Location : Chennai, India

Area : 1,500 Sft.

Category : Workspace Interiors

Status : Completed

Year : 2024

Typology : Commercial space Renovation

Small workspaces are challenging and fulfilling in terms of the best ways in which limited space can be put to good use. Given the limitations on the availability of space, the priority during the design process is given largely to the way the office functions and the requirements of its staff. TSW [Thermal Scientific Works]  is a 50 year old company with offices in multiple locations. They deal with acoustic materials, wires and similar raw materials. We had 1,000 Sft. of space to work with initially, to which we decided to add a further 500 Sft. upon site inspection. It was a typical modular office fitout with a  large chunk of the space devoted to cabins for the M.D and Auditor of the company. The remaining area was divided between 7 permanent employees and 20 visiting marketing team members, with tiny spaces for the pantry and server room. The preliminary survey indicated the space was arranged by hierarchy and not according to usage or necessity. This resulted in plenty of wasted residual space, exceedingly tight spaces and unnecessarily large rooms. 

The concept here has been to create a clear and concise planning approach, thereby negating any unused pockets of spaces. Thoughtfully inserting porous and light filled elements, highlighting the potential of the given space has been a key factor in the design. While the overall requirements remained unchanged, we reprogrammed the space to accommodate a sizable dining space for the team, a designated waiting zone, printer area & conference room along with defined spaces for the Sales & Marketing teams. The overarching theme was to keep the space light and airy and to infuse a breath of fresh air into the office through colour and material usage. The spaces strike a balance between functionality, comfort, and aesthetic appeal, without being overly lavish or sparse. 

Design elements like the ceiling mounted metal frames act as a datum to highlight the various zones within the office space. Most of the furniture and illustration has been custom designed to suit the client’s needs. For example, the open workspace unit has an overhead storage separated as open & closed for specific filing needs. The partitions between the workzones have been designed using a porous mesh and a writable surface thus creating a visual connection between them. The material palette is a soothing sage green complemented by cement concrete with plenty of white. Bold pops of rust orange elevate the interior environment to bring sophistication and elegance to the spaces. There are thousands of such small office spaces in the city, needing an upgrade within fixed budget constraints.  As architects, we take immense pleasure in unearthing the hidden potential of these spaces and transforming them from a dull, drab, uninspiring set-up to one of joy, light and vitality through meaningful interventions.

Location : Chennai, India

Area : 1,200 Sft.

Category : Residential Interiors

Status : Completed

Year : 2025

Typology : Residential space Renovation

Our clients are a working doctor couple in their mid sixties. We have previously renovated the ground floor of their home a few years ago. They called us back to redesign the first floor of the bungalow this time around. The place was an open terrace with one large room opening out from the staircase. The clients wanted a lounge space to entertain their guests and host informal parties. It also had to double up into a large play space for their young grandson. Being avid readers, they also wanted adequate storage ledges for all their vintage books. We were asked to add a guest suite with a bathroom in addition to the lounge and pantry spaces.

The design language prevalent in the house has been that of the late 80’s Madras with attention to grill detail, intricate jaali patterns and sloped roofs. We chose to retain those features and work them into our design. The floor plate of the home is 1,200 Sft. approximately and is located in Adyar, Chennai. The essence of the design is to create a harmonious relaxed space that blends with the architectural language of the entire home. It runs true to the erstwhile Madras architecture while at the same time gracefully overlays the contemporary design elements. We opened out the lounge into the semi-open zone, built a bathroom, a guest bedroom and added large windows, a balcony and enclosed the whole open terrace space with a roof and made it into a large cozy semi-open space. In terms of sustainability, we have managed to repurpose the existing doors and have replicated our new additions with similar detailing to blend with the overall aesthetic of the home. We have also reused old existing furniture and camouflaged an old cupboard to fit within our new woodwork. New is in terms of the overall renovation of the space, but seamlessly brings in the old in terms of movable furniture, doorways etc. A tropical contemporary retreat with a hint of the old world charm of Ooty bungalows built by the British, would aptly sum up this design.

