Michele de Lucchi, Studio Alchimia

‘Atollo’ table light (1977) by Vico Magistretti, Oluce

‘Milk Bottle’ hanging light (1991) by Tejo Remy, DMD for Droog

‘Nuage’ table/floor light (1971) by Guy de Rougemont, Galerie Eric and Xiane Germain

‘L’Épingle de Nourrice’ floor light (1975) by Yonel Lebovici

‘Don’ table light (1975) by Silvio Coppola, Tronconi

‘Root’ outdoor light (2001) by Margarita Kroucharska, Ghidini Illuminazione

‘Model No kd29’ table light (1960– 69) by Joe Colombo, Kartell

‘Shakti’ floor light (2001) by Marzio Rusconi Clerici, Kundalini

‘MT’ floor light (1969) by Giancarlo Mattioli, Sirrah

‘Fato’ table/wall light (1965) by Gio Ponti, Artemide

‘Biagio’ table light (1968) by Tobia Scarpa, Flos

‘Model No L-7 Turbo’ hanging light (1963) by Louis Weisdorf, Lyfa

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

‘Zettel’z 6’ chandelier (1998) by Ingo Maurer

‘Eclisse’ bedside light (1965–66) by Vico Magistretti, Artemide

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‘Model No 599 Serpente’ table light (1965) by Elio Martinelli, Martinelli Luce

‘Block’ table light (1997) by Harri Koskinen, Design House Stockholm

‘Panto’ hanging light (1977) by Verner Panton, VerPan

‘Model No G6310 Ethospace’ table lamp (1984) by Bill Stumpf, Herman Miller

‘Spaziale’ table light (1970) by Gianfranco Fini, New Lamp

‘Totem’ floor light (1962) by Serge Mouille

‘Siren’ pendant lights (2018) by Dima Loginoff, Preciosa

‘Bambu’ table light (2000) by Fernando and Humberto Campana, FontanaArte

‘Chiara’ floor light (1964) by Mario Bellini, Flos

‘Kalamo’ table light (1972) by Gianni Villa, Artemide

‘Tizio’ desk light (1972) by Richard Sapper, Artemide

‘Nappe’ pendant light (2018) by Marco Zito, Masiero

‘Mezzoracolo’ table light (1970) by Gae Aulenti, Artemide

‘Taccia’ table light (1962) by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

‘Nesso’ stable light (1962) by Giancarlo Mattioli, Artemide

‘21.3’ pendant lights (2007) by Omer Arbel, Bocci

the light brigade profiles three lighting studios pioneering new ideas in this intangible medium

PHOTO: ADIL HASAN.

Gautam Seth and Prateek Jain, co-founders of New Delhi-based lighting design studio Klove, in their studio, alongside their Aiger installation from the Nordic collection.

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KLOVE

@

Jain and Seth with their Artichoke installation, a signature piece. Inset above right: ‘Lotus’ tea lights in hand-blown glass.

T

hey started with glass, made those spectacular blown-glass chandeliers, and experimented with materials—brass, steel, ceramic, fabric—to create supersized custom installations. But it is the immateriality of light that offers Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth the unencumbered freedom to bend it to their imagination and make the fantastical solidly real. In the 13 years since they set up Klove, Jain and Seth have built a brand that has become synonymous with specialized light installations. “The aim is to create lighting products that transcend the stereotype to become pieces of contemporary art,” says Jain. That’s evident in the products they have rolled out, from the Moondust installation for Gaurav Gupta’s eponymous couture show last year, to their Shamanic Soul range, which finds inspiration in the spiritual. Designs with diverse themes are finely made with the help of a robust back end of artisans, because “Partnership with Indian craftsmen has been at the heart of Klove,” he adds. The next step? A retelling of the Shamanic collection, but “on a larger and grander scale”.

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TEXT: GAURI KELKAR. PORTRAIT PHOTO: ADIL HASAN.

DESIGN SHOW

T

o look at Studio Formafantasma’s work through the lens of material would be reductive. For co-founders Andrea Trimarchi (left) and Simone Farresin, both of whom graduated from the Netherlands’ Design Academy Eindhoven in the same year, everything—from electronic waste to plant-based polymers—lends itself to the possibilities of design. Their treatment of light is no exception; in their hands, it is moulded into striking forms. “At the end of the day, as a designer, you are asked to shape light and that is beautiful, almost primordial,” says Farresin. Much like the ‘Wire Ring’ (pictured), part of a two-lamp collaboration with lighting giant Flos. It is made of a flat, custom-made electric cable, and a ring that contains an LED strip. “Disassembled, the lamp is reduced to a minimum; when mounted, it reveals sculptural traits,” Farresin explains. The designers are also betting on “the use of LED in a more direct way”; at the time of this interview, they are in the process of creating a pair of customizable LED chandeliers that will, undoubtedly, be a shining addition to their oeuvre.

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TEXT: MAANYA SACHDEVA. PORTRAIT PHOTO: DELFINO SISTO LEGNANI.

FORMAFANTASMA

TEXT: MAANYA SACHDEVA. PORTRAIT PHOTO: MONICA TREMONTO.

marcus tremonto

I

n Marcus Tremonto’s New York-based design studio, Treluce Studios, light is used as a medium. Not unlike charcoal or watercolours, it assumes the role of an effect or a texture for the American designer.

“I think this is still an untapped idea,” Tremonto says, even as his mind dwells on the possibilities of reversing conductive patterns in copper for his next show. By focusing on product design that repurposes and reimagines traditional ideas and processes as modern design philosophies, Tremonto says his goal is “to create something that becomes the central focus of any space”. Every Tremonto piece is certainly attention-grabbing—like the paper-thin foldable copper lamp ‘foiLED again’ (pictured) embedded with micro LEDs. Its form is its greatest triumph; the whimsical light is malleable and can be formed and re-formed by its user. However, his favourite piece is the ‘HOLO’ centre table. Created for Swarovski’s first show at the Design Museum, London in 2012, this piece that he grudgingly favours is a 136-kilogram, zero-distortion, mirror-polished steel table with no welds or screws, and a holographic heart. “It was insanely complex to pull off,” Tremonto admits—despite his unparalleled familiarity with the many shapes of light.

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light & sound Sound manifests as powerful imagery, and light takes on a meditative quality in the masterful light boxes created by influential musician Brian Eno

Musician, record producer and visual artist Brian Eno (above left) exhibited ‘Light Music’, an installation of light boxes, at the Paul Stolper Gallery, London in 2016.

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PHOTOS: MASAMI SHIRAISHI, MIKE ABRAHAMS (PORTRAIT); COURTESY PAUL STOLPER GALLERY 2018.

WRITER GAURI KELKAR

Eno’s installations from ‘Light Music’ at the Paul Stolper Gallery.

Right: Eno with his light boxes. Top, left to right: Glass, 3 Fields and Unstill, ‘Light Music’ 2016.

shadows. Every mixture of the lights was visible in almost every saturation. It was a big effect from a very simple input.”

Eno’s first “significant” work, 9 Cells, created in 1967, too emerged from simple tech—Pifco light bulbs, the kind “intended for indicator lights in cars”. Each of the bulbs would switch on and off at slightly different rates. “I depended on them flashing out of sync and constantly making new patterns.” It was “magic”, made possible just by manipulating cheap bulbs and gels.

But it was not enough; Eno’s pursuit of his passion was hampered for the most quotidian of reasons—access to affordable technology.

This was also the time that he was growing fascinated with electronic music. So, after art school, he joined rock band Roxy Music before going solo, worked in high-tech recording studios, developed a signature sound and found his then-dormant light art impacting his music in an almost visceral way, resonating with the “a-synchronicity” he discovered while working on 9 Cells. “My earliest electronic music pieces, made using tape recorders and loops, worked on the same basis. The loops were different and of incommensurable lengths so the composition was constantly changing.”

Between churning out chartbusting hits through big-name

PHOTOS: MASAMI SHIRAISHI, PAUL STOLPER (SILHOUETTE); COURTESY PAUL STOLPER GALLERY 2018.

N

o one could have escaped the omnipresence of Disney cartoons back in the 1950s. Many would have harboured dreams of creating something similarly cinematic. Few would have aspired to a career in the arts. But it’s unlikely that anyone could have been struck by the consonance among the different elements on display, sauntered across creative boundaries and developed an artistry so unique as to almost own this particular space. Brian Eno did— creating beautiful music and spellbinding light art, and finding a way to combine the two. Ironically, for the songwriter, composer and record producer, he saw the light first, before he ever thought of music.

“One of my earliest memories is visiting an uncle, who rented an 8mm projector and a Disney cartoon to show on it. He’d set it up a few inches away from the wall, so the picture was intensely bright and it made such a strong impression on me that I dreamed about it for years afterwards. I had the same relationship with paint,” says Eno, about what sparked his interest in light. This was further seeded at art school, where one of his projects involved the play of lights on a wall.

“We built a wall of cardboard pyramids and put red, blue and green lights at oblique positions relative to the wall so that each cast

PHOTO: MASAMI SHIRAISHI; COURTESY PAUL STOLPER GALLERY 2018.

collaborations (David Bowie, U2, Coldplay), Eno began making slower, longer, more homogenous music. “I wanted to get away from music as a narrative form, and make something more steady state.” His 1978 album, Music for Airports, “came with a sort of manifesto”, and a name for his kind of sound— ambient music. “I wouldn’t claim that I invented the form— there had been a lot of experiments in long-duration, still sound, but I did give it a name that has stuck!”

As he developed his music, Eno’s light art, static in the background, also found an outlet in the late 1970s, when the discovery of an industrial colour video camera led to an epiphany—and a revival of interest. Eno elaborates, through a foray into the mind-bending science to his art, “I realized that video was a way of controlling light. Within the confines of a TV screen, I could make ‘paintings’ in light. I then moved on to using the TV as a way of projecting light into constructions I built on the screens, so what you saw was a threedimensional object that appeared to be made of coloured light.” Limited by TV size, Eno turned to projectors with “automated slide carousels and projecting patterned light onto two- and three-dimensional surfaces”. The complexity of the work led him to installations that were showcased at galleries, requiring an environment that was “dark, quiet (because there was also a musical dimension) and comfortable. I liked it when

the pieces changed very slowly, so I wanted there to be good seating so people could stay awhile.” Through it all, his ambient music was a constant.

“What interests me about this work is that it seems to induce a sort of calming state. Several of these works are in spaces like fracture wards where people are immobile for long periods of time,” he says. When he was approached by more hospitals and clinics to create something for them, Eno fortunately hit upon (accessible) technology that kept pace with his penchant for experimentation: LED strips.

The most recent exhibition showcasing his light-box installations, ‘Light Music’, was in 2016, at London’s Paul Stolper Gallery, along with an eponymous book. Each of the light boxes used different-coloured LEDs, highlighting the abstract geometries of a mutable colour-scape, each accompanied by a soundtrack—engaging the senses entirely.

His latest album, Music for Installations, released earlier this year, features a collection of new and previously unreleased tracks that accompany his art.

In that amorphous space between tangible and intangible, sight and sound, the tactile and the aural, Eno’s creations, whether by serendipity or the dexterity of his mind, showcase the incredible congruency between music and light. It’s a space he has occupied with practised ease.

Clearing, ‘Light Music’ 2016.

ON LIGHT

In this series of essays, a gallerist, two artists, a chandelier maker, an architect and a product designer (but no candlestick maker) wax eloquent about this most basic element of design

DIDIER K R ZENTOWSKI R A NDOM INTER NATIONAL RÃ&#x2030;GIS MATHIEU J O H N P AW S O N MICHAEL A NASTASSIADES

DiDier KrzentowsKi. The co-founder of Galerie kreo talks about his 30-year-old love affair—with light. I began collecting when I was five years old—different things, but you could say I’ve been a collector all my life. My first serious collection was that of chairs, but then chairs, especially the rare ones, began to get very expensive so I switched over to lights.

I started collecting them in the 1980s. Back then, I was probably the first to be interested in a lighting collection. I was buying from across the world, but my collection comprised mostly Italian and French designs. I now have 800 lights, I think.

When you start to put together a collection, you notice very quickly the one or two that are the most important. So when I started my own collection, I saw that Gino Sarfatti was way ahead of other designers.

Why? Because he had his own company, and he was thinking on an industrial scale. Each time he had a new bulb and would work on a new lamp, he made its design as minimal as possible.

