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FINANCIAL TIMES FEBRUARY 10/FEBRUARY 11 2007                        ★                                                                                                                                                                                           HOUSE & HOME 9

                                                                                                                         HO USE & H OME




A giant with an eye on ‘the little man’
In a new exhibition, Shigeru Ban pays tribute to his fellow architect and humanitarian Alvar Aalto, writes Nicole Swengley


F
        inland’s Alvar Aalto was one of                                                                                                                                                                                                      Examples of it are still produced and
        the great 20th century archi-                                                                                                                                                                                                        sold today.
        tects. Japan’s Shigeru Ban is                                                                                                                                                                                                           Villa Mairea epitomises Aalto’s sig-
        one of today’s brightest stars.                                                                                                                                                                                                      nature style in terms of space arrange-
        Aalto, who died in 1976, worked                                                                                                                                                                                                      ments, use of materials (forest-like
primarily in his home country through                                                                                                                                                                                                        vertical wooden pillars) and its nod to
an age in which hand-craftsmanship                                                                                                                                                                                                           traditional Japanese architecture,
segued into industrialisation. Ban, 50,                                                                                                                                                                                                      rustic Finnish farms and continental
studied in the US and now works                                                                                                                                                                                                              modernism. The architect aimed to har-
between offices in Tokyo and Paris,                                                                                                                                                                                                          monise buildings within their settings
navigating an increasingly computer-                                                                                                                                                                                                         and blurred indoor-outdoor boundaries,
ised and automated industry.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 often reversing convention. So the villa
  The two men come from different                                                                                                                                                                                                            living room became a forest space with
times and cultural, economic and tech-                                                                                                                                                                                                       a corner garden gazebo. Furnishings
nological backgrounds. Their work dif-                                                                                                                                                                                                       and lighting designed for the house
fers aesthetically and technically. Yet                                                                                                                                                                                                      were later produced commercially by
they are united by a design philosophy                                                                                                                                                                                                       Artek, the company that he set up with
that ranks humanitarian values above                                                                                                                                                                                                         the villa owner’s wife, Maire Gul-
style. And that is why London’s Barbi-                                                                                                                                                                                                       lichsen, and design critic Nils Gustav
can Art Gallery has asked Ban to co-                                                                                                                                                                                                         Hahl, and which still exists today.
curate the first UK exhibition celebrat-                                                                                                                                                                                                        Because Aalto hated the idea of mass-
ing Aalto’s work.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            produced houses, he strived for “flexible
  “I hold Aalto’s compassionate                                                                                                                                                                                                              standardisation” – a way of offering
approach to architecture in the highest                                                                                                                                                                                                      maximum variation through different
regard,” Ban says. “His ultimate goal                                                                                                                                                                                                        building parts, using them as “living
as an architect was to promote comfort                                                                                                                                                                                                       cells”. This concept is exemplified by
and happiness to ‘the little man’ – to                                                                                                                                                                                                       the prefabricated wooden AA System
ordinary people. His great innovations                                                                                                                                                                                                       houses commissioned by the Ahlstrom
were not just intended for his own                                                                                                                                                                                                           Corporation in 1940 and intended to
artistic expression but were an explora-                                                                                                                                                                                                     relieve wartime housing shortages.
tion of ways to distribute better hous-                                                                                                                                                                                                         Two other projects – La Maison Car-
ing and living conditions to the greater                                                                                                                                                                                                     rée in France and Scinasoki, an Aalto-
part of society.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                            planned Finnish town – are presented
  So Aalto worked not only on innova-                                                                                                                                                                                                        alongside one another to show how his
tive private residences and civic and                                                                                                                                                                                                        ideas about space, access and flow were
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             consistent, regardless of scale. The
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             house’s hall serves as a communal
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             space, much like a village square.
