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14 ■ INSITE STORY ■ FURNITURE DESIGN14 ■ INSITE STORY ■ FURNITURE DESIGN

Furniture, quintessentially, is the most important component in a space, that renders it functional and lends it a certain character. Throughout history, furniture styles have developed with certain characteristics of form, shape and ornamentation. The modern-day designers are trying to create new forms, reinvent classics, and are also attempting a merger of both ends of the spectrum. This issue features furniture designers who have left an impact on a space through their explorations. Be it a residence, an institution, a retail space or an office, a myriad number of furniture design practices have made a strong impression with their projects and products.

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Catching him in the midst of his busy academic schedule at the National Institute of Design, we spoke to Pravinsinh Solanki, who turns heads on the design front with his design philosophies and innovative furniture and product designs full of grace, charm and meaning. Here’s a narrative of the conversation that throws light on Solanki’s metaphorical and multi-perspective stance on the emerging trends in furniture.

TEXT: Namrata ToraskarPHOTO COURTESY: Pravinsinh Solanki

Pravinsinh Solanki

“Have you heard about the rat-race of achieving a chair?” asked the bespectacled man from across the table. Comforting himself on the creaking chair that he was seated on, Pravinsinh Solanki adds with a smirk, “Every politician wants the chair, be it the President, the Prime Minister; everyone wants to be in an institute’s Director’s chair; even the poor wants the chair in the train compartment… But where is the chair and who is happy with having one?” According to him, a chair of any kind is accompanied with responsibility and power. But with this power, one loses the power of comfort. Due to this, he feels that the desire to achieve and own a chair in today’s age has disturbed everyone.

Drawing examples from the nomadic pastoralists, Solanki describes, “While travelling, the only object that pastoralists carry for their comfort is

FABLES OF CHAIR:A CONVERSATION WITH PRAVINSINH SOLANKI

a turban-fabric which they tie around their legs whenever they want to rest, and in the process, achieve the most comfortable posture that they desire. Also, when they want to sleep the same fabric becomes the pillow.” According to him, the fabric’s adaptability to nature and the comfort of the user was of prime importance and was achieved without any complications. Also, citing the example of the humble khaat, he points out at its efficiency in terms of the space-usage, both when in use and otherwise, and the ergonomic flexibility that it offers to the user. He also feels that most of the times when architects and designers make a chair, instead of focusing on the comfort of the humans, they just try to satisfy their own whims and ego. With the humongous number of chairs which are designed every year, he sensibly asks a critical question, “Does the world need another chair?”

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…when a majority of today’s architects and designers make a chair, instead of focusing on the comfort of the humans, they just try to satisfy their own ego...Does the world need another chair?

1-2. ‘Kidoo’ is a furniture for hyper active kids. The cycle seats revolves all sides and provide fun element other than a normal furniture.

Its fusion of bamboo, ms and cycle seat.

3-4. ‘Boo’ is a bamboo stool designed for activities related to semi standing and semi seating positions. Its a furniture to lean on for any activity which requires a straight posture.

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Why would someone make a chair, own a chair and buy a chair?

Talking about complications that furniture designers get into while designing chairs, Solanki feels that the designers fall into the egoistic trap of either copying a design blindly or getting inspired from other’s work or sometimes even buying ready-made seating that suits the client’s budget. Thus, owing to the lack of research in ergonomics, material explorations & posture-possibilities, the very basis of a chair to provide user comfort is lost. Also, when the users are lured by the international furniture brands, there is a dire dearth of understanding about the specifications of the material with respect to the conditions and context that the furniture piece would be used in. Due to this, he sees the aesthetical and sculptural aspects ruling the scene in the case of branded chairs, thus

leading to the emerging discomfort among the users. For him, a chair is the most quintessential piece of furniture where the interaction of one’s body with that form is too close; and in that if the body is not accepting it, then the furniture is not a successful design.

