ON THE HOUSE
Words dikshu c. kukreja
Designing of homes is a refection of various aspects that relate to social and aesthetic trends and an individual’s cultural infuences and upbringing. The design of a home is the result of a sensitive thought process, where an architect needs to imbibe the aspirations of the owner, his/her lifestyle, characteristics and the location of the house itself. Whenever an individual sets out to buy or rent a house, they are directly or indirectly infuenced by their surroundings. Today, in an increasingly fast-paced society, where the drift is towards a nuclear family set up, people are looking for maximum comfort in their homes... Click here to read more 

THE VISUAL PRANKSTER
Words pragya priyali
Shigeo Fukuda, was one of the most infuential graphic artists and illusionists of our time. His capacity to distill complex environmental and sociological issues into compelling images in the form of simple logos and forms began a graphic design revolution in Japan. At the age of 76, he died of a stroke on January 11 this year in Tokyo, leaving behind a glorious history of graphic illustrations, illusionary sculptures and iconic posters that the world will always remember him with.

“I believe that in design, 30 per cent dignity, 20 per cent beauty and 50 per cent absurdity are necessary,” he once told the Japanese design magazine Idea. Graphic wit was part of Fukuda’s upbringing. Born in 1932 in Tokyo to a family of toy manufacturers, he enjoyed making origami as child....Click here to read more 

EASTERN PROMISES
Words preetika mathew

For those not familiar with the Mayfair area of London, here’s a quick introduction – it is the most expensive property on the British Monopoly game board. If that doesn’t give you an idea about its real life status, let me add that Mayfair has played host to residents like Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Clive, Dwight D Eisenhower, Somerset Maugham and Jimi Hendrix. Today, apart from the Royal Academy of Arts and the Grosvenor House Hotel lining its roads, Mayfair boasts of residential properties, exclusive shops and London’s largest concentration of luxury hotels and restaurants. In short, it’s a realtor’s dream and a house hunter’s paradise. It therefore comes as no surprise that when Faiza and Pallak Seth found their dream house on Mayfair’s Green Street, they felt they must have done something right in their lives...Click here to read more

MADCAP HARDBACK
Words  megha mahindru
Raavi Sabharwal might seem like an unlikely candidate for your friendly neighbourhood bookseller. Not only does he carry a loaded revolver at any given time, the 63-year-old’s characteristic eccentricities echo through a place he calls Timeless. For starters, his book studio stores everything from a double bed to a rocking chair, a plasma screen to footstools, lecterns to even a six-seat dining table, within its precincts. And once you start a conversation with the eccentric owner, his quirkiness surely seems to rub off on you.

This red-bricked bibliophile haven, nestled deep amidst the humdrum of Kotla Mubarakpur, is a treasure waiting to be discovered. It is here, at the bookstore’s foyer, that Rudyard Kipling and Harley Davidson fnd an unusual meeting point. A poster of the poem If and a picture collage of bikes hang at the entrance... Click here to read more 

GLASS APART
Words nishtha kalra
Contemporary interiors resplendent with steel, chrome, glass and metallic fnishes don’t look much different from the magical glass houses we used to see in our fairy tale books. From multicoloured crystal chandeliers and shiny glass partitions to textured glass cabinets and toughened glass top kitchen counters, the multi-faceted muse for modern-day interior designers is glass, and justifably so. Whether it is an Oriental restaurant or Hard Rock Café, glass is an important feature of every setting these days. Its adroit and versatile character is being further explored by new age glass manufacturers, who are providing an array of options for lighting, decorating, adding an illusion of space and a dash of futuristic elegance to any enclosed space.

Many Faces
Glass is like clay which can be moulded into any form. Finishes in glass are produced by applying different techniques to the surface, by adding dyes or by ... Click here to read more 

CROWNING GREENERY
Words yashica dutt

Years of reading geography in school and reciting the spelling of Environmental Degradation didn’t do much for our collective consciousness. Every year we were taught techniques to conserve rain water and not waste electricity. But that didn’t make much of an impact until now, when we actually see each year getting hotter than the last, rain becoming thinner than earlier and Mother Earth fnally out for revenge like never before. So, everyone set out to do their own little bit and since, by now, you too must be eager to have a share in the pie, here is how you can do something for the environment and become the coolest cat around town, literally. Get a green roof!

Demystifying the Green
Technically speaking, a green roof, also known as eco-roof, vegetated roof or living roof and in this case not referring to a solar panelled roof, is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil... Click here to read more