‘It was the kind of                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Tomoko Sato, the Barbican Gallery
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             curator, observes that Aalto’s civic
space that one wouldn’t                                                                                                                                                                                                                      buildings were also designed like com-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             fortable houses rather than monumen-
be able to comprehend                                                                                                                                                                                                                        tal institutions. “His interest was to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             make people feel at home, not to create
through photographs                                                                                                                                                                                                                          a hierarchy,” she says.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Aalto’s focus on lighting is highlighted
and text in a book’                                                                                                                                                                                                                          by his Viipuri City Library reader’s
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             room, where rows of cylinder-shaped top
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             lights minimise the shadows cast under
cultural buildings but also low-cost                                                                                                                                                                                                         readers’ hands, and the Church of the
housing and industrial estates. He                                                                                                                                                                                                           Three Crosses in Imatra, Finland, where
focused on the details – furniture,                                                                                                                                                                                                          skylights and sculptured white walls
light fittings, glassware, textiles, jew-                                                                                                                                                                                                    transform the building into a luminous
ellery and book covers – as well as the                                                                                                                                                                                                      light source. Aalto “explored the most
big picture – town and even regional                                                                                                                                                                                                         efficient ways to take in natural light in
planning projects. Taking the environ-                                                                                                                                                                                                       the northern latitudes,” Ban explains.
ment as an inspiration, he employed                                                                                                                                                                                                          “When he designed a building, he always
or created organic shapes and pro-                                                                                                                                                                                                           seemed to have been conscious of incor-
moted the use of natural and local                                                                                                                                                                                                           porating an efficient system to diffuse
materials. His rational approach to                                                                                                                                                                                                          [light] indoors.”
problem solving resulted in some won-                                                                                                                                                                                                           It’s ironic that the venue for this
derful ideas. And a capacity to explore                                                                                                                                                                                                      exhibition is the Barbican Centre – a
a structure’s emotional and psycholog-                                                                                                                                                                                                       place that is architecturally uncom-
ical impact led him to believe that                                                                                                                                                                                                          fortable, cluttered and not easy to use.
“architecture is not mere decoration;                                                                                                                                                                                                        It’s a far cry from the “earthly para-
it is a deeply biological, if not a pre-                                                                                                                                                                                                     dise” that Aalto believed to be “the
dominantly moral matter”.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ultimate goal of the architect”. Still,
   For Ban – who founded the Volunteer                                                                                                                                                                                                       thanks in large part to Ban’s involve-
Architects Network charity in 1995 and                                                                                                                                                                                                       ment, the show is an interesting one,
is known for designing emergency shel-                                                                                                                                                                                                       that says as much about the future as
ters and temporary housing for survi-       ‘Forest space’: the living room at Villa Mairea. Top, l-r, Alvar Aalto, details of his work and Shigeru Ban                                      Eva and Perlti Ingervo/Shigeru Ban Architects   it does about the past.
vors of wars and natural disasters in                                                                                                                                                                                                           “I hope [it] will raise questions about
Rwanda, Japan, Turkey, India and Sri        kind of space that one wouldn’t be able          garden and front room are designed as             House of Culture in Helsinki, famous       dilemmas. Others include the Paimio                architecture’s role today and generate
Lanka – Aalto’s ethos is deeply reso-       to comprehend through photographs                a single space.                                   for its undulating brick walls, shows      Tuberculosis Sanitorium, Villa Mairea              debate about issues such as sustaina-
nant. In fact, Ban’s eureka moment –        and text in a book; one would need to              For the Barbican exhibition, Ban has            not only their shape but also a cross-     and the AA System houses, all of                   bility and resources that are common
his realisation that he could use light-    experience it on the spot in order to            created curving cardboard tube walls              section of structural brick-work, while    which are in Finland.                              to all of us,” Sato says. At the very
weight, low-cost paper tubes structur-      understand the quality of it.”                   and platforms and undulating paper                the Baker House model shows how              The first project embraced numer-                least, visitors can observe the interplay
ally – happened during his involvement         Although Ban’s architecture is differ-        ceilings, transforming the gallery inte-          light was diffused within the Massa-       ous humane concepts – splash-free                  between two architectural soulmates.
with an earlier exhibition of the archi-    ent from Aalto’s, it is clearly fired by         rior. He and Juhani Pallasmaa, former             chusetts Institute of Technology dormi-    sinks for patients’ rooms, mobile side
tect’s work at Tokyo’s Axis Gallery in      it, with natural shapes and innovative           director of the Museum of Finnish                 tory. Alongside these are specially com-   tables that double as patients’ dining             ‘Alvar Aalto: Through the Eyes of
1986.                                       uses of materials. Aside from the inter-         Architecture in Helsinki, have selected           missioned photographs of Aalto build-      tables, sloping floors near windows to             Shigeru Ban’ runs from February 22-
   This came two years after his first      national aid work, he has been lauded            15 key projects to chart Aalto’s career           ings that highlight the beauty of his      avoid an accumulation of dust and                  May 13 at the Barbican Art Gallery,
in-person exposure to Aalto-designed        for private homes, including the Cur-            and designed analytical models to show            shapes, textures and details.              double-glazed windows to keep out                  London. A rare talk by Shigeru Ban
buildings as a photographer’s assistant     tain Wall House, which has glass walls           how he used materials, handled space                 Ban thinks the chosen projects are      cold air. Aalto’s attention to detail              about his work and Aalto’s legacy will
in Finland. “In Aalto’s architecture I      folding back to open the rooms, ele-             and dealt with details.                           fundamental to understanding Aalto’s       meant finding the exact angle for a                take place at 7pm on February 20.
