Location: DLF Mall of India, Noida, India
Company (Client) Name: Shakuntlam
Special Furniture Credits: I’m the Centre for Applied Arts
Photography Credits: Saurabh Suryan, Lokesh Dang
Located in one of the largest shopping districts of Delhi-NCR, Shakuntlam is a celebration of the Indian festive clothing range. Conceptualised as an exclusive rustic and earthy designer store, it has been beautifully crafted in fresh ideas and striking interiors by RMDK Architects, representing an innovative and futuristic take on the sumptuous Indian heritage.
Shakuntlam is an ingenious play on the richness of traditional Indian design and the sheer simplicity of contemporary design; blended together in harmony with a bold, elegant, and exclusive spatial treatment. The entire space is an exercise in handcrafted contemporary luxury in wood, brass and cane achieved through a poetic juxtaposition of these textures and lighting.
The interiors follow a neutral color scheme in whites with fresh tones of wood that give the space a carefully fashioned minimal yet regal feel, thus ensuring the bridal wear garments on display shine through. A warm chequered stone flooring and wooden ceiling rafter beams with traditional wooden cornices add a certain chutzpah to this quaint store. Rough and polished wood is contrasted with accents of sleek brass fixtures for the display and storage systems breathing a new life into the space.
Every element for the interiors has been well thought out and painstakingly executed on site to emphasise on the effortlessness of modern Indian craftsmanship. Special attention has been paid to each and every minute detail, especially where different materials come together to create a seamless visual treat for the store visitors. Elements have been taken from the traditional architecture and embroidery patterns and reinterpreted into elegant patterns and installations for the store.
The feature display on the rear wall is a take on the act of sewing glass beads as a classical architecture column type shaped in wooden beads and held together with sleek brass pipes. Inspired embroidery motifs can be seen as minimal patterns in wood on the display units across the store and also as a stone finish wall cladding at the entrance. Cane, being a material inherent to the Indian culture has been used extensively, further complementing the principal language of weaves and patterns creating a highly sophisticated warm, cosy and welcoming atmosphere.
Shakuntlam, thus, defiantly goes beyond the expected to set a precedent for a whole new experience of the Indian contemporary by fusing the old with the new and the traditional with the local. It is a true example of simplicity being the ultimate sophistication.