Utopia Designs weave a richly-detailed narrative in a show-flat in a Surat high-rise to create a highly bespoke living environment.
Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Photographix India; courtesy Utopia Designs
The site and the brief
This 2,355-sq-ft apartment was to be developed as a show-flat for the developer to demonstrate the space’s potential as an upscale living environment. Luxury was to be established through natural elements and bright colours.
The implementation
The objective was to play with vibrant hues and forms that stayed away from conventional styling. Colours were applied in a graphical form: large blocks of hues in some places and a combination of colour blocked surfaces ing in others. Forms employed were clean-lined and fuss-free. “Together, these two aspects give rise to a styling that is faintly reminiscent of an art deco aesthetic,” says interior designer Urvakhsh Chichgar, who, along with Ar. Apurva Desai, Id. Bhavin Swami and Id. Vipul Nakrani, helms Surat-based Utopia Designs.
The material and colour palettes
The materiality is fairly simple and restrained: teakwood, brass, natural stone and concrete micro-topping form the starring materials. These are intertwined with bright hues to create a retro styling. For instance, the public block, comprising the formal living room and the family seating, is ‘stapled’ together with the help of blue-green micro-topping — a material the visitor already sees in the elevator lobby as a small red niche bedecked with a brass installation. The neutral flooring featuring silver-grey Italian marble forms the balancing and unifying element for the overall vibrancy. The bathrooms use natural stone with a variety of textural and surface-finish techniques.
The spatial flow
The public/semi-public zone of the formal living, family seating and dining forms a seamless, unified sprawl. Progressing further, you encounter the three master bedrooms and one guest bedroom. The existing programme was kept intact — except for pulling down a wall between a bedroom and the dining area and replacing it with a full-height storage unit. The upper portion of this partitioning element can be accessed from the bedroom, while the lower section serves as storage for the dining area.
The highlights
One of the intriguing aspects of the design also represented one of the project’s challenges. The washbasin was clearly visible from the main entrance. The strategy to shield it from direct view took shape as a sleek, retro-styled, pivoted brass screen. The washbasin itself is a sculptural object, designed along minimal lines. Another highlight can be found in a bedroom, as a decorative moving panel whose fabric-clad surface bears a collage of warm shades in a graphical composition.
Fact File
Project: Tower A Show-flat for Sangini Arise
Location: Surat
Area: 2,355 sq ft
Principal architect: Apurva Desai
Principal designers: Bhavin Swami, Urvakhsh Chichgar and Vipul Nakrani
Design lead: Shivani Mehta Desai and Mitali Desai
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