found a space created to complement         mentally, on two sides, and the Picture            These sectional models are, in them-            architectural philosophy and directly      birch bentwood chair that would best               Tel: +44 0845-120 7550; www.barbican.
its context,” Ban recalls. “It was the      Window House, in which a terrace,                selves, quite beautiful. The one of the           relate to contemporary building            aid a sanitorium patient’s breathing.              org.uk/gallery



WORK IN PROGRESS


Taking the wraps off an ancient art
In the first of a series, Janice Blackburn talks to Indian designer Gunjan Gupta about modern furniture inspired by the opulence of the Mughals
                                In some respects, Gunjan            to Delhi, where she discov-                                                                                designs, she enrolled in Lon-       Russia, Elle Décor gave her          the business came from her
                                Gupta’s career mirrors the          ered Sharma Farm, a vast                                                                                   don’s St Martins College of         an award for her Dining              interior design career savings
                                progression of India from a         warehouse complex packed                                                                                   Art. This was not an easy           Throne, a wooden chair               and from family.
                                third-world country stuck in        with antiques and exotic arte-                                                                             leap. She had a two-year-old        wrapped in gold leaf and               The next big step will
                                its past to a sophisticated         facts from every corner of                                                                                 daughter, Sitara, at the time       thick sheets of pure silver,         come in May when Gupta
                                society competing on a glo-         India. She describes it as                                                                                 and so negotiated to study          and Eastern Recline, a low           presents her work at New
                                bal stage.                          inspirational. “It put me in                                                                               for a two-year research-based       Indian-inspired lounging             York’s International Con-
                                   Gupta grew up in subur-          touch with the idea that there                                                                             masters degree, juggling her        chair. Pamploni, the Florence-       temporary Furniture Fair
                                ban Mumbai and after high           was a history to many tradi-                                                                               time between London (four           based silver manufacturer,           with the support of the Brit-
                                school      studied  interior       tional skills,” she explains.                                                                              weeks each semester), Delhi,        has asked her to design a            ish European Design Group.
                                design at the Sophia Poly-             She began to travel around                                                                              Jaipur and Udaipur. With the        collection and well-known            Polly Dickens, design direc-
                                technic, a school famous for        the country seeking out                                                                                    support of her husband and          New York interior designer
                                textiles. She says the pro-         small artisan workshops and                                                                                mother and the encourage-           Peter Marino is interested in
                                gramme “wasn’t great” but           rare materials and, in                                                                                     ment of Simon Fraser, course        her making reflective wall
                                she parlayed it into an             Jaipur, unearthed a tech-                                                                                  director at St Martins, she         tiles for him in gold and sil-       Aston Martin has
                                apprenticeship with Varsha          nique that intrigued her. Sil-                                                                             also developed prototypes of        ver. Maithili Ahluwaliea,
                                Desai, a leading interior           ver and gold wrapping was a                                                                                silver-wrapped furniture.           owner of Mumbai design               even contacted
                                designer in India with many         type of ornamentation his-                                                                                    At her graduation show in        space Bungalow Eight, has
                                prominent industrialist fami-       torically used on Mughal                                                                                   July 2006, she showed three         commissioned an exclusive            her about a
                                lies for clients.                   thrones as a way of display-                                                                               stunning, minimal, silver-          range to launch this sum-
                                   Although the “tradition-         ing their value while also                                                                                 wrapped pieces. Luckily, she        mer. And Aston Martin has            silver-wrapped
                                ally opulent old style” was         demonstrating attributes of                                                                                says, “people loved them”           even contacted her about a
                                not exactly one Gupta               purity in a socio-religious                                                                                and in September she                silver-wrapped car interior.         car interior
                                wanted to replicate, the            context. It is documented as                                                                               launched her newly formed              Gupta now has two full-
                                experience gave her an              being the oldest form of fur-                                                                              company Wrap at London’s            time employees working in
                                opportunity to “explore the         niture design in India                                                                                     100% Design trade fair. It          her Dehli design studio and          tor of the group, also wants
                                world of luxury”, travelling        (referred to in sacred Hindu                                                                               was an ambitious first step.        has linked up with a team of         the designer to explore
                                to top furniture fairs and          texts such as the Rig Veda,                                                                                But “I wanted to test               carpenters that makes the            cheaper forms of the craft
                                poring over the best cata-          Mhabhatara and Ramayana)                                                                                   whether there really was a          wooden frames for tables and         using brass and white metal
                                logues. This bought her             but most modern-day exam-                                                                                  market for something as             chairs. These are then sent to       instead of silver and gold.
