Mapping Stones
HT Estates, Saturday, 27 September 2003
  

What a diamond is to a women, a stone is to a building. It was with this punch line coined by the MD of RMR Marmo Pvt. Ltd., Naval Kishor, in mind that architects-cum-interior designers, Rajiv and Mukta Gupta, did up the interiors of a showroom for imported stones.

RMR Marmo's showroom in Rajouri Garden has an impressive steel & glass facade that makes you wonder wheather you are walking into a marble showroom or an upmarket corporate office. As soon as you step inside, Kishor's words spring to life. On display are different varieties of imported marble & onyx. The display is conventional - slabs placed next to the walls, leaving the space in between totally empty.

But, it is in this open space that the Gupta duo's architectural expertise comes to the fore. For the area takes the shape of a world map. The map showcase the various varieties of stones in a very unique way - each country sports a different coloured stone, displaying what the region is famous for.

"Selling marble is a stereo type business - most showrooms just display slabs of stone in an unaesthetic manner. With nobody doing concept selling these days, we thought it best to showcase the different varieties in an unusual fashion - not just to arouse the customer's interest, but also to excite his aesthetic senses. Further, we wanted to treat the atrium as well as the lobby spatially so that the maximum possible colours could be displayed on the floor," says Rajiv.

With the result that in order to highlight the world map, the other interior aspects in the showroom have been underplayed. Which is why you won't find any extra furniture pieces in the atrium. but when you look up at the ceiling, you realise the true meaning of kishor's words - the dome takes the shape of a diamond, with the effect further enhanced by the use of reflected lighting. Says Mukta, "In fact, the concept of reflected/diffused lighting enables the glare to be reflected from the dome and fall on the world map below, further enhancing its beauty."

The map, however, is not the only manner in which the array of imported stones, have been highlighted. The three toilets also sport different type of marble in a range of colours and inlay work. The piece of stone used are also larger, with the result that the number of joints are also negligible. "Due to this, there is no fungus formation or leakage,"  says Rajiv.

While a sleek staircase takes you up to the working area, the ground floor is home to two customer care rooms. The rooms, on the first floor, are simply furnished with working desks and red chairs. The room, to the right of the staircase, has a glass panel through which you can look down on the world map below. Interestingly, a world map has also been etched onto the glass panel -  as if reflecting the world below.

The two rooms on the ground floor are fashioned from transparent glass, except for a two by five ft. high etching. A coloured glass pattern on the ceiling lends a touch of class to the area. The pillars on either side of the rooms have a portion each in orange onxy that has been lit from within. Adding to the showroom's interesting display of stones.

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