SDA 2022 Entries

• Commercial Building - Buildings that are used for commercial purposes, and include retail, hospitality, workplaces, factories and warehouses and buildings where commercial services are provided. At least 50 percent of the buildings’ floor space will be used for commercial activities. 
• Public Building - Public Buildings used by the public for any purpose, such as assembly, education, entertainment, government, healthcare, transport or worship. This will also include civic centres, community centres, libraries, visitor centres, culture, health + wellbeing, faith, education, sports venues and stadia, transport, central + local government, entertainment and event venues

The design of Banaras, an Indian ethnic wear couture showroom, started with one common goal between the client and the architects – to emulate the traditions of India and recreate for the customer an all-encompassing experience of Indian craftsmanship in both clothing and interiors. The Interiors were kept simple and elegant so as to complement the products and not overpower them.
Starting with the most relatable aspect of Banaras – the ghats or stepped river bank – the space was perceived as an array of levels that created the illusion of traversing through the stepped streets of Banaras. Platforms of irregularly shaped polygons guided the way and doubled up well as display podiums creating the rustic semblance of the ghats. The customer is led along the clothes display to a steeply rising plinth that leads to a haveli jharokha (traditional windows in old courtyard houses) and the trial room. Two mannequins are propped in the store in a way to further accentuate the elements of the interiors. The first adorns the irregular platforms and sits like a bride in a veil and forms the first view at the entry of the store. The second stands at the elevated haveli plinth and serves as the highlight product display for the store. The podium also creates a viewing stage for the customer to model the garments and provides a lavish photo-op space framed by the jharokha, steps and a traditional dress mirror.
The materials used in the design of the store were kept simple in nature and were limited to rough Gwalior stone on the floor as well as the walls in order to celebrate the products working in contrast to the vibrant colours of the garments. Antique hand carved monolithic Gwalior stone columns were sourced and used to support the main display niches designed to look like the interior spaces of Rajasthani havelis (traditional courtyard homes in old Indian cities). The niches were adorned with traditional household objects and curios displayed on top of them and arranged with a deliberate casualness in order to exhibit a warm homely and cozy ambience to the store.
Various antique furniture pieces were sourced to add to the overall concept of a traditional Indian interior. An antique wooden window with wrought iron grill work was sourced and situated strategically as one of the show windows to look out onto the street creating a dynamic view both for the passers by outside as well as the customers inside the store. A mirror cabinet with ornately carved wood motifs was placed as a functional storage and mirror as well as a space dividing element creating a subtle break between the sari and anarkali sections of the store. The cash counter was envisioned as a traditional writing desk and customized to work as an effective POS station.
One of the most striking elements of the store was the main display show-window which carried an installation of charkhas – spinning wheels created in a way to exhibit the most essential ingredient of Indian handloom and craft - the 'thread' itself. Six yarns of white thread represent the essence of the weave and are used as an artifact on display. Charkhas of varying sizes are arranged along the display window and suspended from the ceiling at varying heights. The yarns adorn the wheels travelling from one to the other like a spinning loom chain and then travel along the ceiling for the length of the store terminating on the stepped display of the ghats and integrating the entire space.
In an attempt to create a flagship store and create brand recall value the branding and logos of the store were also incorporated into the interior design process of the store. The ambi element from the branding of the store name was customized and used as the door handle at the main entrance of the store. The handle, all signages and the logo crest on the exterior façade were cast in brass and treated to have authentic patina finish to go with the look and feel of the space.
The clients vision for the brand was to bring to the forefront the very essence of an 'Indian-ness' that would span across the overall impression of the brand. The retail space was completed in 2014 at an overall construction cost of INR 2,000,000/- (approximately USD 27,200).

The store is based on Indian-ness of material and product. So to showcase its ideology it was important to immerse a visitor in an Indian environment. Old north Indian cities and houses used stone in multiple forms. As a base material for steps, plinths, cladding, niches etc as well as heavily crafted elements like brackets, windows, trellises, columns. The stone used in the design of the store were limited to rough Gwalior stone (a sandstone from central India) on the floor as well as the walls in order to celebrate the products working in contrast to the vibrant colours of the garments. Antique hand carved monolithic Gwalior stone columns were sourced and used to support the main display niches designed to look like the interior spaces of Rajasthani havelis (traditional courtyard homes in old Indian cities).
The process of creating levels and steps in the floor is done with 50mm thick Gwalior stone, making edge details that resonate with streets in old Indian towns and havelis. The antique elements are merged through interesting joinery details with platforms and levels created from different thicknesses of stone. V-grooves are used in displays while projected nosings of 50mm thickness form the levels. A seamless blend of contemporary forms is married with old traditional carved elements to create an interesting ensemble where the material (gwalior stone) and its workmanship is the hero of the space.

The material used in Gwalior Stone sourced from southern Rajasthan. The antique stone elements were taken from old havelis of Rajasthan and Gujarat through collectors and sources that harness and reinstate old pieces of Indian craft from decrepit havellis or buildings being demolished. Other material included 20mm rough gwalior stone pieces for wall cladding and 50mm thick gwalior stone slabs for floor and steps. All the material was sources from stone traders from southern Rajasthan quarries through agents in Delhi. The ability to reuse stone elements from old architecture is an extremely interesting approach towards design. Highly specialised artforms like trellises, arches, columns can be reintegrated into modern construction to add both aesthetic as well as structural solutions. In a time when stone quarries are dwindling using old stone slabs and elements reduces the overall effect on the environment and leads to beautiful solutions of refurbishment and strengthening.
Further, all the furniture in the store was sourced from antique shops and collectors of old Indian wood crafts. A display window was designed which was a refurbished and refitted wooden frame from an old home made of hard wood and wrought iron, an antique cupboard for storage and an antique desk as the payment station. No additional or new wood work was done in the making of this store.All highlight design elements were refurbished and amalgamated with the design to create a store that was an example of refit and reuse.