A majority of desk-workers today, be it the students, administrative or the managerial staff face musculoskeletal disorders due to the habituated awkward postures they are made to sit in for long hours. According to

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Chair is an ultimate furniture where the interaction of one’s body with that form is too close; and if the body is not accepting it then the furniture fails!

5.‘Boo’ is a bamboo stool designed for activities related to semi standing and semi seating positions. Its a furniture to lean on for any activity which requires a straight posture.

6. OttO means digit (8) eight in Italian which itself as a form is well balanced, symmetrical and elegant. This bench is optimized through an innovative approach using advanced technology in pipe bending achieving accuracy, consistency in quality, fast manufacturing process and cost effective.

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Solanki, one cannot get away with such disorders by simply getting a new chair. The problem lies much deeper in understanding the comfort level

of the user and accordingly making a suitable furniture piece. Throwing light on the mass-production trends that are catching up in the field of


Pravinsinh Solanki is an Industrial Designer with specialization in Furniture and Interior Design from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Currently heading the Furniture and Interior Design Department at NID, Ahmedabad and Centre for Bamboo Initiatives and International Centre for India Crafts, he is the founder of Scrap Design Innovation. He has also worked on various high profile Interiors, designing boutiques and retail stores around the world.

[email protected]

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With the houses and families shrinking, he feels the challenge with today’s designers is to design not only comfortable furniture but also multi-utilitarian ones which can play different roles at different times. Proudly showing the furniture and product prototypes that he has designed with bamboo, Solanki concludes, “With the available technology, producing something special for the rich is no more tough in the contemporary times, but producing a simple chair catering to the comfort of the middle and the lower-income groups is. When the conditions challenge you to think simple, that is where design emerges.” ■

furniture design, he adds, “Quite often in India the focus is on procuring mass produced chairs which fit in a particular budget and not on improving the comfort levels and hence eventually decreasing the productivity of the users. The chair-production line in India import the second-hand moulds from China, repair them and mass-produce them which is totally against the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Such productions not just limit the quality of the materials used but also curb the local design innovations that the country’s designers come up with.”

The current lifestyle of the masses in metro-cities wherein people migrate frequently from one place to the other, Solanki critiques the emerging trends of furniture design and its relevance, “Why would someone make a chair, own a chair and buy a chair?” Reminiscing the past generations wherein it was customary to make a chair from the family carpenter as a symbol of a luxurious house, he talks about the evolved multi-functional uses of a chair in the Indian household. Often a ‘made’ chair was an object, an asset handed down over generations so that each generation could ‘own’ it. Finally, due to the hassles involved in its making and transportation, people started to ‘buy’ it ready-made. Moreover, recently the trend of hiring furniture is in vogue so that the interiors of the house can be changed whenever required.


Furniture Design is an art and every piece needs to be carefully designed to offer timeless style, extreme comfort and highest quality. A Cube Inc. – an Ahmedabad based design studio, established in 2004, is known for creating unique forms, encompassing the physical, aesthetic and spiritual expressions.

TEXT: Marilyn MadathilPHOTO COURTESY: Navroze Contractor (Profile photo)A Cube Inc (Products)

Anuj and Anand Ambalal

Furniture is a highly personalized item, a quintessential requirement for any space. Individuals often identify themselves with certain furniture

AESTHETICS ANDSPIRITUAL REALM

pieces that they share a bond with. Designers Anand Ambalal and Anuj Ambalal understand this attachment and strive to take it to the next level.

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1. The Amby Chair is an evolving design, adopting vernacular forms, colours, textures, materials and lifestyle

2. Fun stools are ideal for lounges, bars, restaurants as well as residential spaces.

3-4. The origins of the Tub chair design is not clear, but it is seems to have its genesis in the art deco style. It is ideal for dining, study or waiting areas.


Contemporary Vernacular formsWith an aim to create real history in the stream of furniture design, the designers dared to accept the challenge to explore inherent sensibilities of contemporary forms that are deep-rooted in vernacular tradition. Let us explore a few product lines that express a style statement.

