Drink, Responsibly

Studio Cube articulate the zero-waste lifestyle credo through an organic aesthetic using sustainable and recyclable materials in For Earth’s Sake wine and coffee bar/retail space in Gurugram.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Shades Studio; courtesy Studio Cube

The brief 

The For Earth’s Sake project is a small initiative towards the reduction of plastic waste in our daily use. The client’s brief sought a retail experience using materials inspired by nature itself.

The design intent

The main idea behind this new wine and coffee bar/retail space in Gurugram is to reduce the carbon footprint by minimising the use of plastic and other non-sustainable materials. Interwoven with this objective was the desire to create a “fine design blend of minimal elements providing a warm, cosy and homey vibe to the users,” says Kashish Khandelwal, principal architect, Studio Cube.

The spatial flow

The 1,500-sq-ft, long, rectangular space, apportioned into a cafe proper in the front and back-of-the-office areas towards the rear, offers bar-style seating near the entry with a line of banquettes along the opposite wall. The beer/coffee bar is positioned further along. “The layout was primarily designed to keep the circulation easy and seamless with a single circulation axis while accommodating the design requirements,” says the architect. 

The visual expression

The shell is rendered in light, neutral tones to keep the focus on the earth-friendly products. The materiality promotes an abundance of rawness. “White textured walls, white terrazzo-finish and custom-printed tiles and grey accents helped bring our vision of an airy, contemporary space to life,” elucidates Kashish. These are paired with pine wood and, on the bar facia, wicker panels, which uphold the earthly palette, besides being sustainable in nature. Greens are infused at strategic locations to weave in animating freshness, their foliage echoed by a stunning — and lush — wall mural of a fecund landscape. The wall opposite the art-wall features exposed brick, while light fixtures, rendered in natural fibres, amplify the central idea. The ceiling, in a striking contrast to the textured rawness below, is rendered in industrial fashion, its blackness creating a mysterious feeling of infinity.

The highlights

Materials ably shoulder the responsibility of communicating the core concept of   sustainability, recyclability and waste-reduction. For instance, MS pipes which are usually used for plumbing, have been employed as a support structure for wooden shelves, lauding their strength and reusability when compared to their plastic counterparts. Then, next to the bar stool seating area, the team designed a bookshelf with wood from a tree that had fallen at the client’s farmhouse. “The bookshelf and the retail space in space in general symbolise the idea ‘Save the trees, save the planet’,” points out Kashish.

Fact file

Project: For Earth’s Sake
Location: Gurugram
Area: 1,500 sq ft
Principal architect: Kashish Khandelwal
Design team: Riya Bhardwaj and Prajeet Srivastava