Experiential design, essentially, prioritizes human interaction with the built environment. Today, creating an experience is more important than ever before and is driving architects and designers to create a rigorous engagement and emotional connect to the design. The whole architectural experience is orchestrated by the perception of the user while they move through the space

By Ar. Ishvinder Kaur, ivpartners

ivpartnersPVR Superplex

User experience design (UX) or experiential design, initially rooted and originated upon in human-computer interaction, has moved beyond the digital realm of relevance to change our expectations of physical space. In the last several years, there’s been a significant shift of focus in design that has emphasized human wellness and betterment. These are the core values that form the foundation of experiential design and a re-imagination of design to make the space better for the humans that occupy or use it.

Today, creating an experience is more important than ever before. Architects and designers thus strive towards creating a rigorous engagement and emotional connect to the design. This quest requires an in-depth analysis of how people will interact with the space, which is then evaluated and enumerated to evolve a brief. A few standard elements that ensure an instant association with the users are signage, decor, and lighting that strongly align with the brand message. Since experiential design revolves around the culmination of elements to form a recall and maximize footfall, more and more businesses and institutions are seeking experiential designers. Since a consistent yet ever-evolving brand base is the major deliverable in such cases, a common demand amongst the fraternity is a dramatic and statement aesthetic, which creates an exception, and gives the user a sense of belonging in an exclusive context. Exclusive grandeur has thus gradually become sort of a mandate in such spaces.

ivpartnersBLUO

With a surge in development of materials and technology in the past three decades, the manifestation of grandeur in design has successfully been conceptualised, improvised on, and perfected over innumerable realms. A play of varied elements from ancient buildings is the usual principle that is witnessed in such design approaches. Following are some of the elements or areas that are experimented within the domain of experiential architecture to construct an essence of magnificence and enduring aesthetics.

Scale: The scale of the space is defined through the manipulation of heights using elements that exuberate stature and appointment of the same in a way that helps the user appreciate each and every element in all its glory. A great example of experience through scale can be seen in PVR Superplex Cinemas, Noida. Designed by ivpartners, the double-height spaces and waterfall edge chandeliers give the feel of a contemporary palace court.
Ishvinder Kaur, Founding Principal, ivpartners
The prerequisite for any designer who aims towards achieving an “experiential space design” is to constantly keep on evolving their ideas to suit the latest trends and to consistently yearn towards infusing elements that make for a definitive narrative

Ishvinder Kaur, Founding Principal, ivpartners

ivpartnersP.G. Khan Market

Colour: The colour palette is of great importance in experiential architecture and interior design to manifest the design with its visual and mental connotations. For example, the use of warm and darker colours and tones with striking and metallic accents, imbibe a feel of luxury, leisure and regal hospitality, while light and cool shades are more suggestive of energized playful environments and an overall feel of lounging and entertainment. This can be seen in ivpartners’ design of the BluO Bowling arcade in Ludhiana, where the blue colour of the brand has been used as a key accent near bowling lanes and which builds a rhythm with the rest of the areas.

Flooring: The quality and typology of the products used along with the zoning play a very important role in defining the whole aesthetic of the space. Simple inspirations from colonial and mid-modern architecture like superior quality marbles and pattern inlays, for instance, give a plush and ceremonial connotation to spaces. For instance, the royal black marble entrance staircase in Punjab Grill in Khan Market, Delhi, exuberates stately magnificence.

ivpartnersP.G Kala Ghoda (flooring)

Finishes: The finishing and cladding of walls is yet another way of enhancing the value of any space and orchestrating the actual experience. With handcraft and modern techniques, the scope of art, artworks and mural collaboration for walls and roofs have increased tenfold. Designers are incorporating elements like niches, highlight walls, wall and roof murals etc to give a sense of nobility and royalty in the architecture and design of buildings. Ivpartners specializes in making specially curated design elements with murals and chandeliers and complementing the floors with the highlights in the walls.

Furniture: Contemporary furniture inspired by design lineage like high-back chairs, polished wood cabinets and coffee tables with coloured glass indents, embroidered velvet couches, and marble tabletops, enhance the royal character of the space. In the project Punjab Grill at Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, mid-century contemporary furniture in tan and grey, pay homage to the ambient colors while the ‘phulkari’ inspired flooring in the stately dining area give it a luxurious aura.

ivpartnersGold Class Saket

Lighting: Lighting can be extrapolated in multiple ways to steer user experience. An appropriate illustration is the PVR Gold Class cinema lounge at Saket in New Delhi. ivpartners has used soft amber lighting that revitalizes the spatial quality and creates a dramatic and glamorous appeal to the space.