By Savitha Hira
Photography: Santosh
Jadhav; courtesy INTERFACE
Mumbai-based Ar. Kunal Barve’s approach to design brings to the fore his uncanny sensitivity to the site and its inhabitants and his preoccupation with the minutest detail.
This plush apartment in an uptown Mumbai suburb bears the signature of both, the client’s and the architect’s synergies, building a subplot in the narrative of design. The 1800 sq. ft. spread that is home to a family man, whose embroidery business has him travelling widely to meet leading couturiers of the world, is a chic, eclectic mix of modern and period styles with an unmistakable ethnic touch.
So
we have a mix of sophisticated European accents vying for attention with exquisite
embroidery and passionately laboured detailing: like the handcrafted dining
table top with its gazillion precise squares of mother-of-pearl; refined embroidery
on the dining chairs; mix of glass and mirror that are designed to create a
distorted reflection in the sliding door that separates the living room from
the family den, a patchwork headboard vs. a plush leather one in the two
distinct bedrooms, a tilted lamp here, a cutwork bedspread, a fretwork panel
there…
These
various elements are stitched together like the characters of a storyboard, the
narrative interspersed with elements of intrigue and awe; yet all the time
maintaining balance of modernity, ethnicity, and comfort. There is glamour but
understated; there is chutzpah but affable; there is detail so enigmatic that
one is admirable of the efforts and feels pampered in the luxury without being
in awe of spoiling anything - one is at ease.
Kunal throws in a punch line with an unusual washbasin, where water spouts out from the top of a tilted mirror, underlining the fact that he resonates with his client, who is equally consumed by the finer points of good living.
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Eleven years in
practice, the architect is constantly evolving as he continues to chisel spaces
that “in the best cases are well-grounded in the context and community of their
places.”
wow that is absolutely creative and great pictures.. good to come across it.
ReplyDeleteHope to be in touch