Press Release
The Retreat Residential House by Keta Shah and Varun Shah Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Keta Shah and Varun Shah honored for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 23, 2020 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that The Retreat Residential House by Keta Shah and Varun Shah, designed for Workshop Inc, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2019 - 2020 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
More About The Retreat Residential House
The Retreat is a weekend home located on the outskirts of Vadodara, India. The interior takes cues from the monolithic spatiality of vernacular Indian houses in a contemporary context. Thick load bearing walls were carved into niches and shaped as beds, tables and storage, then covered with a grey cement texture to form a homogeneous surface. Soft blue and green tones, wood and metal elements accent the space. Custom windows joined by a single lever allow cross ventilation and frame the fields outside. The calm setting supports a simple and relaxed lifestyle.
About Keta Shah and Varun Shah
Workshop Inc is a young design practice operating within the fields of architecture, interior design and exhibition design. Headed by Keta Shah and Varun Shah, both graduates of CEPT University, Ahmedabad, they bring their varied interests and skills to the table to undertake projects across the sectors of hospitality, retail, healthcare, workspaces and residences. The firm strives to create meaningful work, where experiential narratives, fresh ideas and relevance to the context become driving factors of the design.
Award Record
Keta Shah and Varun Shah is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award
The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Entries typically include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. Awarded interior designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/interior
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/97841
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/97841
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!97841
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/267956
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- The Retreat Residential House
- Function
- Residential House
- Category
- Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture and Packaging & Retail
- Colors
- Dim Gray, Dark Gray, Silver, Gray and Black
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Workshop Inc
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Keta Shah and Varun Shah
- Country
- India
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2019 - 2020
- Design ID
- #97841
Credits
- Team
- Keta Shah and Varun Shah
- Image Credits
- Tejas Shah
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Retreat is a weekend home that takes cues from the monolithic spatiality of vernacular Indian houses, in a contemporary context. The monolithic shell creates surfaces to sit, sleep and incorporate other functions. The material palette plays with textures and soft colours to enliven a stark space, which focuses only on the essentials. It offers a homogenous space and a clutter-free environment that focuses on a simple, relaxed lifestyle and mental wellbeing.
- Inspiration
- Located outside the city of Vadodara, The Retreat is envisioned as an escape from the chaos, noise and the fast-paced life of the city. Inspired from the vernacular mud houses found in the surrounding vicinity, a subdued natural material palette is used to create a cocoon to recharge yourself from the daily grind. The premise was to use local knowledge and create a liveable space using that keeps you grounded and as close to nature as possible.
- Research
- Field Research Objectives: To study the vernacular houses of the region to design a space that is rooted in the context Methodology & Tools: Photographic and illustrative documentation during field visit. Analysis post visit. Insights: Situated in a rural India, the mud houses respond to the hot & dry climatic conditions of the region. A single material, mud plaster, envelopes the floor and the walls to make the space cool, sustainable, and hygienic. Owing to economic limitations, furniture is bare minimum, and storage and ledges are created within the walls for various functions.
- Challenge
- Most of the furniture is custom-made or built at site to blend with the surfaces. The challenge was also to develop a simple system for the fenestration that allows for maximum openings at a minimum budget. The design of a series of window panes connected by a single lever that also functions as the handle, was an exercise in simple mechanics. This system is used throughout the house and allows for cross ventilation to keep the house cool in its hot and dry weather.
- Realization and Technology
- The interiors are designed within an existing single-storied, load bearing structure with 18" thick walls. To create a homogenous environment, walls were carved in to create niches, and modulate the surfaces as beds, tables or storage, and enveloped with a cement texture. Repurposing an outdoor planter into the circular centre table and old brass glasses into light fixtures, the design delves into the uniquely Indian characteristic of "Jugaad" - non-conventional and frugal innovations that come about due to restrictions of cost and the availability of materials.
- Operation and Interaction
- The weekend home consists of two bedrooms and a fluid living space that incorporates the living areas, dining, kitchen, bar and lots of free space to lounge. Custom designed fenestrations allow for maximum openings, and frame the greens outside. The vaulted ceiling defines the central bay of the house and visually leads to the outdoor space that overlooks the fields beyond. A grey cement texture envelopes the entire space to create a homogenous environment, accented by soft blue and green tones, wood and metal elements.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project is Located in Vadodara, India. The project duration was 10 months and was completed in March 2019.
- Specifications
- Built up Area: 205 sq mt.
- Keywords
- residence interiors, indian interiors, indian residence, weekend home, home, house interior, farmhouse
