Brand building through design

By Ar. Vinita Wagh

Photography: Ather; courtesy the architect

Read Time: 2 mins

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True to its name and comparable to a museum, the Ather Experience Centre at Chennai embodies a spatial design that forms an intrinsic part of the user experience.

The Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler company establishes its brand identity via the 3,800 sq. ft. space, manifesting a clean aesthetic through seamless tectonics, sharp lines and a muted palette. The design is evocative of a deep-rooted understanding of the product and reflects Ather’s design intensive innovation.

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The theme, inspired by a Creator’s Studio, composes an open layout relying on a progression of spaces to encourage exploration. Within a minimal grey shell, the spatial layout choreographs movement, structuring the expansive floor plate into distinct zones, facilitating interaction between the visitor and the brand through gallery spaces, discussion zones and initiation areas. Asserted through free-standing partitions and fins, these zonal divisions introduce a degree of visual permeability in the space without compromising on the intimacy of the scale.

Machinery components and models anchor the spatial narrative, with environmental graphics and digital displays sprucing up the space. Inside the entrance vestibule, Ather’s marquee product sits as a sculptural insert under suspended membrane lighting – an ambiance that lends visual drama through stark contrast while highlighting the product’s prominence as a core element.

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The vertical fins at the backdrop of the entrance vestibule – the ‘Ather Ecosystem’ – provide glimpses of the central space, building anticipation. Vertical louvers articulate the glazing along the store periphery, in-between niches doubling as shelves - reinforcing the inward orientation of the space by screening views to the outside. The suspended black metal framework for lights caps the ecosystem experience as a cohesive whole. On the periphery of this central space lie the meeting areas, and at the back-of-house the delivery pockets, away from visitor engagement. 

Through a spatial design that evokes a sense of journey, Studio Lotus shapes visitor interpretation of the space in subtle yet deliberate ways. 

Fact File:

Client: Sandeep Verghese, Ather Energy

Design Firm: Studio Lotus

Design Team: Ankur Choksi, Pankhuri Goel, Parija Chandra, Swati

Built-up Area: 3800 sq. ft. (Indoor + Outdoor)

Location: Chennai