A good example would be his floor lights from 1954. In the world of art, the floor light was introduced by Dan Flavin only by 1962, and it was very different from Sarfatti’s, who was very avantgarde. I consider Galerie kreo quite unique compared to other galleries, because a lot of them now are really into decoration. They say they are doing ‘art design’, but to me, art is really different from design. I am also an art collector, and for me, an artist is someone who works with no constraints. A designer, on the other hand, is constrained by the use. The lights I have are all from designers who are thinking of how their lights can be best used by the people who want to read, or who want to use it in some capacity. If you see the designers we work with—Marc Newson, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Jasper

Morrisson—they are all part of an industry where constraints are important. The designers do their research in Galerie kreo, based on which we make a few pieces by hand. They can essentially be considered as research pieces. There is a lot one can gain from carrying out research in our place. Sometimes, young designers come to us after seeing the kind of people and concepts we work with; it ends up becoming like a family.

Usually, when people like something, they like it because they know it; it comes from something they are familiar with. For me, when I see the work of young designers, I begin to really look at it only when I see something different.

That’s my first instinct. Afterwards, of course, I study it, and I try to figure out how and why it is exciting. After all, if, among the several hundreds of lights that you have to see, you come across a material or a method you don’t know, it can stop you in your tracks.

I need to be surprised, and that is not easy to do, but that’s the way I think; I like to not understand.

A piece of work we are proud of is the one we did with the Bouroullec brothers for the Château de Versailles about six years ago. The Gabriel Staircase at the Château had no light. They were initially considering copying 18th-century lights, but then decided to hold a competition, which the Bouroullecs won. It is the only contemporary piece at the Château de Versailles.

Another piece of work we are very proud of will be unveiled in December this year. It is the lighting for six fountains at the Champs-Élysées. Again, this too is a collaboration with the Bouroullecs. The fountains will have lights inside and they are meant to be there permanently. This is one of the reasons I love light.

Because with lights, you can think and you can dream.

Random InteRnatIonal.

Founders Hannes Koch and Florian Ortkrass break down the role light plays in their installations. In practice, we rarely set out to create a light installation, a kinetic sculpture, or a responsive environment in any literal sense. These works are the result of a more instinctual and iterative path. We develop an idea through experimentation and enquiry by which we come to a decision on the best materials, tools and processes to realize that concept. Throughout our practice, a struggle is continuously at play between the idea that we, as humans, are in control and the knowledge that we most certainly are not. The use of light as a sculptural material can be crucial to exploring this struggle. Light has the ability to tap into the human visual system and extend possibilities for other kinds of sensory and instinctual perception, regardless of whether it is used as a central material interface or a more subtle, environmental amplifier. Since we founded Random International over a decade ago, we have used light in various waysâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a tool, a medium or simply a means to an end. One of our earliest works, Temporary Graffiti (2005), uses light in a utilitarian form. We were looking for a process that would allow us to simulate manual painting or printing, while avoiding the messy realities of actual paint or ink. Using light in combination with a light-reactive substrate, we were able to achieve thisâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;creating luminous text and imagery that glowed for a while before slowly fading away.

Employing the language of spray paint, Temporary Graffiti invites people to paint with nothing but light itself, in a ongoing loop of presence and erasure. Despite its ephemeral nature, light is a participatory material here. We often use light in our attempts to decode the world that we live inâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;both on a physical and an emotional plane. In Future Self (2012), viewers come face-to-face with their own full-length body image, three-dimensionally distributed as small points of light. As an encounter with the self-image, it is both immediate and ethereal. We reduced the resolution of the reflected form significantly but without impeding the mirror-like selfrecognition. There is a slight delay before the reflection emerges, which creates subtle cognitive dissonances so that it remains uncertain as to whether or not the illuminated figure is actually you. The mirror image is a recurring motif for us, and our interest in it goes right back to the foundations of our practice. We use mirrors as both material and subject in the 2008 work Audience, where a mass of small, motorized looking-glasses turn to face a person walking within their midst.

In our Temporary Printing Machine series (2009-ongoing), we use light as a medium for creating automated self-portraiture. Long before we actually came to realize Future Self, the possibilities for simulating a responsive self-image in a three-dimensional space had piqued our curiosity. The decision to use light as a medium for this idea came about after we had realized the first work in our series of Swarm Studies (2010-ongoing). The individual lights behave as though they are living things, autonomously moving together in response to their environment.

To achieve this, we developed custom brass and LED rods that enable processes of controlling individual light points in a three-dimensional grid.

Having witnessed the success of this material platform, its affective powers and its efficiency, we decided to

use it for Future S e l f .

Sometimes, our enquiries into the nature of beings and things start with an (often ludicrous) assumption about how something might feel. We then test that assumption and see where it takes us. In 2011, we were able to create an initial prototype for Rain Room, thanks to The Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation for Art, in the atrium of our old studio, which was a white box filled with natural light. Having set everything up to successfully create responsive indoor rain, we realized that rain is scarcely visible against white walls in a brightly lit environment. This informed our creation of the aesthetic surrounding Rain Room, when we came to publically exhibit it for the first time in 2012, at Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Barbican. The black walls and single, bright light sources are as much a part of the work as the water that falls everywhere but where a person walks.

They are all parts of the phenomenology that deprives some senses while simultaneously amplifying others. Future Self, Swarm Studies and Rain Room share a heightened emotional engagement. That these works are so readily and instinctually accessible is in part due to the incredibly laborious processes of their development. Every action nested within a workâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development shares a common aim: maintaining the simplicity and clarity of the original intention.

If a work continues to evoke a response in ourselves and in others over time, creating it has been a useful pursuit.

R e g i s M at h i e u .

The head of French luxur y lighting company Mathieu Lustrerie talks about the past, present and future of chandeliers. My journey with chandeliers began when I was born; I literally grew up in my parents’ workshop. But it is my work with historical monuments that has given me an understanding of the intricate history of chandeliers. Over the years, as we dismantled the chandeliers of the Palace of Versailles and the Palais Garnier in Paris and the Laxmi Vilas Palace in [Vadodara], we had the privilege of having master craftsmen speak directly with us; it was like taking private lessons from the experts. They explained why they preferred doing one thing over the other, how particular designs were achieved, and the logical and systematic thought behind every move.

You do not manufacture chandeliers like you fabricate lights for houses; you manufacture chandeliers to show something, to illustrate power. When I work on antique chandeliers, my clients are Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette or Napoleon—though I have to imagine what they would have asked me to do—and I can feel the pressure of history. The first chandelier was supposedly invented by a butcher, who suspended a makeshift candle of animal fat and set it alight.

Chandeliers underwent a long period of development before becoming symbols of power in the 17th and 18th centuries. Craftsmen worked with bronze, silver, gold and the light of candles to create chandeliers for the nobility. One such craftsman was André-Charles Boulle, the most gifted cabinetmaker of his generation.

Under the patronage of Louis XIV, he created a few bronze chandeliers that remain unmatched even today—in the beauty of their symmetry, perfect proportions and detailed chiselling work. Under the reign of Louis XV, the French sculptor Jacques Caffieri created a most exquisite bronze chandelier that is one of my favourites. During the same period, the Marquise de Pompadour (the official mistress of the king) was gifted a 1.5-ton chandelier that narrated the story of hers and the king’s first meeting, at a hunting party. Such pieces were clearly designed as status symbols. At the time, chandeliers were exquisite sculptures, studded with precious stones and magically lit by candles. They were the most expensive items in the house—the most

significant markers of power and w e a l t h .

The 19th century heralded the advent of the crystal chandelier, and the age of Osler and Baccarat. They represented an industrial era, wherein parts of chandeliers were factoryproduced in the hundreds, and then sent to various parts of the world to be assembled in showrooms.

Those chandeliers were precious, fragile and technically magnificent, but they lost some of their intrinsic value because they were mass produced. The early 20th century was a wonderful and exciting period for chandelier design, courtesy electric lighting. For the first time in human history, light could flow downwards! However, electricity soon became an adversary to chandeliers.

When you could just flip a switch and have a cheap bulb flood your room with light, why would you need a chandelier? Chandeliers were forgotten for some time, as light and lamps became more functional. It is the LED revolution, and specifically architectural lighting, that has allowed chandeliers to go beyond just providing illumination, and rediscover their true nature as works of art. But chandeliers should light themselves first. The magic that candles produce cannot be matched by anything that exists right now.

That is why I have created an LED bulb that creates, up to 99 per cent, the ambience produced by the light and halo of a candle. I also believe that noble materials are important in making a piece timeless, which is why I use bronze and precious stones in my creations. Chandeliers are not just functional objects. You should not buy a chandelier to simply light up a room, or to complete an interior in a specific style. You should possess one because you fell in love with it, because you want to live with it, share its story with your friends, and maybe show off a littleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;because, why not? Chandeliers are heirlooms and will last through the centuries. All my chandeliers will outlive me and go on to tell their stories to the world; I am but a small part in their life. Like the masters, I put my heart and soulâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with my team of 20 artisans in the south of Franceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;into making one chandelier at a time. Sometimes, we hide messages in them, in the hope that maybe a few centuries from now, someone as crazy as us will find them and continue their story.

John Pawson. Few architects have the kind of understanding of light that John Pawson does. His evocative personal essay spotlights its role in architecture, and in his work. One of the great privileges and pleasures of working with some of the best photographers in the world is proximity to their understanding of light—an understanding so acute, it is almost like another sense. One of the many lessons I have learnt is that conventionally good light does not always produce the best photographic results, just as a conventionally beautiful site is not necessarily the most stimulating context for architecture. A prime case of the latter is the tiny plot in a suburb of Tokyo where we built a courtyard house, which is hemmed in by other buildings on every side, and strewn with overhead cables. Magazine editors always want to retouch the pictures to remove the cables and my response is always that the cables are the point. I am interested in the sort of light that makes you see and experience something differently. My friend Arnold Chan, who is an exceptional lighting designer, talks about light as an emotion, and it is true that there is perhaps no one single factor which has a more profound impact on how you feel in a place. In traditional Japanese architecture, for example, the intensity of atmosphere has a lot to do with the way natural light is filtered through shoji screens, suffusing the interior spaces with subdued light, simultaneously calming the spirit and sharpening the senses, heightening one’s sensitivity to the texture of a tatami mat or the detail of the junction between two surfaces. The late 12th-century Cistercian abbey of Le Thoronet in the south of France is a supreme example of somewhere I am happy to sit for an entire day, simply watching the way the sun moves around the building—I have yet to take up an invitation to be locked in overnight, to pursue this experience to its logical conclusion. For me, the place perfectly demonstrates how light and mass are counterpoints of one another, and how architecture is all about how you bring these two entities together. The abundance of light in the sanctuary of the monastery’s church, in conjunction with the loftiness of the vaulting, has the effect of intensifying the impression of scale. The absence of any openings to the south, by contrast, creates an area of comparative darkness, which gives the uninterrupted mass of the

walls on this side particular force.

Depending on the hour, the fall of light and shadow briefly articulates the junctions where the sharp-edged piers meet the curves of the columns. The changing sunlight also brings shifts in tint, flushing the limestone pink and producing subtle exercises in perspective, which render the depth of window embrasures legible. As well as transforming surfaces, light also shapes form. It is no accident that the Provençal master builder of Le Thoronet located the abbey’s church so that its mass would shade the cloister, while his counterparts in the colder north were orientating their cloisters to receive as much sun as possible.

This is what it means to respond fully to a site—not just to the fall of the land, but to the fall of the light. St Bernard o f

Clair vaux, the 12thcentury abbot responsible for drawing up the architectural blueprint on which Le Thoronet is based, is clear about the significance of light in Cistercian monastic design as the only permissible form of enrichment. When I was designing the new Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of Nový Dv r in Bohemia, I worked very hard to get the light right.

The design process began like any other. One of the first things you do as an architect when you walk around a new site is to ask yourself about the quality and quantity of the light. As the forms of the buildings begin to take shape in your head, you reflect on how they will catch the light. As well as sunlight, you are thinking about how applied lighting is to help make the

spaces legible and usable—how light might be added to order or subdivide the spaces, to provide variety, rhythm and a sense of spatial sequence and connection. The density of the monks’ programme made this a particularly complicated task.