The material and colour palette is mainly rich raw finishes like the mahogany wooden floor, beige cement texture or the red brick wall paired with honest birchply. White with touches of pale powder blue tie the whole space together. The intention has been to bring about a feeling of warmth, coziness and tranquility. A holiday home-like atmosphere in the heart of the city. The luxury of picking up an oft read book, making a hot cup of tea and enjoying it in the balcony surrounded by trees is as simple and as rich as it can get. Converting a large open terrace into a semi-enclosed space with a comfortable sit-out and connecting the various spaces inside, has been quite rewarding.  Working out  details like spatial framing by identifying the appropriate locations for windows, gently introducing the storage and pantry spaces with the dining, seamlessly covering the space with rich wooden flooring and visually enlarging the space etc. has been the most enriching as an architect. Creating the guest bedroom and bathroom were tricky in comparison to the rest of  the space. Given the tight proportions of the rooms it was a bit of a challenge to accommodate all the storage needs and create a decently sized bathing space. Quiet and understated luxury defines this home.

Location : Chennai, India

Area : 2,500 SFT.

Category : Interiors

Status : Completed

Typology : Residential

Photographs : Phosart Studio

Our clients are a well-travelled couple with plenty of experience in making their homes. They wanted this home to be an amalgamation of their myriad journey. We were encouraged to work with different material palettes in each space throughout the home. The house is a lovely blend of understated luxury and functionality. Their brief was simple : Plenty of storage, each space had to have a unique character to it and the home as a whole had to feel airy and luxurious. We had complete design freedom to experiment with different finishes : from Lippan art to custom printed canvas panels and even to a full brass bar unit, the house is rich in detail. The clients were closely involved in the design process every step of the way, honing each space with us. 

Location : Chennai, India

Area : 1,500 SFT.

Category : Interiors

Status : Completed

Typology : Residential

Photographs : Phosart Studio

Our friends turned clients, Saritha & Sanjay wanted a home that was as quirky and eclectic as themselves. The home is a reflection of their travels, their personal equation to each space and their detailed functional preferences. Saritha, a proficient writer and Sanjay, an investment banker have been incredible fun to work with. The design of every room has a personal touch of either of them. From Mondrian inspired corners to multi-functional display and dining units, there is a story behind each of the decisions. A Pondicherry yellow wash area occupies one corner of the dining; while a rich indigo and wood headboard frames the Master bedroom in the other. The Sunshine House tantalisingly invites the user to explore many of its bright and sunny corners.

Location : Chennai, India

Area : 450 SFT.

Category : Interiors

Status : Completed

Typology : Commercial

The design of this store is rooted in the honestly of materials used. The client wished to showcase the fresh fruits and vegetables produce in an open and aesthetic manner. Rubberwood is the monolithic material used throughout the space. The lightness of the material highlights the colourful produce. We had to maximize the space in the store and create varied display spaces within it. The whole store has a cheerful, warm and an inviting ambience to it.

Location : Chennai, India

Area : 1800 SFT.

Category : Interiors

Status : Completed

Typology : Residential

We were asked to renovate the ground floor of an independent villa, built in the 1970s. The house had a rich material palette that was camouflaged in solid enamel colours. The chequered marble flooring had a lack lustre look. Our intervention worked around maximizing the functionality within each space. The design concept revolved around creating a beach vibe in the home. Our clients love to entertain, which led us to revamping the bar & dining area into a social space. Through minimal yet effective key upgrades we have brought the house into the current generation.

Location : Chennai, India

Area : 2500 SFT.

Category : Interiors

Status : Completed

Typology : Residential

Our clients, a family of three senior citizens required us to design them a light-filled, airy home. We had fairly proportionate rooms to work with and gave it a touch of colour. The home had to be easy to maintain with minimal woodwork. Beiges with off-white fabrics enhances the feeling of space within the apartment. Rich veneers bring in plenty of warmth into the home. The clients had a lovely collection of furniture and artifacts we had to work around for the design. This project has been an exercise in working out the finer details of a home, striking a harmonious balance between the old and the new.

Location : Chennai, India

Area : 1900 SFT.

Category : Interiors

Status : Completed

Typology : Commercial

This clinic for a Vascular surgeon & Gynecology doctor couple is designed to be minimal, understated and calming for its users. Predominantly visited by pregnant women, their families and ailing elderly patients, the space is meant to soothe and make them feel at ease. Pastel tones, warm wood and white determine the color palette.

This project has been displayed as a part of the India Pavilion at the London Design Biennale 2021. Curated by Nisha Mathew Ghosh of Mathew & Ghosh Architects, the theme of the India Pavilion is Small is beautiful : A billion Ideas.

WHAT?

