Case Design doesn’t believe in making statements. The firm instead works to realise projects that pack substance and exude elegance, because what matters to the team is that people should truly connect with the spaces they create.
Mumbai-based Case Design is a purveyor of all things simple. The firm’s projects carry the unmistakable air of an efficient rejection of frills, but make no mistake, that is not merely the focus. As it often is, this simplicity is a result of hard work and sustained efforts at incorporating layers of meaning and utilitarian solidity under the skin.
The firm’s product line, Casegoods – clean, smooth, and impressive – is a standout representative of the style and ethics of the team members. Their work includes projects in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with an aim on building objects that last.
Avasara Academy, Pune
The team from Case Design took to heart the concept of providing an environment conducive for studies, and this naturally had to include lots of free-flowing spaces. The Avasara Academy, located in the valley of Lavale in Maharashtra, has a two-pointer charm offensive – a carefully selected mix of material textures, and an inter-connected layout that almost makes your head spin, but in a great way! The former perfectly complements the site’s rocky agrarian surroundings.
The latter, understandably, has been created with a hearty expectation of lots of movement and therefore the need for several spaces for students to gather in. It is these two facets which link together to define the uniqueness of this decidedly simple building. There is comforting familiarity in the low-frill walls and the traditional mosaic tiles.
The classrooms and reading rooms go back to the basics, with the open shelving, wide windows, and simple furniture layouts creating an environment of reliable efficiency. The team refers to an “an informal series of walkways, courtyards, gardens and terraces” in the structure, as an idea inspired by countless educational institutions’ building design.
The young female students of this academy will find plenty of tables and charpoys and open spaces to not only study but also ruminate on their future. The 4.3-acre swath is part of the ‘Knowledge City’ township, and like a young mind keen to take on information and experiences, this project too waits to be filled with the chatter and creative expression of its residents.
Home on Altamount Road, Mumbai
This home is resplendent, which makes the fact of its small material palette somewhat of a surprise. The designers from Case Design, handled a compact space in a famously space-exhausted city, with characteristic maturity. The number of primary materials was kept down to 3, namely khada plaster on the walls, Udaipur marble, and reclaimed Burma teak.
The furniture pieces, too, were kept to a clinical minimum. The storage sections are one with the walls instead of jutting out and becoming obstructions. The polished wood, the most visually-indelible element here, accords the space an aura of class. But the plaster work and the marble are the ones that make the rooms truly shine.
As sunlight rushes in from the beautiful balcony, every space in the home comes alive, commending its remarkable restraint. This project had to deliver a home to a multi-generational family, and it is hard to point out how any one of any age won’t feel right at home here!
Products
In Case Design’s universe of calm simplicity, the Rolling Round Light is a theatrical wild child. Made of brass/rosewood, this spherical table lamp sits a bit askew, challenging the centre of gravity away from its comfort space, while the light source juts out of the main sphere like a bubble gum bubble. And imagine spinning the sphere, watching it throw out a trippy cascade of light, and then come back to rest like nothing happened. Delightful!
The Folding Flat Chair’s uniqueness, on the other hand, is the 4 cm-thinness of its folded form. This product, deceptively simple again, points to the team’s eternal love for wooden textures. The teak/rosewood frames, assuredly beautiful, work across brass and steel fixtures to hold seats made of wood or waxed leather. One look and you would know that these chairs will fit in anywhere.
Residing peacefully in geek kingdom are the Topologic Bowls. Made of rosewood, teak or mahogany (no surprise there), these products are hollow at the top and square/triangular at the bottom. Their distinctive form is informed by the faceted exterior of the bowls and the beauty of the natural markings of the chosen wood. Depending on how wide, flat and shallow/deep these products can work the full range from dinnerware to home accessories. Or both at the same time!
The Casegoods product collection also includes beautifully crafted wood and metal door handles and knobs, tables (the Round Cast Table is a testament to the team’s interest in heavy-duty mechanics), and the faceted, monolithic reclaimed mahogany masterpiece destined to be remembered as the winner of the AD50 Design Award, 2017.
Contact
Email: mail@casedesign.in
Web: www.casedesign.in