A monastery is like a micro-city, combining the functions of home, school, church, hospital, industry, workshop, office, farm, market, garden, guest house, laundry and library, and each of these functions has its own specific lighting requirements, which the design has to answer. In the monastery’s church, where the language of light becomes more highly charged, the task becomes something of a different order, however, with spiritual as well as practical purposes to serve. Virtually all of the effects at Nový Dv r were meticulously engineered. Dramatic vertical compositions of indirect light to each side of the nave are designed to draw the gaze forwards through the space towards the apse and altar— white or blue, according to the angle of the sun and the clearness of the sky. The apse is a white curve, which rises uninterrupted for over 16 metres. Concealed from sightlines within the nave, a flight of stairs descends into a hidden void behind the altar where openings at ground level produce a series of ethereal effects of sunlight, some of them entirely unforeseen—including an exuberant helix, cast behind a sculpture of the Madonna and Child. This mysterious void and its associated light became the inspiration for the design of a set for a 2006 ballet titled Chroma, by Wayne McGregor. The project was almost unique amongst my commissions, since it offered no sources of natural light. We wanted to find a way of putting the dancers into a charged void space like that of the apse at Nový Dv r—an environment where the eye would be free to register the subtlest shifts in the musculature of the body, and in the colour and character of the light. I don’t get to visit the monastery in Bohemia nearly as often as I would like, but when I am sitting in the church watching how the sun and a series of simple white rendered surfaces have come together in this remote, rural site, I have a fleeting sense of satisfaction in what we have achieved. This sense of rightness in the conjunction of light and mass is what the architect hopes for, every time he or she erects a wall.

Michael anastassiades. The Cyprus-born, London-based designer draws examples from his wildly creative portfolio to explain his understanding and use of light. Light is a very poetic medium.

As human beings, we are all drawn to light. For me, from an early age I was quite fascinated with how light exists in nature. Being something very majestic and unexpected, you can never predict it. This is what makes natural light so beautiful. I am still preoccupied by how light changes throughout the day—from dawn till when darkness comes. At this point, the needs of people change and artificial light accommodates the transition, and thus completely changes a setting. When I began to experiment with lighting, it was not an attempt to replace the natural light. I wanted to understand the quality of darkness, of daylight, and how artificial light might contribute to this balance, functioning during different times of the day. My first lighting experiment was called ‘Anti Social Light’ (2001). During this period, I was questioning the role of objects in everyday life, understanding the dependency that exists between a product and its user. The ‘Anti Social Light’ was a light that would only glow when there was absolute silence. If you spoke around it, the light would begin to dim and would eventually switch off. You had to amend your own behaviour for it to function. The antithesis of this was ‘Social Light’ (2001) working in the exact opposite way. The glow of this light relied on the sound of talking, becoming almost therapeutic by making verbal communication essential to its operation. Light is immaterial; yet its glow has materiality.

Understanding how you complement the absence of materiality with another material that has a physical presence— that is the challenge.

I look for honesty in the use of

every material. I don’t like plastics that are treated with metallic finishes, made to look like metals. I work with surfaces that have no coatings and develop a patina over time. The process behind each project is different, and it’s what makes the work exciting.

There are consistent values and qualities, of course, which I always try to include in the design of an object. It can be the quality of the material, the use of familiar forms, the process of removing information—all in the pursuit of timelessness.

Sometimes an idea can be spontaneous, like capturing a moment or image. Or it can involve a whole new concept. In the case of ‘String Lights’ (2013)—a suspension lamp designed for Flos—I never had an image associated with the product. I knew what the function would be and what qualities they would have, but I didn’t know the form it would take. I became fascinated with how people found ingenious ways to move light from one place to another.

Through observation and study, I learnt how people did this not just in their homes, but also in open spaces.

Spending a lot of time in Mediterranean cultures as well as in India, I observed that life revolves around the rituals of festivals and fairs and parties, often taking place in public squares. I saw how people take ownership of these squares using posts, one in every corner and linking these posts with lights. I began to understand the cultural significance of light and its relationship to the space it occupies. At other times, while travelling on a train, I would find myself by the window watching the way in which the cables connect the pylons and how they’re perfectly parallel at any point. With ‘String Lights’, I wanted to transfer all these qualities into the domestic environment. This is architecture— defining space with light.

THE LAMPSHADE PROJECT

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lampshade Project calls on 11 designers, each with a distinct style of their own, to reimagine the old-world grandma lampshade in their specific sensibility and update its image. From a Chanel tweed coat to Goan roofs or a complete distortion, the reinterpretations were wide-ranging, completely unpredictable and wholly unexpected Writer Gauri KelKar . PhotograPher Talib ChiTalwala

JEAN-FRANÇOIS LESAGE

FOUNDER, VASTRAKALA “The first image that came to my mind on hearing the brief was my grandmother’s library—dimly lit, warmly intimate and reminiscent of my childhood,” says the master embroiderer, whose atelier counts Chanel among its clients. “I didn’t want anything too formal and stiff and glamorous.” The Chanel tweed coat was the starting point for this shade, made with twisted silk, metallic thread and chenille, among other materials—“All the elements normally associated with fashion embroidery. The idea was to recreate our version of tweed on a lampshade, where the light can come through sometimes fully, sometimes partly. And when you look at it, you can imagine a city, imagine a jacket.”

Lamp base: ‘Cybill’ (mulberry), Iqrup+Ritz.

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ASHIESH SHAH

FOUNDER, ASHIESH SHAH ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN The archway has always fascinated Shah—enough to sneak through in all his projects, as it does here. The traditional form of the lampshade was deconstructed—and how.

A free-standing archway houses the light in lieu of the “generic fringed hat”.

Moulded out of plaster-ofParis, the archway gets a coat of epoxy, and the floorstanding structure “mimicks a grandmother’s protruding belly”. Some serious transformation, that.

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Ambrish Arora with (left to right) Arun Kullu, Suman Sharma and Vedika Jhunjhunwala from The Mangrove Collective.

AMBRISH ARORA (CO-FOUNDER, STUDIO LOTUS) WITH THE MANGROVE COLLECTIVE It looks and acts like a miniature jali, calibrating, regulating and filtering the light just so—not too bright and not too dim.

And true to [Arora’s and the Mangrove Collective’s] philosophy, they focused more on process than form. “It helped that the form was defined,” says Arora. They went about manifesting the form with a lightweight mild-steel frame “expressed by the handwoven black cane”.

Just like that, the jali got a contemporary makeover.

VIVEK SAHNI

FOUNDER, VIVEK SAHNI DESIGN Cast iron, raw silk and fringe combine to boldly channel a seriously gothic vibe. When Sahni thought about reworking the traditional lampshade, 1930s Berlin—as described by writer Christopher Isherwood in The Berlin Stories—was top of mind. “Something decadent and stylish, with fringe, rock crystal and colour—what I ended up with was something quite contemporary, slightly gothic and minimalist.” For Sahni, who is “obsessed with lamps”, the project proved an exciting one.

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ANJALI MODY

FOUNDER, JOSMO STUDIO The conical shape, shinglelike slabs and ubiquitous terracotta—it’s the quintessential Goan roof; only this time it’s perched atop a light. Mody chose to harness tradition rather unusually, staying away from “rippled fabric pleats that made the elegant silhouette so mundane”, but retaining the conical shape. “We used flat-rolled terrace sheets, cut them, textured them and stuck them to one another, layer upon layer, to create the heaviest lampshade there is!”

SUSSANNE KHAN

FOUNDER, THE CHARCOAL PROJECT It is as much installation as light, as much about function as artistry. Khan’s creation takes on epic proportions—literally and metaphorically.

“We wanted to bring in the formalness of a ‘cuff sleeve’ for the form, and the wildness of a warrior who may have existed in a mythical world,” says Khan.

Naturally, she named it after Achilles, the strongest of them all, and crafted it in the neoclassical style. She also used leather she bought in the UK. “We already had our warrior.

I thought we needed his skins!”

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CEDRIC COURTIN

FOUNDER, ATELIERS COURTIN It’s the small things that make a big difference— like the seemingly everyday lampshade that the Puducherrybased Courtin transformed into leather-wearing cool.

“I wanted to retain the essence of a traditional lampshade, but modernize it to make it relevant today,” says Courtin, who works with leather for several luxury fashion houses, including Loewe. And leather proved to be the way to do it in this case too. “We used an acrylic sheet and white cotton fabric to cover the shade, and then decorated it with calf leather laces using the cannage technique, which is one of our specialities.” It’s versatile too—and can either be used with a lamp base or hung from the ceiling.

Lamp base: ‘Criss Cross’ tripod stand, Cottons & Satins.

LEKHA WASHINGTON

FOUNDER, AJJI It isn’t often that one sees a light source double as a lampshade.

“I played with the silhouette of the lampshade,” says the designer, who found the project to be an interesting tightrope walk between the traditional and the cutting edge. It was also an extension of a new technique she has been playing with— “twisted, lit tubular forms of light”. Stainless steel and LEDs combine to give it a marblelike texture, but what stays with you is the “elegance of soft light meeting clean lines”.

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GAUTAM SETH AND PRATEEK JAIN

CO-FOUNDERS, KLOVE Glass and the almost effortless ability to mould it to their direction is clearly Klove’s thing, if their sculptural installations are anything to go by.

So much so that Seth and Jain even put it to use as a lampshade— “where it is normally not used”, in Jain’s words. The inspiration was a forest of pine trees. “The shade forms a canopy in ribbed glass, which casts shadows like the rays of sunlight in a forest,” says Jain.

MOZEZ SINGH

PRODUCT DESIGNER AND FILM-MAKER This safa-style lampshade doesn’t even skirt the lines of predictability. “I wanted to design something that would spell sophistication and whimsy and be intrinsic to who I am,” says Singh, who worked with New Delhi-based Formus for this project.

Made with voile (fabric traditionally used for turbans), it has a jewelled kalgi ornament and a base in white acrylic and brushed brass. “I’m not a lighting designer, but I’m up for any challenge that pushes my buttons; this one did.”

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THIERRY BETANCOURT

DESIGNER Imagine a lampshade that does the work of a dimmer—only betterlooking. “You can dim a lamp by decreasing the intensity of light, but what if you could adjust the lampshade to reduce or increase the light coming through at eye level?” reasoned the designer. “I sourced two perforated metal sheets and adjusted them parallelly until I had the desired effect of light and dark upon manually rotating them. The sheets were then machine-rolled and blackened, to match the bronze base below.” Utilitarian? Sure.

Stylish? Undeniably.

PORTFOLIO NO.1

Manifold The world’s most important lighting designer is, even at 86, eager to explore new ideas, materials and designs. To put it plainly, Ingo Maurer is excited by possibilities — too busy imagining the future to dwell on the past. Except this once, when, at AD’s behest, he went back in time to 2011 to talk about the ‘Manifold’ — a spectacular design from his atelier that never saw the light of day. Exclusively showcased here, this unusual-looking, futuristic lamp was designed by a core member of Maurer’s design team, Axel Schmid, and is a lesson in creativity.“It filled me with a mix of regret and, at the same time, a new energy to get it accomplished,” Maurer says about this collaboration. Who knows, Schmid wonders, maybe the ‘Manifold’ will be awakened from its slumber some day. After all, in Maurer’s world, the possibilities are endless.

The ‘Manifold’ is a deconstruction and reimagining of the traditional lamp into something small, strict, asymmetrical and flexible. Designed by Axel Schmid in 2011, it was presented to Maurer as a functional prototype. Schmid’s design was based on the observation that, at the time, the appearance of LED fixtures was rather rigid and fixed.

“The shape of a lamp is defined by its parts which, usually, comprised a cable, socket, bulb and lampshade,” Schmid explains. However, if the technical set-up (or parts) were to change, the old shape could give way to unusual designs, he imagined. After all, “Why should an electric car look like an older car—with a long hood—when there is no motor under it, because the motor is on the wheels?”

“The way we work is to build a lot of mock-ups and prototypes, and then weigh them up against each other,” Maurer says. With the ‘Manifold’, Schmid explains, there was a lot of discussion regarding dimensions and sizes; a total of five different versions were created. He had originally imagined that it would be quite small, in line with its character of a technical device—almost like a precise scientific instrument. “However, hanging above a table, I thought that it should have a more prominent appearance, so as not to vanish in an open space,” Maurer says. There were two possible approaches to resolve this: to scale it up or give it another, bigger shape. Ultimately, Schmid went with the first alternative and brought it to life as the culmination of five identical metal parts, connected by flexible joints in a way that they can be plugged together modularly in multiple variations, to create an object of surprising appearance.

Schmid’s sketch breaks down the structure of the lamp into kabel anschlusse (cable connection), obere abdeckung (upper cover), busche (sockets), platine (circuit board), LEDs and untere abdeckung (lower cover). “Axel’s got a very special mind; he has been part of my design team for over 20 years and I believe he is exceptionally talented. You see, the ‘Manifold’ is very, very clever, but was a tad difficult to market at the time,” says Maurer. The foundation of this design is that, despite the fact that they are very small, LEDs need proper cooling.

