GRAFFITI HQ

  “All conventions will this store break. Such was the idea behind its make …” going by what we’ve seen and heard of the Graffiti Design HQ showroom designed by architect Hiren Patel .

“We WILL CHANGE THE WAY the world thinks about tiles,” was a vision shared by Sachin shah, owner of till company Graffiti, and architect Hiren Patel. Hiren’s modern ideas for tile design were the main reason Graffiti entrusted the creation of the showroom to him. It was 15 year ago that he first penciled a pattern onto a tile. He has since been closely associated with Sachin Shah and has played an important role in the success of the company’s showroom in Mumbai, Graffiti Design HQ.

That Sachin and Hiren were on the same frequency, made a huge difference to this project. Design HQ is a space that must be ‘experienced.” It has been styled so that it combines the best features of a museum and a boutique. In here, tiles are given the treatment designer necklaces would receive in a jewellery store, but with a twist-they aren’t encased in glass. Instead, the walls and floor bear testimony to how creative usage of tiles con brighten up a space . It actually prompted me to think of different, even unconventional ways, to use tiles.

Graffiti Design HQ exemplifies how tiles can add life and meaning to a space. The solid wooden door at the main entrance is designed specifically to prod potential visitors into wondering what lies within. The grey tiled path with embossed stripes and footlights is the equivalent of a red carpet welcome into the tile sphere. Beginning at the entrance and continuing through the 4500- square-foot store, is an unparallel array of tiles- chips and even slabs- in unconventional shape. The message is loud and clear; we invest in style. A team of four in the Ahmedabad factory brings these ideas to life. Sachin and his brother Bhavin maintain the right to finalize the designs.

An interesting storyboard to the left of the entrance is hard to miss; various depictions of porcelain usage – from pottery to figurines – embedded in a wooden plank set against four vertically lit tables. The central expense is occupied by two sets of tables. Various tile designs are on display at the side-walls of the store on the workstations. These are wooden boxes with sufficient area for experimenting with various tile designs and offer customers an opportunity to bring their ideas to life.

There are a variety of Graffiti tiles on the extreme left corner of the store. Origami, summer, touch, vibrant, woody… are but a few collections. Design HQ has embossed tiles on full-length panels to enable visitors to imagine their bedrooms, living or bath spaces tiled with products from Graffiti.

Concept & materials Concept To create an art gallery ambience that would be a space to experience. Minimal with lots of breathing spaces.

Materials
Walls: acrylic paint
Ceiling: black flat painted…. All wirings and pipes are open
Flooring: Refine tiles
Accessories: Stainless steel lily tray and raw wood benches Hard furnishings: Polished wenge, raw matte wood polish, use of ceramic tiles in certain areas
Set furnishings: Earth-toned cotton

Sofas running parallel to each other inhabit a cozy meeting room that you’ll be reluctant to vacate. Splendid glass doors ensure that the ambience is just right for conducting business, while making a subtle style statement. Another room features tile plates unevenly fitted over the fireplace to create shadows that help envisage the warmth of a roaring fire.

A corner, just a short walk away, has well-designed stone circular tables and circular chairs stationed against a background of chocolate and coffee-colored chips. It reminds me of the Stone Age descriptions in school textbooks. Pulling me out of my Neanderthal imaginings a coffee machine, the modern-day solution to a stressful life. Now what would go well with coffee? Hmm… in this showroom, it’s plasma TV with its reel life offerings that makes my day.

I find it hard to decide which part of the store is the best designed. “very smart and a class apart,’ appears to be the spirit of the ‘News Section’. Strategically positioned at the centre of the store, this area encapsulates the forthcoming designs. I find it tough to draw my eyes away from the transparent tiles with floral prints and colored backlights. Then there’s also the interesting array of window displays modeled by a creative agency.

Utility, sufficient display and an uncluttered layout were the basics that the design brief for this stone mandated. But more than tiles this space seems to be selling “dreams”. Dreams of lavish interiors, of lifestyles. The conference room, for instance, is abstract at its best. Black sharply contrasted with white. Even the floor tiling is black. The essence of modernism blends with attention to detail. Lighting plays a major role in bringing to life the finer aspects of the tiles. After visiting various stores and testing a whole range of light and its effects on the tiles, direct lighting was intentionally avoided and yellow lights were used. However, a few well-placed white lights cater to customers who refer white light.

It’s easy to feel like a victim of the ‘limited idea syndrome’ after a visit to this store where the spirit of style, the passion to be different, and the determination to innovate are palpable on every wall and with every step you take.

The store is a heaven of imaginative tile usage. Unconventional, smart, contemporary… there are adjectives galore to describe this mélange of quality and timelessness, but I’ll end with just two words, “must visit”.

1. Open seasame! – behind an enormous solid wood door lies a world of tiled fantasy
2. A Spherical tiled table, a raised level ‘floored’ with circular metallic disks, a counter and background walls clad in tiles, even a lighting fixtures wrapped in tiles….. The coffee corner at Graffiti Design HQ dares you to reconsider your motion of tile usage
3. Floral tiles in niches in the meeting room do some subtle marketing as you deal with the business at hand
4. Today’s headlines are…. The News section educates visitors about the latest additions to the Graffiti range. Behind the news wall stands the peaceful library
5. Can you imagine….. what your washroom would look like?
6. Thought tiles only belonged in kitchens and bathrooms? Think again. Here they form the perfect foil for the headboard of a bed
7. Table or foosball board a place where you can piece together different tiles to help you visualize what they’d look like in your space
8. Hmm… now which gallery should this work of art be displayed in?
9. a niche in the conference room exhibits almost graphic floral tiles
10. & 12 A lack of flooring options… is not something you’ll find yourself grumbling about at find yourself grumbling about at Graffiti Design HQ
11. 3D mosaic adorns the wall around the fireplace in the library
12. A walk down porcelain memory lane reveals the origin and evolution of ceramic tiles
13. This world of tiled dreams offers you both the time and the space to find exactly what you’re looking for
14. The uncluttered approach to style – as seen in the classy bedroom set-up
15. More museum than shop floor, this sophisticated space encourages you to wandere around and soak in the ambience rather than haranguing you to make a purchase
16. The masterminds behind the Graffiti store (L to R) Atul Mehta, Hiren patel, ashutosh pilojpara, Krinal suthar and Purti sheth
17. Graffiti Design HQ floorplan