Lighiting Significance

Divya Vijayanandakumar is an independent designer based in Chennai, India with global experience in architecture, interior design and a passion for bringing
style to everyday living and working. Having studied Interior Design in the United States and Turkey, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science
Engineering she brings to her projects multinational design experience along with project execution in US and India. She is the founder of The Plan- D an
Interior Design firm based in Chennai, well known for their trendsetting work at MaalGaadi, a concept store that placed Chennai on the map for best concept
stores in India. Design is a tool that moves beyond merely introducing beauty and aesthetics to spaces. It's best expression in her view; is to convey tradition,
history, simplicity and a host of other flavours that suit the environment and most importantly the people that will breathe life into it.
Divya has a keen interest in designing residential and commercial spaces. The Plan-D strives at creating unique and functional spaces that is a subtle blend
of the designers aesthetic and clients vision and requirements.
Contact Divya at: divya@theplan-d.com
The design team went back to the drawing board and drew up a new
concept. What materialised in the revisit was an interior that was
sophisticated yet quirky, industrial while pulling in some traditional
Indian elements.
Materials and elements used in the space were carefully chosen to
reflect adventure and edginess, translating an Indian railway station into
an abstract homogenisation of local materials - brick exterior, cement
mixtures, metal inlays and wood. The large entrance with double doors
made of solid dark wood is a key feature of the store, that is both daring
and curiosity arousing. The doors were distressed on-site to be on par
with the designers vision.
In keeping with the theme, special attention was drawn to the display
racks, by adding skeletals of iron pipes culminating in fun detailed
fixtures like water taps and levers. At the first storey, an abstract inlay of
metal sheet was made on the floor drawing inspiration from flooring
used in local buses. The Rattan tri-cycle display unit is a depiction of the
native fruit vendor that is atypical to the Indian street scenario. The
journey to the first floor via a staircase made of wood planks is
accentuated by a handle of nuts & bolts. Graphic illustrations of animals
juxtaposed with quirky messages rendered on glass seamlessly adds
interactive dimension to the space, like the half-tone zebra with a
fuschia pink bow-tie seemingly galloping up alongside visitors walking
up the stairs.
products and artefacts, and lastly it is the personal collaborative design
process of client, curators, graphic designer and interior designer that
created this unique and alternative retail space.
fact file:
project : MaalGaadi
location : Chennai, India
client : Sakina & Shahin Ansari
designer : Divya Vijayanandakumar
design firm : The Plan-D
commencement date : April 12, 2012 (Foundation Laying)
completion date : Dec 13, 2013 (Store Opening)
area : 2,800 sq. ft.
Illuminating this space was an important aspect - as the hand-picked
products had to be spotted with the right amount of drama, without
making the space monotonously bright. Lighting used in the store is a
perfect mix of ambient, task, accent and industrial lighting.
The central challenge laid out was not just integrating and collaborating
with various skilled specialists in the field, but it also lay in working with
various craftsmen to create these unique pieces and doing it seamlessly
to work together visually.
The 'journey' at MaalGaadi is multi-fold, it is via the store's open and
explorable interiors leading the customer to discover something new
with every step, it is through the painstakingly hand-picked designer
Architecture Update August 2015 37