To keep the size of the heatsink small, Axel spread it out horizontally to “optimize its efficiency in an ascending airflow”. Then he decided to use the cooling fins as hinges to join the five parts. Brought to life as a technical-looking device, rather than a pleasing, living space object, “I was fond of the novelty and uncommon setup,” reminisces Maurer.

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PORTFOLIO NO.2

DIVYA THAKUR: RANGOLI REINVENTED The founder of Mumbai-based studio Design Temple, Divya Thakur plucks the traditional rangoli out of ignominy and gives it a contemporary makeover.

“When AD approached us to create a contemporary Indian rangoli, we turned to the more geometrical inspirations of pattern – using the circle, which is a symbol of the cosmos, and the triangle in various compositions,” says Thakur. Paired with bulbs and candle stands from contemporary Indian and international designers, as well as an iconic Peter Karpf candleholder, the rangoli patterns mimic the structures of the pieces, fusing light, colour and pattern in an elegant choreography. Substituting multiple hues, typical in traditional rangoli design, with “singular, bold colours” immediately distanced the rangoli from its traditional roots.

And the geometric forms allowed for endless permutations. “The upsidedown triangle represents the female principle; right side up represents the male principle; and a shatkona (hexagon) represents the union of the masculine and feminine forms.” The following pages, then, shine a new light on tradition, and design a new vocabulary for celebration.

PHOTOGRAPHER: JIGNESH JHAVERI STYLIST: SAMIR WADEKAR

‘Rolling Round’ brass light by Casegoods, Le Mill. (This & facing page) ‘Sr No 63’ fabric (green) from the Silky Satin collection, D’Decor.

Makrana white marble bulb with Bheslana black marble inlay, Rooshad Shroff.

‘Stacked’ metal candle stand, Devi Design. Red candle, Cottons & Satins. (This & facing page) ‘Sr No 63’ fabric from the Silky Satin collection, D’Decor.

‘Gemini’ metal candleholder (1965) by Danish architect Peter Karpf, Architectmade.

‘Satellite’ candleholders, Paul Matter. Blue candles, Cottons & Satins. ‘Sr No 63’ fabric from the Silky Satin collection, D’Decor.

For details, see Stockists

Portfolio No.3

VISHAL K DAR An Interval at Villar Ville A site-specific installation of computer-controlled lights and mirrors A trained architect and artist who “finds magic in all sorts of ephemera”, Vishal K Dar has created light installations in spaces ranging from an industrial chimney of a defunct thermal power station in Shanghai to an inoperative shipping terminal in Luleå, Sweden. The one territory he hadn’t explored was a home. So when one of the most beautiful apartments in Mumbai, at Villar Ville, became available, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to invite the artist to take over. “Uncanny empty spaces of habitat have no memory of the past.” Working through the night, Dar projected four beams of light through the space, bouncing them off mirrors to create these images.

“Ghosts? Sentinels? Ephemeral beings?” pondered the artist about the effect that the play of light has in the empty space. “A beam of light emerges with a gentle touch of humid saline air on the metric floor and the soft whiteness of the bare wall. Blinded and unbound, the beam finds a playground.”

‘CAWNPORE’ TEAK MIRROR, THE RAJ COMPANY.

PRODUCTION: BINDIYA CHHABRIA.

WHERE CREATIVITY FLOWS…

Like each of her bespoke fine invitations, Uttara Shah’s office is a place of beauty, where intelligent ideas find flawless execution, and clients find a friend with good taste. It’s a space where she and her husband Ravi create magic by eloquently expressing a patron’s desires through the language of design

It begins at the door. Solid dark wood, that makes you feel you’re about to enter a friend’s home rather than an office. You step in, and your first impression is confirmed. You are visiting a friend’s home, and for a moment, you forget you’re here on work. You have an appointment with Uttara Shah, India’s leading bespoke invitation design specialist. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” says a gentle voice, as if reading your mind. It’s Uttara, and she takes you from your reverie into the conference room. This is where you both will talk about her highly successful and much sought-after wedding invitations.

“We envisioned an office that felt like home. We wanted our staff to feel a sense of comfort and inspiration. After all, this is where they would spend the larger part of their day.” says Ravi. Uttara and Ravi’s vision was spectacularly brought to life by Note-D’s Smita Khanna and Hemant Purohit. A typical commercial office was injected with warmth and cosiness, usually missing in curtain-glazed aluminium and concrete buildings.

The architects strongly felt that the plan played a very strong, albeit subconscious, role to create this work space that’s reminiscent of a home.

Designing the overall layout was a bottom-up process where

Uttara’s work space is a reflection of her style, which brings clients fine bespoke invitations with a warm, personalised aesthetic that fuse contemporary and mid-century materials. furniture pieces came together to create a circulation pattern and segregation—team hubs, work nooks, brainstorming spaces, recreation zones, break-out corners and private desks—all visually part of the same dimension, but divided by fabrics, glass and a porous library unit.

Uttara’s work space reflects her style, which brings clients fine bespoke invitations with a warm, personalised aesthetic that fuse contemporary and mid-century materials. “I spend a lot of time thinking about the material itself. I like the feel of the paper, the design possibilities that the tactility of paper offers, the scope for play and artisanal work. Paper allows me to create art in a way that digital mediums don’t.” says Uttara.

Perhaps that’s one of the many reasons why her wedding invites tend to become keepsakes, lovingly displayed or carefully stored in the homes of her elite clients, which include the Ambanis, Jatias, Ruias and a few Bollywood personalities.

When you’re here, you can’t help but notice handpicked embellishments that add to beauty

of this work place. From splendid artworks by Raja Ravi Varma, Kishen Khanna and Manish Pushkale to African masks, an antique Dutch cabinet, a traditional munim’s desk, old illustrated French newspapers, a vintage Spanish clock and more.

Little wonder then as to why the Uttara Shah Bespoke Fine Invitations office is as eclectic as it is encompassing. You sense that each piece—no matter how large or small—has been chosen with discernment and love, the two qualities that are evident in every one of Uttara Shah’s limited-edition invitations.

At: Marathon Icon, 902, Lower Parel West, Mumbai – 400013.

For more information, visit uttarashah.com or call 022-40048864 for an appointment

SKYLIGHT

A townhouse in south Delhi’s Asian Games Village complex is transformed by Pankaj Vir Gupta and Christine Mueller—of vir.mueller architects—into a contemporary home for themselves WRITER SUNIL SETHI . PHOTOGRAPHER TOM PARKER

Above: The study is one of the private rooms in the house. The steel-and-rawhide chair is a Max Gottschalk design. The louvred teak doors were custom-built on site. The Underwood typewriter has accompanied Pankaj Vir Gupta, principal architect at vir.mueller architects, since his graduate school days in New Haven, Connecticut. The lighting in the lobby is by XAL, and the skylight was fabricated and installed

by International Glazing Technology. Facing page: The teak daybeds, designed by Gupta and Christine Muellerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;his wife, also a principal architect at the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are upholstered in contrasting tones of linen. The print on the wall is by American artist Josef Albers, and the lamp is by Flos. The engineered-wood floor by Options Unlimited is composed of walnut planks. The ceiling is exposed concrete with board-formed timber planks. Previous spread: Gupta and Mueller wanted the staircase leading to the terrace to be lighter, and chose treads in diamond-plated industrial steel. Gupta designed the red-and-black sculpture, inspired by Albers, in powder-coated steel.

On the main living room wall are four lithographs by South African artist William Kentridge, purchased from an art gallery in Mumbai; the standing lamp is from Artemide. The aquamarine Murano glass bowl sits on a coffee table in steel and oak, designed and fabricated by Gupta and Mueller. The walnut-and-bentaluminium chair is by Emeco, and the Kashmir silk rug is a family heirloom. The lime-plaster wall finish is custom-mixed in a shade of thandai or mint. Facing page: The dining table and chairs in German steamed beech wood were designed and built by Gupta and Mueller. The wall is hand-plastered in deep indigo. The stair rails were fabricated in steel tube with a polished teak banister.

Above left: The wall mural in the guest room was painted by Gupta, as an ode to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lived and taught architecture. Top right: To assimilate into the vocabulary of the neighbourhood’s group housing, Gupta and Mueller developed a crushed stone “grit” finish, with the windows by Reynaers lined in Sadarahalli granite boxes. The inspiration was the colour and tactility of Indian elephants. Above right: The sculpted mass of the house was designed for the terraces and balconies to blend into the urban foliage, a hallmark of the neighbourhood.

A

fter many years of studying, teaching and practising architecture in America, Pankaj Vir Gupta and his Germanborn wife Christine Mueller, decided to relocate to New Delhi, start life afresh and raise a family. It was the high noon of Manmohan Singh’s premiership and the mood was buoyant. When the question arose of where, and how, to find an abode in the vast metropolis, the answer turned out to be simple—using search engine maps to locate themselves near his parents, both architects themselves. Gupta spotted a green lung in south Delhi; a large complex built to house athletes for the Asian Games in 1982 by architects Raj Rewal and Kuldip Singh and landscape designer Mohammad Shaheer. They rented a flat there “and for a year” he says, with sardonic, selfdeprecatory humour, “we gazed at each other over our laptops hoping for work.” And so was born vir.mueller architects, a firm that today lists a wide-ranging portfolio of buildings both institutional and residential—from a mining research institute and community toilets in Rajasthan to the University of Chicago Center and the ongoing Humayun’s Tomb Museum in Delhi. Gupta oversees the projects with muscular intellectual pursuits. He teaches at the University of Virginia and has lately co-edited a monumental volume on New Delhi’s urban ecology focused on the future of the historic but polluted Yamuna river.

SHIFTING GEARS Two happy additions also came along with their transfer to Delhi, a son and daughter, now in their pre-teens—and a larger home was needed. Some years earlier, Gupta had renovated a townhouse for his parents in the same precinct. And when, in 2017, the adjacent house—three floors plus a basement, some 3,200 square feet in all— came up for sale, it was impossible to resist.

Most things were wrong with it. Shabby and rundown, the grit-finished exterior was cracking, and the rooms were poky and dark, with a pointless open-air shaft running from ground level to the top. As parents and professional partners, Gupta and Mueller had a dual role. “The design process was very much an evolving dialogue,” says Mueller. “While we agreed on the big gestures and edited each other’s suggestions, the children had strong opinions regarding their rooms. They each produced a whimsical drawing with expectations for their rooms. Our son desired a ‘peek hole and reading nook’ while our daughter insisted on a reading loft, which we incorporated above her closet.”

A husband-wife team can prove both consonant and contentious, especially when, as Gupta likes to point out, Yale and Harvard, where they respectively schooled, have a distinct ethos in training architects. Over the years, however, in America and India, they have arrived at unities that encompass design, implementation, drop-dead deadlines and budgets honed to precision.

Amazingly, the Gupta-Mueller family home—completely gutted internally and with the exterior resurfaced in grey-beige grit “like an elephant’s skin”—was completed in eight months flat with a hawk-eyed attention to costs. It is an exceptional exercise in modernism that celebrates “quintessential mohalla living, rubbing up against neighbours around communal courtyards,” says Gupta. The

couple are eloquent about their modernist interpretation of an inner-city haveli. Gupta imagined it as “a vertical street with no corridor and rooms that retained privacy without unnecessary walls”. Optimizing space meant qualifying it with light and colour so that the house “cascades from the rooftop garden down to the ground floor living and dining areas.” Adds Mueller: “We didn’t want the split-level configuration for the townhouse to result in disconnected environments. We used cut-outs, skylights and clerestory windows to create connections between rooms. This way, even if you are on a different floor, you have an overlap with a family member on another floor. While we all wanted our own spaces, we also wanted to ensure we overlapped with each other throughout the day as much as possible.”

STYLE AND SUBSTANCE For a place so contemporary in form, function and outlook, the Gupta-Mueller home, in its choice of materials and finishes, is imbued with tradition. Originality and economy are the keywords.

For instance, in the choice of stones—a milky pink quartzite from Madhya Pradesh for the living room floor, a deep grey marble from Rajasthan for the staircase, and Udaipur green and white marble in the bathrooms. “Nothing for more than `100 a square foot,” pronounces Gupta winningly. Now and again, though, they indulged, using high-quality Indian teak and pale Russian birch plywood for woodwork, and a German-made kitchen. “We contrasted these with very simple local materials for teak handrails, steel curtain rods and some furniture, reusing wood from concrete shuttering,” says Mueller.