Nested Roots by Drawing Hands Studio is a conceptual design proposal to highlight the importance of mangroves and their depletion in the coastal areas. Given the reality of climate change and the increasing uncertainty in the occurrence of floods in our cities & towns, our design addresses the vital role played by mangroves in keeping these waves of fury at bay.

Our intervention is a replicable unit designed mimicking the mangrove’s physical & functional characteristics. It is meant to be placed along the areas where mangrove depletion has been identified. The role of our unit is to behave as pseudo-mangroves, but without succumbing to the difficulties faced by the natural mangroves themselves. They will exist alongside the mangal ecosystem and encourage arboreal and aquatic life to thrive within them. Their form is meant to withstand low tide/tidal wave action and can also be firmly fixed to the river/sea bed as required. Freedom of growth for plants is also a pivotal role in the design ideation. The structure is designed to enhance the overall coastal mangal ecosystem and take up the mantle of the depleted mangroves, thereby giving an opportunity for the fresh saplings to be raised without the pressure of quick growth.

WHY?

Our area of intervention is TamilNadu - coastal areas in and around the state. The area under mangrove forest cover in the state has shrunk by 4 Sq.KM. It has become 45 Sq.KM.(2019) as against 49 Sq.KM.(2017), as per the latest Mangrove Cover Assessment in the India State of Forest Report 2019. TN accounts for 0.9% of the mangrove cover in India*. Various reasons : habitat degradation, drought for the past few years resulting in a lack of exchange between sea water and fresh water, rising demand for timber and increasing population in coastal areas etc. to name a few, are causing this alarming depletion.

TN Mangrove Cover 2017 : 49 Sq.KM

TN Mangrove Cover 2018 : 47 Sq.KM

TN Mangrove Cover 2019 : 45 Sq.KM

PROCESS [FORM DERIVATION ]

MANGROVE VESSEL : The basic geometry of the mangrove is used as the origin of the form. Further derivatives are generated by rotating this base form on its axis to arrive at the skeletal framework, which is then encased in a nest-like bamboo mesh. The root form is wrapped in coir as a further strengthening device.

FORM BUILDING

The formwork is first 3D-Printed. A scaffolding is built with which the porous concrete is poured into the formwork. The edges are then smoothened out and made even. The bamboo and coir wrapping takes place one after the other with the help of the scaffolding. The boat - anchors are finally added to the corners of the bottom framework.

Scaffolding is built.

Concrete is poured into formwork.

Bamboo & coir thread wrapping takes place.

Location : Chennai, India

Area: 3000 SFT.

Category: Interiors, Exteriors, Hospitality

Status: Completed

Year : 2020

This project began as a renovation exercise of an existing bungalow in an upscale neighbourhood of ECR, close to the beach. We had a house with a large front and rear garden, abutting two streets. Our Client, a restaurateur managing multiple brands, wished to initially create a cafe as an extension of an existing label. Later on, a complete revamp and fresh new look and brand association became our brief. We have programmed three different typologies into this building and its outdoor space : A cafe, a restaurant and a coworking space. Presently the cafe is the first completed typology. The client wanted to highlight the tropical nature of the city, within the cafe and also create a lively ambience, attracting the urban youth. These became our initial watchwords and we pivoted the design towards that.

The concept began as a black & white theme in tandem with their existing brand image, Cafe de Paris. As mentioned we needed a new look and feel, hence went to the opposite ends of bringing in fresh vibes with plenty of vibrant colour instead. Given the hot and humid climes of Madras, we designed both outdoor and indoor spaces for the cafe. A large garden with a garage and a mini amphitheatre were already present on site. Our intervention dealt with creating this space into a well-appointed coffee & conversation starter go-to place. We segregated the lawn into an open-to-sky and semi-covered space, convenient for hosting events, and decided to house the indoor seating within the garage space. We also added an open seating lounge above the garage for added footfall.

Colour and vegetation dictates the design of this garden cafe, in various forms right from its entry. We introduced a metal framed walkway, with wooden rafters running the length of the pathway. This housed the outdoor seating and a cozy pathway next to it. There was a level difference between the road and the inside of the site, which we negotiated by opening out the rear compound wall and adding large sweeping steps into the cafe. As our site already had a few large trees existing, we used them to our advantage and worked our design around them. Our primary focus were the walls and the ceiling of the cafe; both for indoor & outdoor. We collaborated with a local artist and created bold and colourful leaf oriented artwork on most of the wall surfaces. We added custom made ferrocement seating with a mild grey finish to mute the expanse of colour. The indoor space has been designed to be a closed set-up seating and a bakery display in the future. We love working with metal frames; be it furniture, interior elements or outdoor structures. A continual black frame becomes a display unit and a seating ledge in this space. We’ve also provided slightly inclined shelving for the bakery products to be kept in the future.

