SHROFFLEoN

The scope of the project was the refurbishment of the pool area and its adjoining facilities at the Khar Gymkhana in Mumbai. Though an opening up of the adjoining cafe and extending areas of the cafe into the pool area, the proposal recalibrates the working of the space, integrating the entire space into one larger whole. The aesthetic of the proposal takes both geometric and colour inspiration from the Memphis Design Movement, where individual elements are characterized by colourful decorations, featuring asymmetrical shapes and geometries and accompanied by a multitude of seemingly jarring patterns at different scales.

The impact of the movement finds focus in both the flooring, as well as certain spatial aspects within the cafe. The material of choice for this project is in-situ concrete or Terrazzo, a method of constructing flooring that dates back centuries.

The reason behind its choosing is its ability to be extremely flexible in terms of customizing a variety of aesthetics. Using chips of different sizes, materials, colours and at various densities and combining that with different pigments to dye the cement, an infinite variety of material looks are possible. Different textures, in multi colours and patterns, set in asymmetrical geometries, gives the impression of being immersed within a Memphis Style setting.