Each space, like any good piece of literature, an artwork and a life that is meaningful, tells a good story. It is a narrative that is filled with victories, triumphs and obstacles (that have been overcome and more so, conquered) of individuals and ultimately, the collective human spirit.
People, come with multitude of feelings, emotions, beliefs, desires and vary through a whole spectrum of personalities! In this regard, why should the space which we occupy: in both its function and form, fall short of expressing all that we are by merely touching the surface? This might seem a little ironic, since spaces are technically, used by our superficial senses. However, it has been seen time and again that the human appetite demands beyond what the eye can see and the hand can touch. A visual feast to devour, a medley of memories, a deeper meaning and a powerful purpose is what we crave for; that is our story.
One of the greatest lessons learned during my study of interior architecture in Paris: which provided an abundant opportunities for real life observations, explorations and Paris as the quintessential classroom, was the ways in which and how design is a storytelling tool and that too, a highly effective one.
Each of the following projects completed at Paris American Academy (Luxury boutique, Parisian Apartment, Children’s library and a redesign of PAA’s lobby) aim to tell the stories of those who physically use the space and the narrative that the space itself tells us. Both residential and public spaces, were explored. More than ‘just a floor plan, or ‘mood-board’, these are a series of dialogues: between its purpose, its visual story, a certain hope reflected in its history, the dreams of what it will one day become and finally, its eventual inevitable evolution.