sankara sadasivam

"Kart & Kriss" a name derived from the names of two brothers, Karthik and Krishna, a second generation business house, who left their traditional line of business of dealing in spices and daily needs gourmet etc. and chose to break away to start a wholesale clothing line brand around 25 years ago. This store was launched on the 25th anniversary of the brand's existence. This also marked a shift in roles, where the next generation, Karthik and Krishna were taking over from their father who had bravely fought all odds and brought the brand to its present stage.

When Karthik approached us with his vision for the new store we were taken aback. It isn't common practice in India to spend any reasonable amount of time or money in setting up a whole sale store. However Karthik was quite reassured in his vision that the brand would be able to capture and maintain a stronghold, even amidst the retail giants who dominate the market. Our initial scepticism disappeared as we saw his enthusiasm and commitment to his vision. A lot of this enthusiasm rubbed off on us as well and we were raring to go.

DESIGN PROCESS In discussion with Karthik, we had zeroed in on a theme of Vintage - Rustic style, but keeping it elegant and classy. This was primarily because the space had to cater to two generations, each with different aesthetic sense and appeals. The challenge posed by the contrasting styles was quite a hurdle, but was in no manner insurmountable. The timeline for the project, however, promised to be a major challenge, as we were given a 45 day window for design and execution for the 3000 square feet space. Once the theme was set, the idea, look and feel board were presented and taken approval on. We then set about designing the layout which was simple and neatly divided into three significant zones.

ZONE One - shopping ZONE Two - administrative ZONE Three - store

We were given a stringent budget to execute the project, which laid the basis for our choices of materials. With a limited budget and stringent time constraints, we were automatically drawn to materials such as plumbing pipes and hard unfinished wood since they would suite our theme and, at the same time, would be fast to execute our ideas. We set about looking for references of DIY furniture's and quickly adapted the references and styles to our design and on-site conditions. We approached the execution with measured caution; while aesthetics were important for the theme to stand up, we could not compromise on the functionality and usage of the space.

The clients were anticipating a display capacity for 1200 different styles of shirts, trousers and denims, and it was imperative that these be hung up and not folded since they had to be handily taken off the racks and displayed to their clients on a table. The size, gauge and strength of the G.I plumbing pipes were carefully chosen to give a fine balance between aesthetics and the strength / function. The table, on which the clothes were to be laid out for inspection and appraisal, was also a well-thought design. The unusual curved triangular shape was derived based, in consultation with the client, on how their discussions with clients happen and the ergonomics attached to the same.

The design allows ample space for loading nearly 50 shirts at a time, giving sufficient space to spread out a couple of shirts for scrutiny. The design allows the clients to be able to sit while they check the clothes in detail, a traditional way of how things are done in India; we took this into consideration and brought out a contemporary take on the same. Since this was a clothing line and fabric plays a vital role, we tried to adopt this concept into our design as well. In all the tables designed in the project, we have given a fabric top and covered it with a panel of toughened glass. Our concept being, one could see the texture of fabric but not feel the texture itself, thus creating a temptation to explore the various textures on offer at the store. The show window faced Chamarajpet 3rd Main road, providing us with a "window of opportunity".

Karthik wasn't keen on elaborating the design, maintaining that they hardly ever got walk-in clients. We persuaded him to use the show window to showcase the mood of the season. At the same time, we took it as a challenge that if we were able to generate at least one client a month, with the help of the show window, we would have achieved what we had set out to do. In retrospect, convincing him was a good thing; they had their first walk-in client 2 days after the opening! Despite the many expected glitches encountered in any project of this nature, we were able to complete the project on time, even pulling several all-nighters. The client, expectant as he was during the entire process, was left in awe at the final product.

INTERESTING FACTS No formal drawings were made for the design and execution of the project. It is hard to believe but we didn't! All of the execution drawings were hand-sketched and done on site. The only formal drawing was the layout plan so that we could get the placements accurately. All loose furniture like tables, display racks, main table etc. can be dismantled. Though they were all made by local carpenters, we designed it to be modular and in shape to be used more than once in more than one space.

Another interesting part about the project was that the principal architect and the entire team worked on site for the project, putting in the bolts, cutting the wood, laying flooring and painting the ceiling. As our principal architect says, "we can't design unless we know how difficult it is to make!" We strongly believe that a successful project can be executed only if the client and the architect work as partners and not merely as two entities who are having a business exchange. Our this belief, and our relationship with the client, was the catalyst to our process, and the final product was the realization and embodiment of our collective vision.