                                some time since she was still       ples “are very degraded and                                                                                insane as gold- and metal-          be wrapped by a community               Gupta is talented and
                                “figuring out what to do”           of poor quality”, Gupta says.                                                                              wrapped furniture,” she says.       of skilled artisans in Jaipur.       savvy, a woman focused on
                                with her own career.                   Having decided that she                                                                                    The gamble paid off. Fol-        Production takes six to eight        building a profitable business
                                   In 2000 she married and          would revive and reinterpret                                                                               lowing favourable press cov-        weeks and the pieces are             around an ancient art. Just
                                relocated with her husband –        the craft by applying it to her                                                                            erage not only in the UK but        priced from £500 to £1,500,          like India itself, she is a work
                                an environmental engineer –         own contemporary furniture            Gunjan Gupta, and, left, some of her work        Amit Bhargava/WPN   also from as far afield as          although the seed money for          in progress.

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Ft wrap

  • 1. FINANCIAL TIMES FEBRUARY 10/FEBRUARY 11 2007 ★ HOUSE & HOME 9 HO USE & H OME A giant with an eye on ‘the little man’ In a new exhibition, Shigeru Ban pays tribute to his fellow architect and humanitarian Alvar Aalto, writes Nicole Swengley F inland’s Alvar Aalto was one of Examples of it are still produced and the great 20th century archi- sold today. tects. Japan’s Shigeru Ban is Villa Mairea epitomises Aalto’s sig- one of today’s brightest stars. nature style in terms of space arrange- Aalto, who died in 1976, worked ments, use of materials (forest-like primarily in his home country through vertical wooden pillars) and its nod to an age in which hand-craftsmanship traditional Japanese architecture, segued into industrialisation. Ban, 50, rustic Finnish farms and continental studied in the US and now works modernism. The architect aimed to har- between offices in Tokyo and Paris, monise buildings within their settings navigating an increasingly computer- and blurred indoor-outdoor boundaries, ised and automated industry. often reversing convention. So the villa The two men come from different living room became a forest space with times and cultural, economic and tech- a corner garden gazebo. Furnishings nological backgrounds. Their work dif- and lighting designed for the house fers aesthetically and technically. Yet were later produced commercially by they are united by a design philosophy Artek, the company that he set up with that ranks humanitarian values above the villa owner’s wife, Maire Gul- style. And that is why London’s Barbi- lichsen, and design critic Nils Gustav can Art Gallery has asked Ban to co- Hahl, and which still exists today. curate the first UK exhibition celebrat- Because Aalto hated the idea of mass- ing Aalto’s work. produced houses, he strived for “flexible “I hold Aalto’s compassionate standardisation” – a way of offering approach to architecture in the highest maximum variation through different regard,” Ban says. “His ultimate goal building parts, using them as “living as an architect was to promote comfort cells”. This concept is exemplified by and happiness to ‘the little man’ – to the prefabricated wooden AA System ordinary people. His great innovations houses commissioned by the Ahlstrom were not just intended for his own Corporation in 1940 and intended to artistic expression but were an explora- relieve wartime housing shortages. tion of ways to distribute better hous- Two other projects – La Maison Car- ing and living conditions to the greater rée in France and Scinasoki, an Aalto- part of society.” planned Finnish town – are presented So Aalto worked not only on innova- alongside one another to show how his tive private residences and civic and ideas about space, access and flow were consistent, regardless of scale. The house’s hall serves as a communal space, much like a village square. ‘It was the kind of Tomoko Sato, the Barbican Gallery curator, observes that Aalto’s civic space that one wouldn’t buildings were also designed like com- fortable houses rather than monumen- be able to comprehend tal institutions. “His interest was to make people feel at home, not to create through photographs a hierarchy,” she says. Aalto’s focus on lighting is highlighted and text in a book’ by