PREFER A QUICK READ?
- December 26, 2020
- 7:39 am
share
PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS
Project Name : The Canvas
Architecture Firm : Studio PKA
Principal Architect : Puran Kumar
Project Team: Sonali Mehta, Nivedita Parab, Darshali Golani
Project Location: Marine Drive, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Year of Completion: November, 2019
Built Area: 2,500 sq. ft
Photography Credits: Niveditaa Gupta
Anchored peacefully within the anatomy of an Art deco building is a family property that takes inspiration from art and nature. The apartment serves as an idyllic vantage point of the Arabian sea, with multiple uninterrupted frames of just sky and water. Attempting to create an escapade for its occupants, the viscerally stimulating vibes of the city of Mumbai is perfectly lost from the property’s 3rd-storey location. With a stage set for calm and tranquility, ‘The Canvas’, very aptly showcases an intimate juxtaposition between art and architecture.
A veritable canvas of canvases, the apartment serves as a haven for art appreciation supporting the client’s avid interest in art.
In layout, the abode consists of a ‘L’ shaped spine for circulation which is flanked on either side by private/communal spaces. As one enters the house the passage appears sandwiched between a kitchen/utility on one side and a large living-dining space on the other. The passage is further partitioned off by steel-framed glass-panelled partitions that visually dissolve into the artful composition of the living-dining spaces and views beyond, still maintaining the visual connect. It is at the end of this passage that the private quarters of 4 individual bed and bath spaces begin to envelope along the edge of the property till the passage concludes. The central island of the layout is dedicated to services.
The art inspired network of spaces very tastefully celebrates the authenticity of natural materials, adding a bit of depth into its composition. Delving into the cold graininess of structural concrete members, the rough hewn earthiness of exposed brick and mortar walls, and the patterned veining of soft natural stone flooring, ‘The Canvas’ serves up quite a rustic appeal for its backdrop. An introduction of white washed walls, white ceilings, white natural marble creates quite an immaculate balance juxtaposed with raw textured surfaces. Wood accents are gradually introduced as one moves into the more private spaces of the apartment, instilling a warmer experience.
With large fenestrations veiling the edge, the strategic choice of materials acts as an influential device to the composition as it comes in contact with daylight, setting a choreographed ambience to showcase works of art. The communal spaces get radiantly revitalised as light bounces off white washed/marble surfaces onto the rougher textured surfaces, essentially bringing them into the spotlight. The intervention aptly leverages this unique effect of light and shadow to bring artworks to the fore. The apartment also manifests quite a dynamic appeal through the course of the day as varying light intensities and hues of the outdoors are reflected off its surfaces indoors. This creates a beautiful connect between the two realms, natural and fabricated.
The design execution of ‘The Canvas’ is a unique manifestation of how interior architecture can configure itself to present works of art in the most tasteful fashion. An example where one parallel of design can playfully shun away from the limelight to uplift another parallel of design. Magnetically drawing a person’s greater visual attention to the ‘pièce de résistance’ of the intervention, the art, creating an idyllic environment to experience art the way it should be.
Copyright © 2024 DSGN arcHive