MUQAMI BROCHURE

MUQAMI ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN & FURNITURE

1

MUQAMI Muqami as an idea is a response to the dreary urban concrete jungles that the Indian cities are turning into, where development is defined by the relentless establishment of tall identical multistorey structures for inhabitation that associate neither with the climate nor the culture of the native people. We believe in a community-driven approach where people’s lifestyle choices, their culture, their tradition, their values, physical & mental comfort, get interwoven within their living and working spaces through materials and design. We love dialogue. Just as much as we love materials and design. As a brand Muqami focuses on eco-sensitive and climate responsive architecture. We study, experiment and innovate with the local materials, crafts and traditional building practices in the modern context. We believe research and documentation are essential tools to better understand these local materials and building crafts. We work closely with craftsmen and artisan communities to create a unique native identity within our spaces as well as to provide further avenues of employment for them. Taking its essence from the founder - Thasneem Ahmed’s 5 years of holistic experience at DUSTUDIO, Auroville, Muqami has emerged as a collaborator following similar design principles while being nurtured under their mentorship on the way forward. Through our collaborations with leading practices in the field and some upcoming practices with a similar ethos, we continue to work on establishing a language of architecture and design that's more thoughtful, more empathetic to the human need, in rhythm with nature while complying with current trends of being elegant, modern and aesthetic. Location : Chennai/ Pondicherry Contact : 9952010853 [email protected] [email protected] Founder : Thasneem Ahmed 2

Note : All images included in the brochure are of projects worked on by the Principal Architect of Muqami, under Muqami & Dustudio. These images are strictly for reference purposes only. 3

CONTENTS 5 7 1. SPACES 9 2. MATERIALS 11 3. AESTHETICSOFFORM 13 4. LAYOUTS 15 5. FURNITURE 17 6. ARTINARCHITECTURE 19 7. PROCESS 21 8. CRAFTRESEARCH&DOCUMENTATION 23 9. WORKSHOPS 10. INTERIORPROPOSALS 4

SPACES 1 3 1. Mirambika Residence, Auroville (Muqami), 2. Black Box Studios, Chennai (Dustudio), 3. Taneria Store, Delhi South Ex, (Dustudio) 2 5

Our spaces are a fine conjunction of textures, materials, nature, craft and tons of natural light. A careful curation of art and handcrafted furniture add a spectacular flavour of artisinal quality to these spaces. We try to blur lines between the outdoor and the indoor by maximizing on vistas of nature. We believe that sapces tend to have a direct effect on one’s mood and emotion. Our spaces have emotion. Our spaces are inclusive. Be it a ledge seat by a window or a louvered mezzanine partition, we design for human engagement. 5 4 4. Taneira Store, Ambience Mall, Delhi (Dustudio), 5. Black Box Studio, Chennai (Dustudio), 6. Black Box Studio, Chennai (Dustudio). 6 6

12 Earth, Clay, Terracotta, Stone, Wood, Lime, and other elements found in nature become a base in the materials we use. We bring a contemporary form to the vernacular aesthetic while applying and innovating with alternative building technologies. The materials we use are of warm and bright hues giving life to a space while enriching it with fine details using timless materials like wood and stone. We work towards making sure most our materials are eco sensitive and sustainable in nature. We reclaim and reuse materials that hone a vintage quality. 4 3 1. Mosaic panels on Gabion Walls, 2. Achikal Brick (Country Brick) Walls, 3. Rammed Earth Walls, 4. Reused Wood Craft against Lime Putty terxture walls 7

M5 ATERIALS 6 78 5. Oxide & Terrazzo Sample Circles, 6. Blue Oxide Wall texture, 7. Patterend Rammed Earth Wall, 4. Reclaimed wood and metal mesh shuttres against reused Mangalore tile roof. 8

1 THATSESCEI OF MORF 1. Black Box Studios, Chennai (Dustudio) 9

2 2.Residence at Pondicherry, (Muqami), 3, Experience Centre TKN, Kodaikanal (Dustudio) 3 10

LAYOUTS SECTION PLAN Residence Proposal - Sample (Dustudio) 11

When we plan our layouts we keep three things in mind - a. capitalizing on the natural elements - direction of the winds, best natural light, cutting out/ blocking the strong heat, capturing the best vistas. b. ease of circulation and movement. c. open planning giving way to wholesome inhabitable spaces. SECTION Residence Proposal - Sample (Dustudio) PLAN 12

FURNITURE 1 4 2 5 1,2,3,4 - Furniture made out of reclaimed country wood - Kalimardu, for a tech based client based out of Chennai (Muqami) 3 13

In a fabric of abundant laminate and plywood furniture, we work with natural hard wood, some reclaimed some reused 8 to produce handcrafted, breathable furniture that is elegant, sleek and timeless. We draw inspiration from the workmanship of our local traditional furniture and the aesthetics and efficient utility of traditional Japanese furniture. We 9 combine materials like natural stone (marble, granites etc), glass, weaves, fabric, handmade paper and more with our reclaimed wood to create unique one of a kind pieces that compliment our interiors. 10 6 14 7 5,6,7,8,9,10 - Furniture made out of the wood obtained from a Eucalyptus and an Acacia tree that fell during the Vardha Cyclone in 2016, for Black Box Studios, Chennai (Dustudio)

ART IN ARCHITECTURE 15

16

17

PROCESS The process pictures are from two ongoing sites near Auroville, India. Both are residences and are being executed as a collaboration between Muqami and Dustudio. One is a renovation of an old house previously built by Dustudio, and the other is a new construction. Both projects involve local alternative building technologies being carried out by local artisans from around the region. 18

Our recent collaboration with DUSTUDIO and INTACH involved an intense research & documentation project where we were heading a team of designers and students partaking in travel, artisan interaction, interviews and craft documentation. This publication was specific to the Traditional Building Crafts of Tamil Nadu. The idea was to not only document the building crafts but also consolidate a list of artisans from across the state who still practice these crafts, or have ancestry related to these craft communities. These artisans are pioneers of the documented building crafts which are now scarcely practiced in the urban fabric. The publication was meant as a means to give them more visibilty and to help conserve our local rich traditional knowledge . 19

CRAFT RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION 20

WORKSHOPS@DOTSCHOOLOFDESIGN &AUROVILLE 21

22

INTERIORPROPOSALS 23

Through our proposal drawings we depict the materiality, the texture and the colour palette of the interior finishes. We aim to build an aesthetic that is representative of luxury through naturally sourced materials and artisanlly crafted interiors. We cherish and accentuate the undulations and natural imperfections of these mateirals, taking inspiration from the Japanese philosphy of Kintsugi. The pictures displayed are from the proposal stage for the interior of a residence in Chennai. 24

MUQAMI A region specific design initiative where, Culture meets Contemporary, Tradition meets Technology, Through Art & Architecture. Contact : 9952010853 Location : Chennai/ Auroville [email protected]