This cafe has been an experience in minimal interventions, with paramount impact. The use of abundant vegetation adds to the feeling of a garden cafe, alongside the larger-than-life artwork. We’ve been through plenty of design iterations in terms of artwork, relevance of colour and pattern for this space. The final outcome is that of a relaxed space, with good food and an added feeling of being away from the hustle & bustle of city life.

Location : Chennai

Area : 600 SFT.

Status : Completed

Year : 2019

Photographs : Phosart Studio

Execution : Studio Context Architects

The workplace as we know it today is the result of explosive creativity stretching the traditional rules of the workplace in the past, where hierarchies, social politics, and a general sense of rigidity prevailed. In today’s world, an office has the possibility of looking so many different ways.

This design for Kabadiwalla Connect, a young promising waste-management company in the city began with a need for achieving high levels of productivity in the workplace and had to accommodate the client’s need for diverse working patterns. Flexible work spaces are the future of offices, promoting productivity and happiness by encouraging the organic exchange of ideas between employees.

We had a compact space of 600 SFT. to work with and had to accommodate a multitude of programs within it. Our brief was to design a space that would be a workplace, an art hub and a stage for performing events, as the need arose. We chose to custom design the furniture in such a way so as to enable the clients to clear the space completely whenever needed and have an open floor plate; and also such that art shows could be held with the same set of furniture pieces. The space now enables both social, collaborative spaces and activities, as well as private heads-down work. Writable surfaces, pin-up surfaces, mobile discussion units and mobile work tables with plug n play options are some of the elements we’ve included within our design to facilitate ease of work for the team. Our color palate is a vibrant yellow paired with a deep rich indigo, that would draw the visitors into the space.

Location : Chennai,India

Area: 2300 SFT

Category: Architecture | Interiors | Landscaping

Status: Completed

Year : 2018

Photographs : Phosart Studio

This office turned restaurant, HuTong is a project initiated under and in collaboration with Ud-S. The design focuses on creating porous, functional spaces that overlook the carefully planned landscape. A lovely expanse of glass floor at the reception level welcomes the visitor to look down onto the lush waterscape below. Rich materials like satuario marble, wooden exterior cladding, brass finishes and carefully chosen veneers adorn this space. All rooms have been crafted to the convenience of the user. The fine dining room in particular is a lovely double height space that has hand - crafted Plaster of Paris wall - panelling, made in-situ. Marble staircase inlaid with brass strips, long metal handrails and equisite interior detailing make this project a luxurious and one-of-a-kind space for the client, setting the bar for the quality one can expect from them.

LOCATION : Chennai

SIZE : 5,125 sft.

CATEGORY : Landscape | Outdoor Spaces

COLLABORATORS : Barath Kumar

STATUS : Concept design

YEAR : 2015

A prominent complex in Boat Club approached Drawing Hands with a commission to convert their terrace into a place of communion. They require a space to entertain their equally well-placed acquaintances and friends. It must be a place to generate conversation, meet new people, unwind at the end of a hectic day; a place to see and be seen. The terrace is framed by lush green trees on all 4 sides, AC units are scattered all over the place akin to diversions on the road. The terrace is a space that functions as a dumping ground for all unwanted accessories in the building, a space to hide away the ungainly generators, air conditioning units; a space where wires are strewn aplenty, clothes are hung to dry. We are reprogramming such a space, which has only the sky above for cover, into an oasis exclusive to the residents of the complex. A space that exudes happiness and calm, and as one that lights up into a grand party arena.

Location : Chennai,India

Area: 1000 SFT.

Category: Interiors, Workspace

Status: Concept Stage

Nexta is a home automation controls company from Italy, establishing roots in Madras for the first time. The office is designed on the premise of a house with warm tones and airy white finishes. The discussion room is planned to mimic a home office that leads onto the living room nearby. The space is designed to highlight the use of products developed by the company. A Display wall is describing the company history and showcasing the products welcomes the visitors as they enter the space.