Their unqualified triumph is a silky, luminous paint finish on the living and dining room walls. The shade in the living room is a pale cardamom—Gupta describes it as the colour of thandai—that gives the space a feeling of being encased in celadon; on the far dining room, it is the deep, glowing indigo of an Egyptian tomb. It is, in fact, a time-honoured lime plaster finish—a proportionate mix of gypsum, linseed oil and pigment—used in old palaces and havelis. A simplified form of araish or stucco work, the technique is nevertheless laborious and time-consuming. To choose the precise colour, Gupta-Mueller created a grid on a wall surface, a sort of graded shade chart. The mixture was then hand-applied in layers as many as five times, with intervening time gaps to dry them out. The final, iridescent effect took two months to achieve.

The house abounds in such examples of fine, innovative detail.

One is the irregular-shaped dining table of German steamed birch where, according to Gupta, “the life of the mind is lived”. Another is the staircase with its whimsical steel balusters complemented by a plain teak handrail. The divans in the TV lounge were of their design and covered in inexpensive export-surplus orange and grey linen to echo a Josef Albers poster.

Mueller defines the core of architecture as “cyclical and evolutionary, a contradiction that suggests that design is always ‘in process’. We are both observing and absorbing—light, shadow, colours and spatial sequences. Unusual spatial situations intrigue both of us.” Gupta underscores her belief in emphasizing that architecture must be “fearlessly fragile and elicit beauty from imperfection.” Despite its mutability, Gupta and Mueller have created a low-maintenance family house designed for longevity.

That, too, is the foundational credo of their architecture.

THE LUMINARY

Hervé Van der Straeten is a master of mix and match. His Parisian apartment—with 18th-century, Regency and his own Ming-inspired and signature pieces—is testament to his talent Writer & Producer CédriC Saint andré Perrin . PhotograPher Jérôme Galland

HervĂŠ Van der Straeten next to two Ming-inspired chairs that he designed, under a pair of 18th-century Japanese screens. Facing page: On one side of the living room, a mirror and stool designed by Van der Straeten face a chest of drawers from the early 18th century in lacquered wood, marble and bronze.

On the other side of the large living room, under the painting titled Officier de Cavalerie by RenĂŠ-George Gautier, a Louis XVI gilded wooden bench sits between Pierre Charpin side tables (for Ligne Roset); in front is a Van der Straeten coffee table. Facing page: In the small living room, in front of the sofa and the side tables designed by Van der Straeten, are a Pierre Charpin coffee table (for Galerie kreo), a Simone Crestani blown-glass fish (for Galerie Alexandre Biaggi) and a bouquet of flowers (Baptiste). On the wall is a painting by Daniel Arsham, and an 18th-century Swedish wall sconce in bronze.

In the dining room, a set of Andrea Branzi ceramics from the Sèvres–Cité de la Céramique museum is arranged on a gilded wooden Regency table (for Galerie Mouvements Moderns). The blown-glass vase is from the 1970s. On the wall is a painting by Chinese artist Mao Yan (Daniel Templon Gallery), and on the wall adjacent to that is a classic Jansen sconce.

On a Regency desk are a Van der Straeten ‘Élancée’ lamp, a Japanese lacquered box and a Simone Crestani blown-glass sculpture (for Galerie Alexandre Biaggi).

The armchair is Louis XV. In the corner near it is a Van der Straeten floor lamp and, on the wall, James hd Brown ceramic sculptures.

H

Hervé Van der Straeten is known for his graphic furniture—hyper-designed, strong and striking. His pieces are also, courtesy their execution, extremely refined. Patinated bronzes mix with the soft glossiness of varnishes, which are themselves punctuated by abstract marquetry. Whether they are mirrors, lamps or consoles, a type of visual tension always emanates from his compositions.

The interiors of Van der Straeten’s home embody the essence of his style, which is both complex and contradictory; modernist and timeless; refined and baroque; and calm and electric. His dining table is the perfect example of this.

Resulting from a stacking of mismatched cubes of meerschaum and stainless steel, it is perfectly majestic, and also appears to be on the point of collapse. Here, everything seems to be suspended—and a bit unreal.

With its three adjoining rooms overlooking the Seine, this 1,900-square-foot flat, located on the top floor of a 17th-century building on Île Saint-Louis, is marked with a timeless grace. The creamy white, water-green and pink-beige walls serve as the backdrop to a collection of strong furniture pieces and expressive works of art. “The purchase of an object always starts with an impulse. Afterwards, each new passion must be found a place. It is therefore necessary to marry these eclectic pieces that coexist in different universes, to find a balance. I detest uniformity though, and love to bring together seemingly contradictory elements: a delicate vase next to a brutalist sculpture; an antique furniture piece and a contemporary one; a large frame and a skinny lamp.

Contrasts bring musicality to an interior.”

In this flat that he shares with Bruno Frisoni, fashion designer and former artistic director of Roger Vivier, Van der Straeten nonchalantly mixes his own creations with 18th-century antiques, designer pieces by Pierre Charpin and Asian artefacts. The living rooms, bedroom and dining room are punctuated with lacquer boxes, bronze vases and Japanese screens. Lacquer work is a recurring motif in Van der Straeten’s pieces, and his series of one-off cabinets, tables and consoles made using old lacquered panels, are highly coveted by collectors. “I already had a number of items in my minimalist loft in Bastille. They take on additional significance in this 17th-century building. Ideally, if I could, I would love to move within Paris every five years. Each area has its own charm, its own colour, its own world and it’s great to be able to soak it in. A flat always corresponds to a specific moment in life. This is perhaps the reason why I like to see them photographed—to keep track of them as memories.”

In the bedroom, on the wall behind the bed is a photograph

by Massimo Vitali. The bedside table and lamp are by Van der Straeten. Facing page: In the dining room, a Simone Crestani blown-glass sculpture is placed on a Van der Straeten meerschaum and stainless-steel table (Galerie Alexandre Biaggi). The 18thcentury-style white lacquered chairs are upholstered in chocolate leather. The metal sculpture in the background, titled Un Rocher, is

by Pierre Malphettes. On the mantelpiece, a collection of minerals is interspersed with orchids, and a Van der Straeten ‘Épines’ lamp.

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Y A R

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A view of the expanse of the Maddison residence, built by architect Ini Chatterji. Through the day, the shadows of the louvred coconut-wood doors shift and overlap. At the furthest end of the ground floor is the patio; the staircase leads to the living room.

The furniture and accessories have been sourced from all over the country.

To the right of the living area are the kitchen and dining room. Facing page, top: Beyond the central stairwell is a seating area; a separate staircase leads to the bedrooms on the top floor. Facing page, bottom: Most of the wooden furniture has been locally made in Moira, a village in Bardez, Goa.

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I

ni Chatterji is not an early riser and my proposal to visit him at 9am on a Sunday morning was met with pronounced reticence. I was naive enough to imagine it would have impressed him—my wanting to see his most recently completed commission, the Maddison residence, at the slightly delayed crack of a Goan dawn. We settle on 11.30am. He texts me a three-word address and a location pin: “Ice factory, Olaulim”. I assume it is a landmark to anchor my journey through the winding interiors of the quiet village neighbouring the better-known Aldona in the region of Bardez. “Are you across the factory or behind it?” I try to confirm with Chatterji over the phone as I make my way through the final stretch of the circular road in Olaulim. “I’m at the ice factory,” he says.

COCONUT REPUBLIC Chatterji greets me in the parking area of this rather expansive property that includes the ice factory where he used to live when he moved from New Delhi to Goa, around the end of 2006, but has since been converted into a workshop. He now inhabits a structure, which, on paper, cannot officially be termed a house. “If I bring the chief engineer here and ask him: ‘Do you see a building in front of you?’ He will have to say no,” says Chatterji, who had started to build this as a home for his mother around 2009, but took a two-year break after she died in 2013. It was in 2009 that he began experimenting with locally available coconut wood, and envisaged a structure that could serve as a laboratory to test its versatility and durability. Coconut wood, he learned, had deep caste connotations. “You’ll never see a Brahmin house using coconut wood,” he tells me. While building the Maddison residence, he had to source the wood from Kerala, because the sawmills in Goa (“at least in the north”) are operated by Gujaratis who refuse to allow the “lower-caste wood” into their premises.

It has been nine years since then, and while Chatterji’s house still doesn’t fit the definition of a building, it has become the subject of great pride for the village—because of its ambitious exploration of coconut wood, making it something of a cross between a tree house and a sprawling houseboat. “With my design, what you see is what you get,” Chatterji says, a comment that summarizes the conceptual underpinning of his architectural aesthetic. He describes the wall-less structure as a “work-inprogress”, one whose possibilities are still being revealed.

As we soak in the early afternoon sun, it becomes clear that this is not a house that revels solely in morning light, or in the romance of the magic hour. It dialogues continually with the elements, compelling you to engage with the environment around it. “There’s no scope for depression in this house,” Chatterji says, as he leads me on a walking tour of his sunlit bedroom. The king-sized bed rests against a closet space, leaving enough room on both sides for a spacious walk-in, door-less bathroom.

MODEL HOME Chatterji’s “in-progress” home was the prototype for the 900-square-metre Maddison residence that was completed in 2014. The owners, Richard and Catherine Maddison, had bought a patch of land atop a hilly portion of Carona village in Aldona, and had envisioned a series of cascading, six-bedroom villas with an outdoor pool. Chatterji, who doesn’t believe in selling 220

predesigned “projects”, came recommended to them by an artist friend. “I chose you because I liked you,” Catherine tells Chatterji candidly over pre-lunch cocktails at their residence later that afternoon. “It was intuition,” she adds as she sips a glass of Chardonnay.

Before we’d headed here, Chatterji had confessed that his strategy during his first meeting with the Maddisons was to suggest to them the possibility of an alternative lifestyle. He did this subtly, by asking the couple to provide an illustrated brief depicting how they would ideally like to live. “He made us create a whole lookbook with collaged images of all our preferences.

Then he just did what he wanted,” Richard says.

It is 35 degrees Celsius outside, but we seem to need nothing more than a single pedestal fan. When the oldest of the Maddisons’ three children enters the room, Chatterji asks him what his classmates think of the house. “All my friends ask me how it’s possible to live in Goa without air conditioning,” he replies. When I ask Richard if he’d ever inhabited a house without walls before, he guffaws a self-explanatory—“I’m from England!”

The louvred coconut-wood doors that mimic the structural integrity of walls are totally collapsible, which means the entire home can be opened up to reveal the deck-like balcony whose front view reveals a horizon that includes Chorao island. “This house is an object meant to just land on the terrain with minimal impact,” Chatterji says. The six-foot-plus-deep pool doesn’t use a drop of the village’s water supply, and the solar panel fittings ensure there is no strain on electricity. It is all about aerodynamics, or what Richard is quick to acknowledge as Chatterji’s use of the Venturi effect—which ensures the house is always well ventilated. “During construction, there was one rainy day when the water gushed in and we thought, ‘It’s never going to work’,” Richard says. “But now, thanks to the roof, even in the monsoon, the rain doesn’t come in, and you get the best of the breeze,” he continues. Chatterji adds, “When it’s raining, there’s dead silence. You can see it falling but what you can hear is the distant rustling of bamboo. You feel the wind because there are no walls.”

Building the house was certainly no mean feat, I am repeatedly told, especially when the family was short on funds.

One rough patch was remedied by Catherine taking over as the contractor, thus cutting costs after the family had to move into the house prematurely in 2013. In another instance, Chatterji got every family member to renew their emotional investment in it by having them imprint their hands in the cast concrete slabs supporting the staircase, making of it a ceremonial gesture and a homage to the collaboration between architect and client.

“Everything went smoothly after that,” says Chatterji.

It occurs to me that despite the fact that this multi-storeyed structure was inspired by Chatterji’s own, it is custom-built—in that it mirrors its owners’ magnanimous, warm-hearted personalities. Chatterji is quick to acknowledge the bravery implicit in Richard and Catherine’s acceptance of his subversive dismantling of the notion of walls as a definitive feature of a home.

Richard prefers the verb “yielding” to describe the family’s spirit of surrender to Chatterji’s designs. “The keyword is joy. Is the house capable of providing joy? That’s my acid test.” Richard chimes in.

“At all times of the year, you’re in touch with every season. That’s what makes it so successful!”