Bicycle StoolMade out of stainless steel and recycled teak wood, this distinctive stool is designed with a hand carved seat. Extremely lightweight, sturdy and versatile - the stool comes with a revolving top and an adjustable height ranging from 18 inches to 21 inches.

Tub IIIGandhi Chair or the Tub chair is handmade with vintage recycled teak. The back contours are specifically designed to give maximum comfort to the back. These chairs were used

extensively in government-run schools and offices right till the 1990’s and are synonymous with that era. Post-millennium, when India embarked upon its journey towards economic prosperity, these chairs were rapidly phased out, giving way to new and better designs. Inspired by Artists“Percepts of design are often restricted to the visual realm, which is only half the picture. Touch is one of the most important and primitive means of sensory perception. It is through touch that one often forms an opinion of an object. An object has to be felt, not just be seen,” explains Anuj. A set of interesting products designed by the studio not only define the aesthetics and beauty but also convey a note of inspiration.

The DADA stoolWith this bar stool made out of

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We see design as a platform for all visual arts. We mould utilitarian forms and use design as a catalyst to make our society aware of the surro-undings, making it receptive to nature’s inherent sensitivity.


5. Bicycle Wheel is considered to be the first kinetic sculpture.

6-8: Sketch of DADA Stool

Touch is one of the most important and primitive means of sensory perception. It is through touch that one often forms an opinion of an object.

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Anuj and his team feel that furniture is not just an element of interior design but an integral part of the architecture. It is a pivotal element that transforms spatial experiences. It is a tool through which one interprets, alters, controls, frames and even transfigures architectural scales. Without aping the west, duo creates their every piece of design with a novel approach.

[email protected] www.acubeinc.net

reclaimed teak and bicycle parts, the designers give a tribute to the great artist Marcel Duchamp - whose work in DADAism (a path-breaking art movement) is noteworthy. The work is a bicycle wheel mounted by its fork on a painted wooden stool.

Mondrian ChairMondrian Chair is a tribute to the great Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, the principal proponent of the Neoplasticism movement. The chair is exclusively handmade out of vintage recycled teak through a nail-less joinery construction. ■

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9-11. Mondrian Chair is ideally suited for lounges, waiting and living areas. The chair is also available in a variety of upholstered options.


Pinakin Patel’s three-decade-plus veteran experience has led to a cultivated understanding of what goes into the making of a home. Creating unique and customized pieces comes to him as a natural extension of himself. The brand, ‘PINAKIN’ is at the forefront of the furniture industry, constantly offering new ideas and designs, with great value for money throughout their range.

TEXT: Marilyn Madathil | PHOTOS COURTESY: PINAKIN StorePinakin Patel

DISTINCTIVE INTERPRETATION OF CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

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“Design lives on the periphery of life. In the process of design, we cannot forget the core elements- form and functional relevance. Understanding the cultural influences of each time period as well as the state of the economy is the need of the hour,” explains Pinakin as he

throws some light on the fundamentals of his design.

The JourneyThe brand store PINAKIN is located in the “Mill District” of Mumbai. It carries a wide array of eclectic furniture that is

1. Interlock sideboard makes a stylish focal point with its rough-cut walnut veneer and a neat detailing in matte gold metal


2. Bespoke jaali bar with unique vertical sliding jaali shutters and inbuilt light connection are up to the bar area.

3. Jhoola Bed is a PINAKIN signature piece which reminds of affectionate couple Radha-Krishna.

4. An excellent Apostrophe sofa is a state of physical ease and freedom upholstered in a high-end Giorgio Armani brocade fabric.

Each piece of our furniture benefits from the best of the East and West. Our artisans are highly skilled and trained to match an inter-national standard of quality and design.

truly India Modern! An extensive range of bespoke furniture and accessories displayed at this store narrate a fresh perspective on trends like exclusivity, innovation and reinvention.

