Viya Home, New Delhi | Studio Lotus

The brief was to create a Gallery like shell to accentuate the natural finishes of the range of handcrafted products from across India and parts of South East Asia The 10 feet tall main door opens into a 4 feet wide passage which leads on to a space shaped like a 13 foot wide narrow corridor in an L-form. The concept treats the constraints of the space like an asset and heightens the linearity by not cutting into the height and using details that accentuate the length. There are no painted finishes in the store keeping in philosophy of the product with texture and monochromatic tones expressed by the nature of the materials themselves. Defined by a black sandstone Cuddapah wall upon entry and its central display unit of suspended concrete slabs, the store expands its space through mirrors and peripheral rigorous logic to explore and create displays. Surfaces gradate from the unfinished feel of the exposed roof slab to the textured one of cement, tissue fabric and white cedar wood to the smooth of glass, mirror and steel to reflective silica chips embedded in white cement. Lighting is carefully concealed at various levels, with warm accents focusing on the products lend the space a rich tone... Colour comes in the form of a burgundy transluscent photographic image of the store logo on the 10 foot high main door. The fluid composition of balance and transition within its minimal palette of materials, colours, space, opacity and light is what underlines the rigorous logic of the design.