Above: A single fan is all thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s required to ventilate each roomâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; not just here in the master bedroom, but the entire residence. The carpet was picked up in Rajasthan. Right: Chatterji at his own home in Olaulim. Left: One of the challenges the architect faced was incorporating his facility with cast concrete with his recent experimentation with wood, using both materials in cleverly structural ways, without compromising on their individual aesthetics.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can see [the rain] falling but what you can hear is the distant rustling of bamboo.

You feel the wind because there are no walls.â&#x20AC;? ~ Ini Chatterji

A concrete bridge leads to the Maddison residence, adding to the feeling of entering a structure that seems like a hybrid between a tree house and an enormous houseboat.

Left: The more-than-sixfoot-deep pool is usually replenished with harvested rainwater. Above: The home occupies an understated presence in its environment.

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From the outside, the structural integrity of the Maddison residence is more evidently revealed, particularly the tiered nature of the roof. One level keeps rainwater from entering inside, while the higher extension absorbs the sound.

C A SA M I N O T T I

As Minotti celebrates its seventh decade of producing understated yet iconic Italian design, takes a behind-the-scenes peek at the house that founder Alberto Minotti called home Writer Divya Mishra 224

PHOTOS COURTESY MINOTTI

An ‘Onion’ lamp by Verner Panton for Verpan sits on a ‘Bellagio’ table by Gordon Guillaumier for Minotti at the entrance of this house designed by Gigi Radice for Alberto Minotti, the furniture brand’s founder. The bench is a ‘Smith Lounge’ by Rodolfo Dordoni for Minotti.

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The living room features a walnut hexagonal, coffered ceiling with a pyramidal dome. The central fireplace has a big diamond-faceted, hammeredcopper extractor hood. This socializing area was recently given a makeover that added new furnishing solutions, among which are a ‘Bellagio’ coffee table with a Calacatta marble top; leathercovered ‘Villon’ pouffes; two ‘Johns’ bookcases in ebony on the right; and, in the foreground, a black ‘Cesar’ accent table in structural polyurethane.

Above: The dining area features a Radice-designed walnut table surrounded by carved walnut chairs upholstered in a grey fabric. The chandelier by Venini is from the 1960s, and is made of upended hexagonal glasses to match the patterned ceiling.

Below: The relaxation and video projection area in the living room is demarcated by a walnut office cabinet. The ‘Jagger’ sofa in grey linen is from Minotti. Next to the sofa is a ‘Leger’ coffee table with a metal frame and a black-leather top, by Rodolfo Dordoni for Minotti. In the foreground are the ‘Capri’ pouffe and the ‘Bellagio’ table, both by Gordon Guillaumier for Minotti.

Facing page: Facing the relaxing area, the socializing area, based on an L-shaped layout, features a sofa in a sand-coloured linen; a ‘Nay’ coffee table by Rodolfo Dordoni; and a ‘Stylos’ floor lamp by Achille Castiglioni for Flos. The floor and walls are covered with an ecru wall-to-wall carpet and white linen respectively.

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he success of luxury Italian furniture brand, Minotti, can be partially credited to two serendipities—being in the right place at the right time. Founded in the city of Meda, Brianza, midway between Milan and Lake Como, it was natural that an industry would grow around supplying the surrounding area’s stately homes with the best craftsmanship the country could produce. Coupled with this was Italy’s post-war boom, during which the economy grew rapidly, turning a number of smaller crafts workshops into industrial-scale facilities.

One such workshop was set up by the Minotti family patriarch, Alberto Minotti. Papa Minotti wanted to keep his family close while he worked, and decided, in the early 1960s, to employ a then little-known local architect by the name of Gigi Radice to design both his factory and family home. In Radice’s work were echoes of another great master of Italian design—Gio Ponti. Both had a razor-sharp understanding of technique, and both were offbeat thinkers—but Radice was also from Brianza, a fact that possibly endeared him to Alberto.

Alberto’s brief for his architect was concise; he wanted a home that showcased both the classic and the contemporary. Radice’s design for the home—whether out of gratitude at the opportunity, or just love for the work— was astounding. He fused together the best of Italian craftsmanship and style (which would later come to be recognized as Minotti trademarks)—two aspects that ensured that the home would remain relevant even decades after it was built.

GENERATION NEXT Alberto’s son, Roberto, now lives here with his family. “Even today, the house reflects taste, style and personality, while truly responding to the needs of those who live in it,” he says. The home is tastefully furnished in classic Radice style—quiet, understated and technically brilliant, but never so imposing as to be intimidating.

Radice’s devotion to framing and material are evident at the entrance itself. A flight of stone steps, flanked by foliage, leads up to the front entrance—an elegant doorway in warm honey-toned wood and cinnamon-coloured floor tiles. Past the doorway is the beating heart of the house—the massive living room, with a hammered-copper fireplace hood suspended from a honeycomb-patterned walnut ceiling. It seems built specifically for evenings with family, and Roberto confirms that it is. It is also his favourite part of the house. “It takes me back to the most significant moments shared with my family,” he says. The space’s four distinct areas—a reading nook, one for lunch, one for relaxation and one for music—blend into the whole and ensure that its residents can participate in different activities while still enjoying each other’s company.

The family lives here all year round. In the summer, they gather on the patio and spend time in the garden. Winter, though, is when the house truly comes into its own. The big fireplace is lit and everyone gathers around to talk, play, eat and watch television. It is the quintessential Italian family scene, almost cinematic in its setting—unpretentious, and infused with warmth, beauty and a deep respect for tradition.

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THE Laura HAMILTON APARTMENT

ALL PORTRAITS OF LAURA HAMILTON COURTESY STUDIO MALABAR

REIMAGINING HER MUMBAI APARTMENT IN CONTEMPORARY STYLE

When the Canadian-born Laura Hamilton arrived in Bombay in the 1940s, she was a mystery. And she remained so. Beginning as a soprano, the lady of great style went on to open Malabar, an influential interior design boutique within the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

Living next door, in a grand suite at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, she became known as a cult-status tastemaker, with a sophisticated eye for beautiful objects. Based on archive images from the 2013 Pundoleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s auction catalogue of the contents of her apartment, as well as first-person accounts from the people that knew and worked with her, reimagines her apartment in contemporary style, and adds masterpieces from DAG into the mix. This is our tribute to the legend of Miss Hamilton.

PHOTOGRAPHER PRASAD NAIK . STYLIST SAMIR WADEKAR

Register at adindiadesignshow.in

From left: ‘96871’ curtains from the Sheer Lounge collection, Skipper Furnishings. ‘LC7’ swivel chairs by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand from Cassina, Poltrona Frau Group. ‘Ostrich’ side table by Bespoke Home Jewels by Minjal J, The Charcoal Project. Antique brass Nandi, Studio Malabar. Plants, Vriksha Nursery. ‘Shining’ baskets (with plants), BoConcept. ‘Attica’ sofa, The Charcoal Project. ‘Avalon’ pillow, Hermès. Untitled 2 (centre) framed artwork (fused plastic bags, acrylic colours) by Aaditi Joshi, framed artworks (watercolours and ink on paper) from the Transition series by Vishwa Shroff, all TARQ. ‘Eden’ (66514-40) rug from the Abstracts collection, D’Decor. ‘Butterfly’ centre table, Baro. Chinese glazed pottery wine jar, Studio Malabar. Emerald coffee-table book by Thames & Hudson, CMYK Book Store. ‘Pear’ crystal vase by Moser, The Silver Room. Martaban jar (brown), Studio Malabar. ‘172S’ stool, Sarita Handa. ‘Threaded Panel’ divider, Aesthetics. Teak two-seater and armchair with steel details, Pooranawala. Sideboard with inlay pattern, Defurn. (On sideboard) Ruby coffee-table book by Thames & Hudson, CMYK Book Store. ‘Foo Dog’ ceramic sculpture in the Tsang style, Royale Treasures. ‘Provence’ green bottle by Dogale, The Silver Room.

Table lamp with vintage baluster base and georgette shade, Studio Malabar. ‘Lotus Leaf’ (dark-bronze finish) wall panel, Viya Home. ‘Jalis’ centre table by COR, Plüsch Living. Kashmiri (left) and Turkish rugs, vintage south Indian brass lingam (large) and vintage plate, Studio Malabar. Understanding Jewellery and Patterns of India coffee-table books, CMYK Book Store. Antique brass mukhalingam (small), Phillips Antiques. Marble finial, Kavita Singh Interiors. Bhuta bronze torso (on stand), Moorthy’s. Untitled (1966) and Untitled (Group of Nudes) (1973) ink-on-paper artworks by FN Souza, DAG. Art deco bar trolley, Pooranawala. ‘Corky’ glasses by Muuto, Angel Ventures. ‘Arezzo’ decanter, matt-finish bowl and tray, Trésorie. Dutch carvedebony box, Mahendra Doshi.

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In foreground (from left): Oriental cabinet, The Raj Company. Fern, Vriksha Nursery. Vintage brass planter (with fern), Phillips Antiques.

Antique Chinese green jardinière, Phillips Antiques. Mediterranean amphora on stand, Mahendra Doshi. ‘Emerald Accent-7509’ wall paint, Asian Paints. ‘Chair 14’ dining chairs by TON, Kala Ghoda Moderna.

‘Metro’ wall lights, Essajees. ‘Jelly Fish’ side tables by Bespoke Home Jewels by Minjal J, The Charcoal Project. ‘Viva’ green vases, BoConcept. ‘Gap’ dining table, Rubberband. (On table) ‘Large Leaf’ silver bowl, ‘Luigi XV’ cutlery by Greggio, ‘Lancelot’ wine glass by Moser, all The Silver Room. ‘Ketak’ place mat, MUJI. Green plate from the Mori collection, HIIH. Grey dinner plate by Rayden, ‘Heads Face’ white ceramic pieces (in plate and silver bowl) by Claymen, Clove.

In the background: ‘Arc’ angular floor lamp, Script. Blue-and-white ceramic stool, Kavita Singh Interiors.

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‘D1790/2A’ curtains from the Samsara collection, Dreams Furnishings. ‘Jessica’ chair with gold frame, Blue Loft. Plant, Vriksha Nursery. Untitled (2005) ink and dye on handmade paper by Sohan Qadri, DAG. Art deco bed, Phillips Antiques.

‘Marsala’ pillow and bedcover, ‘Yahi Claret’ cushion, ‘Flamingo’ bedcover, Atmosphere. Brass trunk, Ironworks. Chinese ginger jar, Studio Malabar. Savile Row and Asian Jewellery coffee-table books, CMYK Book Store. Cloth-bound classic novels by Penguin Books, Ikkadukka.com. ‘Marine Drive’ side table, Viya Home. ‘Lingam’ candle, Design Temple. ‘Standing Loop’ floor lamp, Arjun Rathi. Gilded oval mirror, Taherally’s.

‘Wire’ chair, Rubberband. ‘Cavaletto’ desk by Franco Albini for Cassina, Poltrona Frau Group. (On desk) Box, Le Jahaan.

‘Repeat’ clock, BoConcept. Lapis photo frame by Bespoke Home Jewels by Minjal J, The Charcoal Project. ‘Lime Basil and Mandarin’ body crème (jar) and hand-and-body lotion (pump), Jo Malone London. ‘B2002’ eau de parfum by Coach, Parcos. ‘Twist’ vase by Moser, The Silver Room. ‘Mirror Ball’ marble mirror, BoConcept. Acrylic single-drawer unit and hair clips, MUJI. Sterling-silver hammered box by Greggio, The Silver Room. ‘Wild Bluebell’ cologne, Jo Malone London.

(On floor) ‘Panjurli’ boar head, Kavita Singh Interiors.

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‘96871’ curtains from the Sheer Lounge collection, Skipper Furnishings. ‘LC7’ swivel chairs by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand from Cassina, Poltrona Frau Group. ‘Ostrich’ side table by Bespoke Home Jewels by Minjal J, The Charcoal Project. Antique brass Nandi, Studio Malabar. Plants, Vriksha Nursery. ‘Shining’ baskets (with plants), BoConcept. ‘Eden’ (66514-40) rug from the Abstracts collection, D’Decor. ‘Butterfly’ centre table, Baro. Chinese glazed pottery wine jar, Studio Malabar.

Above left: Untitled (1966) and Untitled (Group of Nudes) (1973) ink-on-paper artworks by FN Souza, DAG. Teak armchair with steel details, art deco bar trolley, Pooranawala. ‘Corky’ glasses by Muuto, Angel Ventures.

‘Arezzo’ decanter, matt-finish bowl and tray, Trésorie.