In 2000, at the height of his popularity, he shifted his home and work to Alibag. Here amidst the spiritual ambience of nature, his creative energies received

greater visibility and acclaim; and in early 2005, he launched the brand PINAKIN.

In 2011, Pinakin Patel passed on the baton to Piyush Raj, Chief Executive Officer and now a Partner in the firm. “Each piece of our furniture benefits from the best of the East and West. Our artisans are highly skilled and trained

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Design lives on the periphery of life. Under-standing the cultural influences of each time period as well as the state of the economy is the need of the hour.

to match an international standard of quality and design. We rarely sell set themes of furniture. We encourage our clients to use the pieces according to their personal taste and expression, so we simultaneously have over a dozen different stories that can be interpreted differently by them. We have options for customizing the furniture sizes and colours of fabrics and leathers which gives our clients a wider scale to express their style,” says Piyush.

Design MantraWith an intention to offer the client a holistic interior shopping experience, this brand creates balanced mix of styling, special designer details, modern-day comfort solutions along with exquisite craftsmanship in furniture and accessories, setting a

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benchmark in customer satisfaction in an otherwise crowded and competitive market. The interesting element is that the designer takes inspiration from the human body while crafting unique furniture pieces.

The design guru strongly believes that every design, from original to copies, from the history of design is available today. The basic requirement while designing a product is to develop an understanding of the material, its limitations and strengths. “A lot of people in the developing market in India make quick trips abroad and come back with samples and ideas that may not eventually turn into reality. Remember that though your work appears glamorous to people around you; it is actually a lot of hard


5. Angle bar is a leathered door angle bar unit that calls out for a sleek den pad.

6. A high quality polished stainless steel metal constructed opium bed, with modern jaali design and clean lines will be a wonderful addition to any bedroom, living room or den area.

7. Baroque dining table with carved silver legs and a smooth lacquered top gives a great fusion of classic and contemporary style

Pinakin Patel — architect, interior designer, furniture and fashion designer, artist, thinker; graduated in Chemistry in 1975. He launched his own design store ‘Etcetra’ in 1984.

work. Be prepared for it. Do not get carried away into fulfilling your dreams at your client’s cost!,” he says. This is a great piece of advice that he shares with the young designers of this era. ■

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Here, he began to design his own line of furniture complemented by an entire symphony of art, textiles and accessories. Interiors led to Architecture and in 1985, the free-spirited designer couldn’t resist other creative experiences that also began to flow in his ways, such as journalism, photography, exhibition design, and even production design for cinema.

[email protected] www.pinakinonline.com


Sangaru Design Studio by Sandeep Sangaru merges traditional craftsmanship and techniques with a contemporary design outlook which, while conserving the traditions and encouraging the craftsmen, has also created ripples in the international design community.

TEXT: Vivek GopinathanPHOTOS COURTESY: Sangaru Design Studio

Sandeep Sangaru

The Temple Hotel in Beijing is a gem from the past in a forgotten bylane of the bustling modern city. Once a Buddhist temple, then a factory that

CRAFTSMENAT CHRISTIE’S

fell into disuse, it is now an award-winning hotel and restaurant. Home to the only James Turrell installation in the country, the hotel also hosts a

1. Lacquered Bamboo chair from the Truss-Me series at the Temple Hotel.

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2. Lacquered Bamboo table and chair from the Truss-Me series at the Temple Hotel.

number of award-winning features. After a quick tour of the hotel, the smooth, angular bamboo furniture is something that is sure to catch the eye. The seating, wall shelves, tables, all with a peculiar tilt just off the gravitational direction with striking red highlights is the handiwork of Indian furniture designer Sandeep Sangaru.

