Deesa, Gujarat 2016 – 2017
Saraswati Restaurant is an institution in the old town of Deesa. The story of its impeccable food reached far and wide, fueled by the fumes of bubbling puris in cast iron pots, and mouthwatering bataka nu shaak made from only the choicest of potatoes. For the past 50 years it has served the market town and its surrounding farmers a delectable set of dishes often at an astonishing rate of 3000 people per day in a space that seats 24 at a time. We helped them celebrate their anniversary by renovating their aging space.
In the spirit of their menu's streamlined simplicity, the design is anchored on a cleansing of the space, to create a single, open room where once there were two along a passage. To do this, a load bearing wall is replaced with a steel column and beams that that double as a junction for intermediate storage in service. The combination of increased occupiable volume with a robust, sturdy granite led to the blurred lines between definitive functions, and amalgamated a unison of storage within structure, furniture within space, food within sanctuary.
Now, as cartesian void, demarcated by stone, melts away to its fluid counterparts, the farmer still finds himself juxtaposed between the urban chaos of the abutting street and a place of appetising repose.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2014 - 2015
This bistro sits at the centre of Ahmedabad, in a busy university district. Located on the corner, this renovation was about transforming a dated café interior into a fresh new space that could carry intimate parties and large groups alike, with open framed shelves to mark cozy pockets. The major move was to bring the outdoor in, carried out through the removal of the corner walls to create a verandah, itself connected to the interior through a glass partition hidden in the shelves that organize the space. The language of the shelves, polished inside, is painted and carried out to the verandah, wrapping around a tight pocket in a bid to connect services and the bar to the outer edge. The shelves open at one point to allow the puncture of a wax polished, cast concrete bar that curves into the dining space inside.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat | 2014 – 2015
Amazo Bistro is an all day café and restaurant on the edge of Ahmedabad. The restaurant space occupies the corner ground floor of a building, with an adjacent area for outdoor seating. The building sits on the north side of a busy road that connects SG Highway to SP Ring Road, two major thoroughfares in the city. While the adjacent seating area could be a fantastic addition to the restaurant, and a great opportunity to bring the ambience outside, its drawbacks were that it perches on the edge of a busy road, and it is soaked in sun all afternoon. For us the challenge was to create an enclosure structure that extended the character of the interior space outside, but which also protected the exterior from noise and sun, all while feeling open and engaging.
For this we came up with a custom made vertical garden, formed from interlocked bent pipe mild steel frames, and anchored with a floating foundation of exposed concrete planters. The system had to be simple to construct and simpler to maintain, with robust plants to withstand the southwest sun. Each vertical frame stands on its own feet, weighted by its concrete planter. Neighbouring frames are interlocked with smaller, alternating mild steel pipes. These were welded together on site and tilted up into place. Then the concrete planters were placed inside and filled. The same interlocking pipes support a mild steel rod basket for ceramic pots which each hold a combination of upward growing and hanging plants that climb out of their perch to eventually camouflage the frame that supports them. The pots step back as they rise, pushing the overall centre of gravity toward the centre of the planter, and helping to stabilize the structure, even in high winds. A drip irrigation system runs along each pot, irrigating the plants while at the same time turning the whole screen into a wet, porous mesh whose evaporation cools the hot prevailing south-westerly winds that pass through it.
The planted frame both shades and buffers the outdoor space from sun and road, but this containment also draws the space into conversation with the restaurant inside. The language of the garden is reiterated in the stripped down, open interior, split with lightly framed shelving units that form intimate dining areas connected through a blur of lightweight wood, jars and glasses.
Photography credits: Sachin Bandukwala
Design Team: Melissa Smith, Sachin Bandukwala, Sam Stalker
Structural Consultancy: -
MEP Consultancy: -
Contractor: Hitesh Purohit
Carpentry: Mangilal
Fabrication: Sai fabrication
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2014
Set in an old market for textile offices, this project intervened in restoring a damaged concrete facade by translating the balcony requirement into a lighter, steel and aluminium cantilevered structure that still falls in line with its ageing neighbors. Inside the office, simple wood joinery and detailing resurfaces the space, and cleanly organizes the interior systems.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2012 - 2013
We renovated an ailing apartment to create a studio for a fashion designer, and adjoining gallery for traveling exhibitions. The split level of the apartment works to separate private working spaces from public gallery, which opens into a cozy garden that occupies the corner of the plot, nestled against the street. A limited color palette of materials accentuates the bright bougainvillea that surround the space.
Mumbai, Maharashtra 2012 - 2013
the renovation of a small apartment in an apartment building built in 1942 in South Bombay opens up a boxy 600 square foot apartment to create an open plan that pulls in dayligt from the perimter and cleverly inserts storage into all possible pockets.
Mt. Abu, Rajasthan, 2012
The renovation of a forty-year-old retreat in Mt. Abu takes on an aging, random rubble structure retained against a slope of stone.
Main strategies were to open the interior to the views, blur the scale of the structure with exaggerated railings and diversify the experience of varied zones within the house through the introduction of lightweight, indicative yet almost immaterial spatial divisions. Robust furniture was introduced with the intention to withstand , with minimal maintenance, the rough of use of many visitors.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2011 - 2012
Simple stone and wood balance the colorful gelato cases in these long skinny stalls around Ahmedabad. Designed for intense use, rugged stone benches with light cushions provide comfort on a clean cool surface.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2012
Tucked under an existing house, this office space takes advantage of the daylight with glass partitions and a fiberglass shade that wraps steel members to filter diffuse into the sitting are below.
Inserted into a lightwell, the stair makes the most of its dimensional constraints and works as entry and security. Each tread is suspended individually from the beam above and anchored to form a space under shelter but still outside. In the space itself, translucent cabinets mark the division of waiting and meeting, and the simple, clean surfaces are punctuated with colorful or antique embellishments.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2011
This delivery kitchen is designed for the brief waiting time to pick up take away orders. Frosted glass panels allow a fuzzy glimpse of the kitchen inside while a transparent glass connects the room outside. The remaining sides are coated with kadappa and 2 seats made from teakwood logs are perched to serve.
