Magic Threads -Kids Boutique and Activity Center

Built Up Area- 300 sq m

Status – Completed

Project Team – Anand Kurudi, Kajal Gupta, Selina Abraham, Sreedevi

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Awards –

1- Indian Architect and Builder – Young Designer Award 2015.

2 -selected for ‘The Merit List’. The Merit list is an initiative by Matter, to recognize projects of critical relevance in terms of design and thought in the context of contemporary Indian architecture.

The brief called for a boutique for children’s clothes along with spaces demarcated for a jungle gym and a multipurpose activity room which could house parties, events, etc.
We placed the jungle gym area centrally, visible from the entry as well as the retail area, since it is a revenue adding component of the program. The retail area was naturally placed so that it receives maximum frontage from the busy street, and the activity area was pushed to the back where it least disturbs the other zones. The multipurpose activity room has a movable partition so that it can accommodate events of different scales.
A decision was made early on to eschew the use of bright colors one would normally associate with a children’s’ store and instead create the desired liveliness with light and shade patterns and natural textures playing off each other. The intent was also to create a subtle backdrop for the children’s clothes and accessories, one which doesn’t compete with the bright objects but in its own way contributes to the ambience.
The emphasis is on the use of natural materials for their textural qualities and to contrast the rough unfinished textures of brick and concrete with the smooth surfaces of wood, glass and the glossy white elements. Rubber wood has been mainly used for its environmentally friendly properties.
We developed a louver system, made of rubber wood, for the enclosure of the jungle gym area so that while visual transparency is retained, the ambience of the retail area is not overpowered and instead is enhanced with controlled splashes of bright colors as seen through the louvers.