his Viipuri City Library reader’s room, where rows of cylinder-shaped top lights minimise the shadows cast under cultural buildings but also low-cost readers’ hands, and the Church of the housing and industrial estates. He Three Crosses in Imatra, Finland, where focused on the details – furniture, skylights and sculptured white walls light fittings, glassware, textiles, jew- transform the building into a luminous ellery and book covers – as well as the light source. Aalto “explored the most big picture – town and even regional efficient ways to take in natural light in planning projects. Taking the environ- the northern latitudes,” Ban explains. ment as an inspiration, he employed “When he designed a building, he always or created organic shapes and pro- seemed to have been conscious of incor- moted the use of natural and local porating an efficient system to diffuse materials. His rational approach to [light] indoors.” problem solving resulted in some won- It’s ironic that the venue for this derful ideas. And a capacity to explore exhibition is the Barbican Centre – a a structure’s emotional and psycholog- place that is architecturally uncom- ical impact led him to believe that fortable, cluttered and not easy to use. “architecture is not mere decoration; It’s a far cry from the “earthly para- it is a deeply biological, if not a pre- dise” that Aalto believed to be “the dominantly moral matter”. ultimate goal of the architect”. Still, For Ban – who founded the Volunteer thanks in large part to Ban’s involve- Architects Network charity in 1995 and ment, the show is an interesting one, is known for designing emergency shel- that says as much about the future as ters and temporary housing for survi- ‘Forest space’: the living room at Villa Mairea. Top, l-r, Alvar Aalto, details of his work and Shigeru Ban Eva and Perlti Ingervo/Shigeru Ban Architects it does about the past. vors of wars and natural disasters in “I hope [it] will raise questions about Rwanda, Japan, Turkey, India and Sri kind of space that one wouldn’t be able garden and front room are designed as House of Culture in Helsinki, famous dilemmas. Others include the Paimio architecture’s role today and generate Lanka – Aalto’s ethos is deeply reso- to comprehend through photographs a single space. for its undulating brick walls, shows Tuberculosis Sanitorium, Villa Mairea debate about issues such as sustaina- nant. In fact, Ban’s eureka moment – and text in a book; one would need to For the Barbican exhibition, Ban has not only their shape but also a cross- and the AA System houses, all of bility and resources that are common his realisation that he could use light- experience it on the spot in order to created curving cardboard tube walls section of structural brick-work, while which are in Finland. to all of us,” Sato says. At the very weight, low-cost paper tubes structur- understand the quality of it.” and platforms and undulating paper the Baker House model shows how The first project embraced numer- least, visitors can observe the interplay ally – happened during his involvement Although Ban’s architecture is differ- ceilings, transforming the gallery inte- light was diffused within the Massa- ous humane concepts – splash-free between two architectural soulmates. with an earlier exhibition of the archi- ent from Aalto’s, it is clearly fired by rior. He and Juhani Pallasmaa, former chusetts Institute of Technology dormi- sinks for patients’ rooms, mobile side tect’s work at Tokyo’s Axis Gallery in it, with natural shapes and innovative director of the Museum of Finnish tory. Alongside these are specially com- tables that double as patients’ dining ‘Alvar Aalto: Through the Eyes of 1986. uses of materials. Aside from the inter- Architecture in Helsinki, have selected missioned photographs of Aalto build- tables, sloping floors near windows to Shigeru Ban’ runs from February 22- This came two years after his first national aid work, he has been lauded 15 key projects to chart Aalto’s career ings that highlight the beauty of his avoid an accumulation of dust and May 13 at the Barbican Art Gallery, in-person exposure to Aalto-designed for private homes, including the Cur- and designed analytical models to show shapes, textures and details. double-glazed windows to keep out London. A rare talk by Shigeru Ban buildings as a photographer’s assistant tain Wall House, which has glass walls how he used materials, handled space Ban thinks the chosen projects are cold air. Aalto’s attention to detail about his work and Aalto’s legacy will in Finland. “In Aalto’s architecture I folding back to open the rooms, ele- and dealt with details. fundamental to understanding Aalto’s meant finding the exact angle for a take place at 7pm on February 20. found a space created to complement mentally, on two sides, and the Picture These sectional models are, in them- architectural philosophy and directly birch bentwood chair that would best Tel: +44 0845-120 