When designing the lighting for Tote, AWA had numerous design discussions with the architects and while looking for an inspirational benchmark, we found an image of day light filtering through dense foliage. And that was it—we had a hook. Once the vision was clear, we had the creative courage to carry it through the entire process, refining and tweaking as we developed the design.
Tote is one of Mumbai’s hottest new restaurant, bar and banquet hall destinations. In the banqueting and indoor restaurant areas, white metal tree-mimicking pillars branch to the ceiling. The lighting strategy in this space is to use the architectural pockets of light to mimic lighting piercing through the foliage of the “trees” into the space. The bar area lighting strategy uses the double height space to highlight the faceted wood panel walls with shafts of daylight.