A mechanical engineer and a National Institute of Design alumni, Sandeep

has been involved in experimenting with traditional crafts and techniques, rendering them in contemporary reinterpretations. His pieces at the Temple Hotel, a part of his Truss-Me series, won him the Red Dot Design Award - Best of the Best 2009 and was also auctioned at Christie’s. Truss-Me emerged from Sandeep’s NID days where he was closely working with bamboo artisans from Tripura. From there he went on to design a

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The more I worked with traditional craftsmen and artisans from different parts of the country, the more it showed what we can create with simple tools and techniques to design and produce furniture and objects that can change the precon-ceived perception of a particular craft and skill we have.


commercial line of bamboo furniture which didn’t really commercialise but did win accolades. Sandeep works with traditional techniques, craftsmanship, and materials to design objects. The industrial design background allows him to think and find ways to use the best of both craft methods and design thinking to produce products.

Sangaru Design Studio mainly works with handcrafted designs and craft is a major inspiration for the work his studio produces. “The simplicity of making by hand inspired the studio. It allowed me to explore more than I could have through industrial methods of making. The more I worked with traditional craftsmen and artisans from different parts of the country, the more it showed what we can create with simple tools and techniques to design and produce furniture and objects that can change the preconceived perception of a particular craft and skill we have,” explains Sandeep.

The studio works with craftsmen from Tripura in bamboo, walnut wood carving from Kashmir, turned wood lacquer craft of Channapatna

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3. Lacquered Bamboo clothes stand from the Truss-Me series that was auctioned at Christie’s.

4. Red Dot Design Award winning Lacquered Bamboo wall shelf from the Truss-Me series.

5. The Chinar Chudi Chair from the Kashmir collection.

6. The Pinjra Book Shelf from the Kashmir collection.

and wood carpentry carpenters from Bihar. By encouraging the traditional crafts and use of materials, Sandeep ensures that many of the endangered handicrafts are rescued from the prospect of extinction. But that doesn’t mean that it is easy to convince the artisans. He adds, “It was a challenge to convince the craftsmen to accept the idea to explore and find newer ways to use their art. Once it was achieved through the products we developed, we could demonstrate what one can achieve with methods of making and stand apart from what was expected of them.”

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I work with craftsmen from Tripura in bamboo, walnut wood carving from Kashmir, turned wood lacquer craft of Channa-patna and wood carpentry carpenters from Bihar who work in-house at our studio in Bangalore.


Sangaru Design is a multidisciplinary design studio, founded in 2004, based out of Bangalore, and actively involved with the crafts sector, working with local people and materials to create global products. The studio has won the Red Dot Design Award - Best of the Best 2009, and the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur in the Design for Social Impact category.

[email protected] www.sangaru.com

comes with it, the traditional arts and crafts are in constant danger of being undervalued and exploited. Sandeep’s efforts directly impact the survival of the traditional skills. He explains, “Craft is so much around us that we have

7. The Channapatna Chair in indigo teak finish.

8. The Channapatna Chair in indigo finish.

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taken it for granted and value it less, and then these skills and practices deplete over years of exploitations. The younger generation from these traditional communities is not keen to carry forward these traditions of the craft. They are merely used for their skills and not for their vast knowledge of the art. Pushing boundaries was need of the hour and the studio focused to connect the dots from the source to the end-user factoring the aspiration of the craftsmen and the current needs of the markets.” ■


Rhizome is a multidisciplinary sustainability design firm working at the intersection of craft, design and sustainability. Dr. Rebecca Reubens used the word ‘rhizome’ as a metaphor to describe her vision of what design needs to be - a growing network, flexible enough to be anchored, to leap into the future, or to do both simultaneously.

TEXT: Vivek GopinathanPHOTOS COURTESY: Rhizome

Dr. Rebecca Reubens

Bamboo is one of the oldest materials that humans have been making use of since prehistoric times. The versatility

RHIZOME RIDERS

of bamboo was something that cultures across regions came to realise and employ. From cutlery to weapons

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1. The furniture at Rann Riders is very lightweight and minimalistic, away from rigid lines and aimed for a more natural, understated language.


to architecture, this sturdy grass found its way to a varied set of applications. Industrialisation, however, changed the dynamics of the natural material. With mass-produced alternatives flooding the market, bamboo has been by and large neglected by the mainstream. Yet, when this same industrialisation is damaging our environment, the realisation that bamboo can help negate its ill effects has led to its revival in recent times.