Dutch carved-ebony box, Mahendra Doshi. ‘Jalis’ centre table by COR, Plüsch Living. Turkish rugs, vintage south Indian brass lingam and vintage plate, Studio Malabar.

Understanding Jewellery and Patterns of India coffeetable books, CMYK Book Store. Above right: ‘Bondo Fossil’ fabric curtains, Iqrup+Ritz. Oriental cabinet, The Raj Company. Vintage brass planter (with fern), Phillips Antiques. Fern, Vriksha Nursery. (In cabinet) Vintage celadon vase, Phillips Antiques. Vintage brass tiffin boxes, Peacock Life. Mediterranean amphora (on stand), Mahendra Doshi. ‘Gap’ dining table, Rubberband. ‘Chair 14’ dining chairs by TON, Kala Ghoda Moderna.

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Top left: ‘Mirror Ball’ marble mirror, BoConcept. ‘English Pear and Freesia’ body crème, ‘Wild Bluebell’ cologne, Jo Malone London. ‘B2002’ eau de parfum by Coach, Parcos. Acrylic single-drawer unit and hair clips, MUJI. Sterling-silver hammered box by Greggio, The Silver Room. Above: Curtains made using fabric from the Origins collection, D’Decor. ‘Vyali’ antique wooden sculpture, Phillips Antiques. Bhuta bronze mask (on stand), Moorthy’s. Sofa, Mahendra Doshi. Centre table, Phillips Antiques.

‘Matisse 1’ (amber) ‘Matisse 2’ (amber), ‘Matisse 3’ (grey) and ‘India’ (light amber and copper) stacking vessels by Utopia & Utility, Spacio. Cloth-bound Persuasion by Jane Austen by Penguin, Ikkadukka.com. Diffused mild-steel suspended sculpture, Durga Gawde. ‘Fez’ stools, Rubberband.

Silver-plated leaf tray by Greggio, The Silver Room. ‘Coral on the Rocks’ ring (in tray), ‘Twist in the Tail’ brooch, Sapna Mehta. ‘Square It Up’ earrings, Hanut Singh.

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Vintage chairs, Phillips Antiques. French-style sideboard with brass elements, Taherally’s. Box with shells, Kavita Singh Interiors. Wooden vases, Red, Blue & Yellow. ‘F’ green vase by Dome Deco, Spacio. ‘Wave’ mirror by Bespoke Home Jewels by Minjal J, The Charcoal Project. ‘Persian Pillar Tabrez’ carpet, The Carpet Cellar.

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Kartell Shop in Shop New Delhi +91 9958492212 · www.iotafurniture.com · 1/45, WHS, Kirti Nagar · 110015 New Delhi

Above left: ‘Pompom’ woven chair, Script. ‘Tribal Balouch’ kilim, The Carpet Cellar. ‘Jade’ marble console, Kerf. Antique lacquer box, Phillips Antiques. Above: Untitled (1962) inkon-paper artwork by FN Souza, DAG. ‘L’Orro’ console, Magnolia. Chinese celadon vase, Royale Treasures. ‘Crust’ bowls, HIIH.

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‘Metro’ wall light, Essajees. Teak two-seater and armchair with steel details, Pooranawala.

Sideboard with inlay pattern, Defurn. (On sideboard) Ruby coffee-table book by Thames & Hudson, CMYK Book Store. ‘Foo Dog’ ceramic sculpture in the Tsang style, Royale Treasures. ‘Provence’ green bottle

by Dogale, The Silver Room. Table lamp with vintage baluster base and georgette shade, Studio Malabar. ‘Lotus Leaf’ (darkbronze finish) wall panel, Viya Home. ‘Jalis’ centre table by COR, Plüsch Living. Kashmiri (left) and Turkish rugs, vintage south Indian brass lingam (large) and vintage plate, Studio Malabar. Coffee-table books, CMYK Book Store. Antique brass mukhalingam (small), Phillips Antiques. Marble finial, Kavita Singh Interiors. Bhuta bronze torso (on stand), Moorthy’s. Untitled (1966) and Untitled (Group of Nudes) (1973) ink-onpaper artworks by FN Souza, DAG. Art deco bar trolley, Pooranawala. ‘Corky’ glasses by Muuto, Angel Ventures. ‘Arezzo’ decanter, matte-finish bowl and tray, Trésorie. Dutch carved-ebony box, Mahendra Doshi.

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PHOTO: TALIB CHITALWALA

Above: Customized monogrammed stationery cards and letterheads, Notesbydhruvco. Ceramic box with flower, leather box, leather-bound diary and desk pad, SIMONE. ‘Kharif’ soy candle, Shift. Left: ‘Sinus’ recliner with footstool by COR, Plüsch Living. Art deco wine-cooler stand, Pooranawala. ‘Raindrop Glass Leaf’ tumbler, Good Earth. ‘Crust’ bowl, HIIH. ‘Claudius’ teak angle bracket (left) and ‘Northbrook’ teak leaf bracket, The Raj Company. Vintage celadon vase, Phillips Antiques. Vintage Dutch plate, Studio Malabar. Antique brass Nandi, Studio Malabar.

Production: Bindiya Chhabria Photographer’s Assistant: Anand Wahane

For details, see Stockists 250|

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F

or me, Laura Hamilton embodied absolute, porcelainwhite elegance. I am not sure when I first saw her, but for years, she lived in a terrace penthouse apartment that belonged to my family; it is in the same building where I have my store—Villar Ville; she lived here before moving to her Yacht Club apartment. It is the third building down from Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Colaba. Since my father was in the navy, we sometimes lived on the floor below, and I would often visit see her with my mother.

The story is that Laura Hamilton moved to Bombay as a singer or came over on one of the cruise ships and never left. By the time I was aware of her, she had become the proprietor and style goddess of a store called Malabar, which was opposite the florist in the old Taj [before the new wing was added], roughly where the old Taj lobby is now—to the side of the grand staircase. She ran her workshop on the first floor of the building in which she lived. Everything that Laura did was something that she saw in her own particular way—as foreigners very often did at that time—while Indians were busy looking over the socialist wall and trying to be Western. Long before it became fashionable, Laura Hamilton paid weekly visits to Chor Bazaar where she found an array of exquisite antiques, ceramics, porcelain, furniture andpottery, odd pieces that spoke to her—screens, lamps or nutcrackers—which she hung on the walls, and all 252|

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kinds of wonderful, exotic things that must have travelled on the trade routes of the East. She put them together in her elegant, eclectic style. Her apartment extended out on to the terrace, and it was fully covered with mats, with blue-and-white chintz upholstery and coordinated—if not matching—porcelain lamps made out of Ming vases she found. The effect was tropical and very fresh and startling; it would have held its own even today, without the busyness of some of today’s designers where every square inch is covered in a mishmash, or the other cold extreme of modernity.

She even wore shorts that were inspired by the various prints she saw—patterned silk shirts with white trousers, slightly heeled chappals and a printed shirt, sometimes with matching scarves.

Everything she did, she sold in her boutique; everything was impeccably made, beautifully finished and became part of ‘Laura’s world’. She came here with two suitcases and reinvented her own tropical Euro/Indian/Asian style with what she found.

A couple of years ago, when I attended the showing of her estate, which was about to be sold, I left some bids, but I did not get a single piece. I think everybody who grew up in south Bombay knew Laura, or saw Laura, and valued the world she created and inhabited. One of absolute elegance.

She was with a gentleman from a top industrial family, and they lived as partners for life with elegant privacy.

M

uch like the eponymous Otto Preminger movie, the mystery of Laura lay in the stories around her. She was an enigma. She was fabulous. Everyone had a story about Laura. And I have my own.

She was always ‘Miss Hamilton’ to me. I first met her when I was around four, on one of my parents’ hunting trips to Malabar, her enchanting little shop, dotted with beautiful furniture and bric-a-brac, at The Taj Mahal Palace hotel. My parents were patrons who gradually became friends with Miss Hamilton. And, in a way, my orientation in decorative arts and collecting began with her.

I was 22 and she was 78 when I bought my first piece from Malabar. Miss Hamilton happened to be at the store and assisted me herself. She didn’t realize I was a second-generation Malabarphile she had once seen as a tot and I was too shy to mention my parents. With twinkling blue eyes that reflected her love for the Arabian Sea, she helped me bag my first pair of blue-and-white porcelain lamps for my apartment in New York at the time. “I like the way you look at things,” she said. “There is a madness in your eye—much like the madness I had when I was your age. Don’t let that ever leave you. That is what will make you a true collector!” Her words stayed with me.

This was her little way to encourage connoisseurship in the next generation.

I could see why she became the toast of the city’s culturati.

Miss Hamilton was one of the foremost collectors and restorers of period furniture, objets d’art and all things rare and beautiful that she gathered slowly from her trips to the byroads of Chor Bazaar (Mumbai), hidden hideouts in Jew Town (Kochi) and [other areas] across India. She knew how to sift jewels from junk. There was magic in her finish and you could instantly recognize the Hamilton patina. It was a French-polished finish born out of rigorous labour by highly skilled hands. That became her trademark. I once asked her what gave her finish its magical glisten, hoping to bag the secret. But I was looked through with a blind eye and complete disapproval. She was never going to let her secret out. Her things were like jewels; they sparkled. She was the lady with the magic patina.

I picked up scores of things from her—satinwood side tables lined with ebony, butler tables, chests, lamps, wooden statues, glass paintings and Chinese export porcelain—all of which she would secretly get restored by her old guard of loyal carpenters and polish-wallahs somewhere behind the Taj hotel, a place you wouldn’t find even if you ransacked the area.

Miss Hamilton will remain the high priestess of taste and the grande dame of Bombay, who really knew how to put a room together. And, of course, always a mystery.

Gaurav Bhatia, Managing Director, Sotheby’s India

I

t seems like yesterday that we began working with Laura Hamilton at Malabar, in Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace hotel (Sarita Goswamy joined in 1984, and Dimple Ahuja in 1992). It goes without saying that she left an indelible impression on our lives. Studio Malabar (founded along with Amit Ahuja) is our ode to a legend we were lucky to know.

Laura’s aesthetic evolved over the years, but what we loved about her approach was that although she kept up with the trends, she had her own sense of style. She made her suite at Mumbai’s Royal Bombay Yacht Club uniquely her own and layered it with well-loved pieces. It was a beautiful space to begin with—all huge ceilings, old-world arches and tall bevelled-glass windows with a view of the Arabian Sea. Laura made the most of these elements, opening up her apartment, breaking down walls and creating a free-flowing space. She used specially woven chattai blinds for the windows, with thin white gauzy curtains covering their entire length.

Old Persian carpets and Afghan dhurries were strewn over the floor and each room was painted a different colour—soft peach in the kitchen; deep green in the passage and entryways; dusty pink on the bedroom ceiling, with an off-white border; and wardrobe doors upholstered in a white fabric.

She had an abiding love for colonial-style furniture, vintage brass and Chinese and English porcelain. Each piece looked

like it belonged in its particular place, even the desk and chair upholstered in woven silks that stood in her passageway. It was all about fluid and moveable furniture in each room; she abhorred the structured, built-in variety. One thing that always stood out was that one focal piece designating that space as her bar or dining or living room. Every piece was sourced from old homes and palaces. In fact, her love for antiques was such that they were almost a living, breathing presence in her house; at times, she would even have conversations with them! She extended similar affection to her plants too. While the garden at her Marve bungalow was her pride and joy, her apartment had traces of nature, with flowers and cuttings from her [Marve] garden placed around it.

Laura was fiercely private and preferred intimate gettogethers, so the people fortunate enough to see her home were limited to close friends. Our fondest memory is an evening at her suite with our familiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;bite-sized pizzas served on vintage silver platters and crystal goblets of wine and sherry. Even the tea was served with immense panacheâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in old English cups with lace serviettes, ginger biscuits, mini-toast and honey.

Her apartment was filled with what she loved (beautiful vintage objects) and embodied all that she was: stylish, warm, vibrantâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and ageless.