7550; www.barbican. its context,” Ban recalls. “It was the Window House, in which a terrace, selves, quite beautiful. The one of the relate to contemporary building aid a sanitorium patient’s breathing. org.uk/gallery WORK IN PROGRESS Taking the wraps off an ancient art In the first of a series, Janice Blackburn talks to Indian designer Gunjan Gupta about modern furniture inspired by the opulence of the Mughals In some respects, Gunjan to Delhi, where she discov- designs, she enrolled in Lon- Russia, Elle Décor gave her the business came from her Gupta’s career mirrors the ered Sharma Farm, a vast don’s St Martins College of an award for her Dining interior design career savings progression of India from a warehouse complex packed Art. This was not an easy Throne, a wooden chair and from family. third-world country stuck in with antiques and exotic arte- leap. She had a two-year-old wrapped in gold leaf and The next big step will its past to a sophisticated facts from every corner of daughter, Sitara, at the time thick sheets of pure silver, come in May when Gupta society competing on a glo- India. She describes it as and so negotiated to study and Eastern Recline, a low presents her work at New bal stage. inspirational. “It put me in for a two-year research-based Indian-inspired lounging York’s International Con- Gupta grew up in subur- touch with the idea that there masters degree, juggling her chair. Pamploni, the Florence- temporary Furniture Fair ban Mumbai and after high was a history to many tradi- time between London (four based silver manufacturer, with the support of the Brit- school studied interior tional skills,” she explains. weeks each semester), Delhi, has asked her to design a ish European Design Group. design at the Sophia Poly- She began to travel around Jaipur and Udaipur. With the collection and well-known Polly Dickens, design direc- technic, a school famous for the country seeking out support of her husband and New York interior designer textiles. She says the pro- small artisan workshops and mother and the encourage- Peter Marino is interested in gramme “wasn’t great” but rare materials and, in ment of Simon Fraser, course her making reflective wall she parlayed it into an Jaipur, unearthed a tech- director at St Martins, she tiles for him in gold and sil- Aston Martin has apprenticeship with Varsha nique that intrigued her. Sil- also developed prototypes of ver. Maithili Ahluwaliea, Desai, a leading interior ver and gold wrapping was a silver-wrapped furniture. owner of Mumbai design even contacted designer in India with many type of ornamentation his- At her graduation show in space Bungalow Eight, has prominent industrialist fami- torically used on Mughal July 2006, she showed three commissioned an exclusive her about a lies for clients. thrones as a way of display- stunning, minimal, silver- range to launch this sum- Although the “tradition- ing their value while also wrapped pieces. Luckily, she mer. And Aston Martin has silver-wrapped ally opulent old style” was demonstrating attributes of says, “people loved them” even contacted her about a not exactly one Gupta purity in a socio-religious and in September she silver-wrapped car interior. car interior wanted to replicate, the context. It is documented as launched her newly formed Gupta now has two full- experience gave her an being the oldest form of fur- company Wrap at London’s time employees working in opportunity to “explore the niture design in India 100% Design trade fair. It her Dehli design studio and tor of the group, also wants world of luxury”, travelling (referred to in sacred Hindu was an ambitious first step. has linked up with a team of the designer to explore to top furniture fairs and texts such as the Rig Veda, But “I wanted to test carpenters that makes the cheaper forms of the craft poring over the best cata- Mhabhatara and Ramayana) whether there really was a wooden frames for tables and using brass and white metal logues. This bought her but most modern-day exam- market for something as chairs. These are then sent to instead of silver and gold. some time since she was still ples “are very degraded and insane as gold- and metal- be wrapped by a community Gupta is talented and “figuring out what to do” of poor quality”, Gupta says. wrapped furniture,” she says. of skilled artisans in Jaipur. savvy, a woman focused on with her own career. Having decided that she The gamble paid off. Fol- Production takes six to eight building a profitable business In 2000 she married and would revive and reinterpret lowing favourable press cov- weeks and the pieces are around an ancient art. Just relocated with her husband – the craft by applying it to her erage not only in the UK but priced from £500 to £1,500, like India itself, she is a work an environmental engineer – own contemporary furniture Gunjan Gupta, and, left, some of her work Amit Bhargava/WPN also from as far afield as although the seed money for in progress.