Rhizome is the underground root of certain plants from which new shoots of the parent plant emerge. It is the main reason bamboo always grows in thick groves, interconnected with each other. Dr. Rebecca Reubens used this as a metaphor to describe her vision of what design needs to be- a growing network, flexible enough to be anchored, to leap into the future, or to do both simultaneously. True to its name, her practice Rhizome explores sustainability in design by looking beyond the individual factors to develop an integrated design which is achieved through collaborative efforts.

Rann Riders is an eco-resort in the Rann of Kutch. The architecture of the

resort has a very traditional flavour representative of the styles and techniques of local traditions. When the resort decided to move from the very traditional decor of the resort to replace it with a more contemporary look, Rhizome collaborated with Errol Reubens Associates (ERA) to design and produce the interior furniture. “The client wanted us to keep as much of the original decor as possible, and create an affordable and clean interior space for their guests. An important

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Bamboo was chosen as it is one of the most sustainable materials existing; and since the structure already had a traditional use of wood, we decided to use a non-traditional but much more sustainable, lightweight and strong material.


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part of the brief was keeping costs low and maintaining the sense of space,” says Rebecca.

To keep the cost low and also be sustainable, Rhizome worked on the shell by taking away material from the walls to create texture rather than adding material. The underlying concept is showcasing natural and sustainable solutions which reference the culture of Kutch. The design employs the traditional ideas of

inviting light into bhungas through a largely white interior palette and circular mirror frames. The furniture is very lightweight and minimalistic, and painted white to accentuate this. Bamboo and recycled textile ropes are used extensively. “Bamboo was chosen as it is one of the most sustainable materials existing; and since the structure already had a traditional use of wood, we decided to use a non-traditional but much more sustainable, lightweight and strong material,” says

2-3. For the interiors Rhizome worked on the shell by taking away material from the walls to create texture rather than adding material and create a subtle contrast between the walls and the furniture.


The client wanted us to keep as much of the original decor as possible, and create an affordable and clean interior space for their guests. An important part of the brief was keeping costs low and maintaining the sense of space.

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Rhizome, founded in 2009 by Dr. Rebecca Reubens, looks at sustainability from a holistic perspective of a developing nation. Rhizome believes that design can simultaneously be commercially-viable and positively impact sustainability. Rebecca Reubens is the author of the book, Bamboo: From Green Design to Sustainable Design. She is also a world bamboo ambassador for the World Bamboo Organization.

[email protected] www.rhizomedesign.co.in

Rebecca. The textile ropes in the design with an extremely hardy by-product from Gujarat’s textile industries.

The ethos of Rhizome’s philosophy is what drives the design and application of bamboo as a traditional material which has been recontextualised. This is by no means an easy feat. “When people think of bamboo furniture, they often associate it with outdoor or patio furniture. However, bamboo is a woody material and bamboo furniture needs to be treated pretty much like wooden furniture,” says Rebecca. One of the greatest challenges Rhizome faces is to get people to accept that bamboo is more comparable to wood in terms of weathering, metal in terms of tensile strength, and plastic in terms of plasticity. “What is really heartening though is the growing segment of clients who want natural options like bamboo and come back to us as return

customers who loved our products. The fact that mainstream resorts are looking at our products speaks of our quality standards, and also of the move back to a more sustainable way of being,” concludes Rebecca. ■

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4. The furniture is a combination of bamboo and recycled textile ropes; bamboo, a sustainable material that complements the traditional use of wood, and hardy rope from the outflows of Gujarat’s textile industries.

5. The use of brass along with the bamboo and textile showcases the natural and sustainable solutions which reference the culture of Kutch.

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