Sarita Goswamy and Dimple Ahuja, Co-founders, Studio Malabar

WILL YOUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANT MAKE THE TOP 50 LIST? VOTED FOR BY OVER 100 TASTEMAKERS ACROSS INDIA ACHINTYA ANAND KARTHIK GANAPATHI KARUNA EZARA PARIKH KEITH EDGAR NAKUL BHONSLE NIKHIL MERCHANT NISHAT FATIMA L NITIN CHORDIA AKANKSHA ARORA ABHIMANYU ALSISAR ABHIMANYU SINGH RATHORE ADITI VASU AMITAV GHOSH AMRITA GUPTA ANEESH BHASIN ANIRBAN DAS BLAH ANIRUDDHA PATIL ANISHA RACHEL OOMMEN ANN DOMINIC ANNAH CHAKOLA ANUBHUTI KRISHNA ARCHANA PIDATHALA ASHIS NAYAK ASHWIN RAJAGOPALAN ATUL KASBEKAR ATUL MALHOTRA AYSHA TANYA AYUSH KASLIWAL CHIKI SARKAR DEANNE PANDAY DEEP KALRA DR KIRAN LOHIA DR WASIM MOHIDEEN FAHAD SAMAR FATIMA GRACIAS DSILVA FIONA CAULFIELD GOPI KRISHNA KISHORE BYLUPPALA ISHETA SALGAOCAR JANICE PARIAT JAYANTI RAJAGOPALAN JIVI SETHI KADAMBARI KAPOOR KALYAN KARMAKAR KALYANI CHAWLA KANISKA CHAKRABORTY KAREN ANAND KARINA AGGARWAL LATHIKA GEORGE MALAIKA ARORA MALINI RAMANI MANGAL DALAL MANJU SARA RAJAN MARIA GORETTI MICHELLE POONAWALLA NAMRATA SRIVASTAVA NANDITA IYER NAVONIL DAS NEHA PRASADA NILANJANA ROY NIMMY PAUL NUR KAOUKJI POOJA MAKHIJA POORNA BANERJEE PRAMIT JHAVERI PRATIBHA KARAN PRATITI BASU PRIYADARSHINI CHATTERJEE PRIYADARSHINI NANDY PRIYANKA RAJA PURVA MEHRA RAHUL AKERKAR RAHUL BOSE RAJ MAHTANI RAJEEV SAMANT RAKESH RAGHUNATHAN REVATI UPADHYA ROOHI JAIKISHAN ROSHNI BAJAJ SANGHVI ROXANNE BAMBOAT RUPALI DEAN RUSHINA MUNSHAW GHILDIYAL RUTH DSOUZA PRABHU SAHIL KHAN SAMRATH BEDI SANAYA GHANDY SANJAY MANAKTALA SANJIV SHANMUGAM SEPHI BERGERSON SHAUN KENWORTHY SHAYAMAL VALLABHJI SHEETAL MUNSHAW SHILARNA VAZE SHOBA NARAYAN SHONALI MUTHALALY SHUCHIR SURI SHVETHA JAISHANKAR SONA BAHADUR SONALI SWAMI SONAM K AHUJA SOURISH BHATTACHARYYA SUCHITA SALWAN SUHEL SETH SUMANA MUKHERJEE TANIA FADTE TISHANI DOSHI VANDANA VERMA VIDYA GAJAPATHI RAJU SINGH VIVEK MENEZES WENDELL RODRICKS YASMIN KARACHIWALA

N E WS R E E L From the hottest products to the coolest launches, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the low-down on the latest in the market this season H A N D I WO R K

One of the leading carpet and rug makers in India, Hands is considered a purveyor of fine hand-knotted and tufted creations. The Amberlynn collection in bamboo silk (right) showcases luxury through understated elegance. The impressive pieces from the collection are recognized by their subtle, tone-on-tone colour combinations that enable them to blend seamlessly with both classic and contemporary interiors.

Hands also offers bespoke services enabling one to completely customize a carpet in size, form and colour. (handscarpets.com)

I N N OVAT I N G TR ADITION

At EuroCucine 2018, held during Salone del Mobile, 120-year-old German kitchen brand Häcker presented a series of state-of-the-art innovations, versatile systems and minimalist designs. The main features of these kitchens are new fronts, worktops and base cabinets with ceramic surfaces, functional novelties across surface areas, handle-less shutters and cabinetry. (haecker-india.com)

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ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

From architects to interior designers, The List is an indispensable directory for every home decor solution.

Search by service and location at architecturaldigest.in/the-list

PHOTO: ASHISH SAHI

Want to be on the list? Write to thelist@condenast.in

TUR NING THE TA B L E S

Founded by Ayush and Geetanjali Kasliwal, Jaipur-based Anantaya retails home-decor products showcasing Indian craftsmanship. The ‘Kalam-Vann’ table (left) is a reinterpretation of wooden lacquer trays used in Indian kitchens.

This hand-turned wooden tray with detachable metal legs features a handpainted base, inspired by a forest scene and made using traditional Rajasthani miniature painting techniques. This range of tables was awarded the UNESCO Seal of Excellence in 2016. (anantayadecor.com)

N AT U R A L O R I G I N S

Founded in 2016, Jaipur-based Fanusta is a design studio that works directly with craftsmen and enterprises across India.

With the intent of keeping traditional art forms alive, Fanusta has curated an eclectic range of decor accessories and furniture that make for fitting additions to contemporary spaces. The Rustic Charm collection (right) is an assortment of pieces that showcases materials in their natural forms. (fanusta.com)

ROCK THE LOOK

Fabindia is one of India’s largest platforms for products that blend traditional Indian techniques and handicraft processes with contemporary designs. The Daksh glazed-stoneware collection (pictured) is inspired by the conventional Indian thali. Stackable and multifunctional, the collection features a range of platters, bowls and mugs.

The pieces are also available on the brand’s website. (fabindia.com)

M A G I C A L W E AV E S

From the classic to the contemporary, Cocoon Fine Rugs is renowned for its diverse range of hand-knotted creations.

The Alchemy collection is an ode to modern paintings and cutting-edge graphic design. The collection is made using the finest handspun wool decorated with silk accents. The unique mix of textures in distinct layers creates compelling visual depth. With intricate detailing being the most prominent feature, the rugs can take from a couple of months (for the smaller pieces) to over a year (for the largest) to weave. Cocoon Fine Rugs has stores in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. (cocooncarpets.com)

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ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

Condé Nast’s Alex Kuruvilla Guests enjoying the match at The A Chivas Regal 18 Gold Signature

Rahul Bose Minissha Lamba Theron Carmine DeSousa, GQ’s Che Kurrien, AD’s Greg Foster

The Audi A5 and S5 display

VIVE LA FRANCE!

WHAT: GQ GENTLEMEN’S CLUB WHERE: THE A, MUMBAI The city’s football buffs congregated at The A, a private member’s work and leisure club, to watch the FIFA World Cup 2018 Final. Replete with good food and free-flowing drinks, the evening was charged with animated chatter and cheers as France beat Croatia to claim the FIFA trophy.

Pooja Sharma, Nikhil Bajaj

Rahil Ansari, Narendra Kumar Robin Singh at the Hugo Boss display

Purab Kohli Ramya Raghavan, Priya Grover

GQ’s Almona Bhatia, Kshitij Saxena

Shenaz Treasury Diva Dhawan

AD Singh, Sabina Singh

The Etihad Airways display

Romil Ratra

MOOD LIGHTING

The pioneers behind India’s most effective LED lights, Svarochi transforms your home by creating ambient light that can change according to your mood. From soft, dim tones to bright whites, the varied range is meant for all states of mind. The ‘Prime Flexi’ strip light (pictured) above the cooking panel can be fixed on any surface, with the double-sided tape on the back, making it ideal for coves and display units. The three Svarochi ‘Color and Daylight’ pendant lights (pictured) above the counter have app-operated LEDs that can be adjusted to one of 16 million colours and temperatures that range from warm to cool. (svarochi.com)

C U L I N A RY C O N C E P T S

N OW S T R E A M I N G . . .

German modular furniture brand, Nolte recently opened a 4,000-square-foot showroom (below) in Mumbai, featuring the latest international kitchens that were previewed at 2018 Salone del Mobile.

Located in Worli, the multi-level space is the 15th Nolte studio in India. The brand has also partnered with German makers Bosch, Häfele and Siemens to cater to consumer requirements for home appliances which can be paired with their kitchen concepts. (nolteindia.com)

With a thickness of 1.5 millimetres, Häfele’s ‘Neptune III’ slim shower system (pictured) features 3-in-1 spray patterns—Rain, Mist and Cascade.

It delivers a unique showering experience by mixing water with air to produce a soft, refreshing spray.

With a sleek chrome finish, this sophisticated design is sure to create a one-of-a-kind bathing experience. (hafeleindia.com)

TRÈS CHIC

Somany Ceramics recently introduced the ‘Bastille’ cistern (above) to their French collection.

The stylish cistern is made from tempered glass with protective film, and can support up to 400 kilograms of weight, making it highly durable. The French collection has over 44 products, ranging from water closets and urinals to washbasins. (somanyceramics.com) 264|

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I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H

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10 KIRAN SHETTY

Favourite holiday destination: The one city I keep revisiting is Florence, Italy.

The most iconic light ever made: Achilles and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni’s stylish spin on a street lamp, the ‘Arco’ floor lamp from 1962, still shines the brightest for me.

Your favourite band: I really enjoy rock, and listen to Steely Dan on repeat.

One thing you never leave home without: My iPhone—for the music!

Your perfect housewarming gift: A bottle of Yamazaki whiskey.

An architect whose work you admire: I’m inspired by Pritzker laureate BV Doshi’s style and sensibilities.

A book you’re currently reading: I just started Why I Am A Hindu by Shashi Tharoor, and have not been able to put it down.

The first light you ever bought: ‘Margaret’ by FontanaArte— it is still one of my favourite reading lamps.

A piece of furniture that’s on your wish list: The 1956 ‘Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman’ is timeless.

A brand to watch on Firefly: Israeli brand Aqua’s sculptural designs are striking.

AS TOLD TO MAANYA SACHDEVA. PONTE VECCHIO, FLORENCE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. WHY I AM A HINDU COVER COURTESY ALEPH BOOK COMPANY. ‘MARGARET’ LIGHT COURTESY ARCHITONIC. AQUA COLLECTION COURTESY FIREFLY. ‘EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR AND OTTOMAN’ COURTESY HERMANMILLER.COM. BV DOSHI PORTRAIT: NEVILLE SUKHIA. ‘THE YAMAZAKI’ SINGLE MALT COURTESY SUNTORY.COM. iPHONE XS COURTESY APPLE. DONALD FAGEN (STEELY DAN) IN CONCERT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS. ‘ARCO’ LIGHT COURTESY FLOS.COM.

The co-founder of Firefly, a one-stop shop for lighting fixtures, Kiran Shetty is the brand’s designated ‘creative force’. With an uncanny ability to predict trends and a knack for curation, Shetty powers Firefly with his bright ideas. Here, he tells AD about the people, places and lights that inspire him

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THE MOOD: NIKHIL PAUL Metals, materials, forms, shapes and inspirations—that’s what the mood board at the lighting designer’s New Delhi studio, Paul Matter, is made of

Artworks by American artist Sol LeWitt—“I got interested in his work in 2016, which inspired our Satellite series,” says Nikhil Paul.

A silver-foil printed fabric by Datta, which was the initial inspiration for the textures in their collaborative project, the Overlay and Underlay series.

“We managed to get the fabric framed and put it up at the studio.”

The studio is dotted with prototypes of Paul Matter’s realized projects, including this first prototype of the sconce from the Satellite series. “We hang them up and live with them before we get to the final pieces.”

Doodles and drawings by Paul that explore some of the details of his products.

“One of the million sheets of doodles.

This one is a doodle of the Tantra collection that is yet to be realized.”

One of the photographs, taken by fashion designer Kallol Datta, documenting his collaboration with Paul, which he presented to the studio.

“I like collecting old artefacts in metal. This is a component of a missile that dates back to World War II.”

A blownglass bell from Belgium. “I collect antique glass pieces; this is one of them.”

“I started collecting crystals to explore interactions with light.

It wasn’t a successful experiment but now I have a collection of these.”

Brass balls in different finishes from the studio’s box of samples.

Paul’s latest possession—a limited-edition self-titled Ren Hang book.

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A sample from the studio’s explorations in leather. “I usually do not respond to colour well, but I find this indigo blue really exciting. It will probably soon surface in one of our pieces.”

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST|OCTOBER 2018

A 3D-printed prototype—“This is a miniature of one of the limited-edition pieces the studio is working on.”

“We have a lot of spheres in stainless steel at the studio. We sometimes use them as joineries and sometimes for proportions.”

TEXT: PALLAVI PUNDIR. PHOTO & STYLING: TALIB CHITALWALA.

A black marble lingam designed in 2015, one of the studio’s many explorations in stone.

“This is the famous Eames crow—one of my design crushes from my early days in college.”