That Rustic Elegance- Exploring Vritima Wadhwa’s Design Studio, Project 810
Always fostering a passion for architecture and art, Vritima Wadhwa established her design studio, Project810, in 2013. In a relatively short period of time, she and her studio stand with a firm footing in the Indian interior design landscape. Project 810 prides itself on simplistic and elegant style. Experimenting with materials and focusing on meticulous detailing are studio signatures and the studio’s portfolio of projects are all designed to remain timeless.
The Terrene had the pleasure of speaking with Wadhwa on how her time at the prestigious National Institute of Design (India) has informed her work, the launch of her new furniture collection and her studio’s collaborative approach.
Tell us about your background. Was creativity part of your childhood?
I grew up in a family of creative entrepreneurs in New Delhi. Always inspired by colours and forms, I started my creative journey at a rather early age. Lunch breaks in the art-room, hands-on clay modeling sessions; uniforms with paint splashes were common and an integral part of my learning days. The creative and inventive environment I was surrounded with steered me towards a formal education in Design at NID (National Institute of Design), Ahmedabad.
My time at NID, in a cultural city like Ahmedabad, was highly inspired. The history, the people, the workshops, the conversations and the fact that you could cross over and familiarize yourself with other disciplines like film and textiles all allowed me to get a more comprehensive understanding of design. After that, it wasn’t just about the colours or aesthetics, questioning and reasoning came into place. NID helped me build a strong foundation that was rooted in the Indian context.
How did you decide to become an interior designer?
I think I always wanted to be an architect growing up. My love for art & design took me to NID where I honed my skills in furniture design. I got a few interior projects when I got back to Delhi and I spent a lot of my early days learning from contractors and the people who executed my projects.
What was your path to where you are right now as a designer?
After my time at NID, I collaborated and worked under several recognized architects, designers and patrons of Art in Delhi and Ahmedabad. Stints at some of India’s most inspired design environments and a little confidence led me to formalizing my studio in 2013 in New Delhi. We grew from a small and empty workplace with one intern to a team of 10 that comprises of interior designers, furniture designers & architects.
The studio and I have grown leaps and bounds in the last 7 years. We’ve worked on varied scales and types of projects. Some of our most memorable projects/spaces are the ones where the process has been as important as the final result. We have bought our passion and love of design to all over projects. Starting with our first few projects - The Hungry Monkey, Cafe Diva, Outhouse in Mumbai to our recently completed projects - Isharya, Artisan Lab and Kaffa Cerrado. We’re also very excited about some of our new projects that are reaching completion this year - Shantanu and Nikhil’s factory space and a large farmhouse in collaboration with Abhimanyu Dalal.
As a studio we try and remain inquisitive and are always trying to learn about new techniques and materials. I personally try and find inspiration in the smallest of details. The endeavour to keep doing good work and creating designs that engage our audience keeps us going.
You have recently launched your first furniture line- ‘810 / ONE’. Tell us about the work you’re doing.
Furniture plays the most crucial role in an interior or architectural space. It is these objects that make the human tactile experience possible. Seeing this, the studio tries to dedicate enough time to design and prototype furniture and hence plan projects a hundred percent fit for purpose. Being a trained furniture designer, I have always tried to apply the principles of furniture detailing, geometry and form in the spaces we design. It was only a natural progression and a matter of time for 810/one to happen. Some forced time off work allowed me to draw up this project. Our first collection - ‘810/one’ is an ode to the materials we love, forms we admire and the simplicity we want to achieve. Inspired by the shadows of our spaces, the collection has a mid-century nostalgia woven into the contemporary Indian aesthetic.
Why did you feel now is the right time to launch your collection?
This project has been brewing for a long time. It took us 12 months to the prototype stage and 18 months till we were ready to showcase. We designed a large number of pieces and rejected any piece that wasn’t resolved to its last detail. The first 3 months were spent in research and creating mood boards. The next eight months were spent on design and drawings, followed by rounds of prototyping and production. We were happy to build this collection slowly and steadily. I did not set a fixed date or put any time cap on this project.
Why do you think clients come to you?
Design is a physical manifestation of the dreams and aspirations of it’s visionary. I’d like to believe that my client’s come to me because they believe I can help them translate their vision into a tangible experience. We believe in a collaborative approach where our client is also an integral part of the project and hence engage them at multiple stages, over healthy discussions on design, material, details and so on. We are constantly learning and engaging to deliver designs suitable to each client’s project. For us design must evoke an emotion and must fit perfectly into the context.
What advice would you give to a creative someone keen to delve into the interior and furniture design space?
I would advise young aspiring designers to try and gain some experience in this field. Read, learn and explore. Do not blindly imitate designs or styles. Try and figure what excites you! Be honest to your process and stay curious!
Insider’s Select:
Favorite Indian designers and studios.
Sandeep Sangaru for his magnificent and unperturbed work in Bamboo. The Busride Lab for bridging the gap between research and design and re-imagining the future. Bijoy Jain from Studio Mumbai for his iterative process and restrain
Favorite international designers and studios.
There are so many Indian Designers who I consider to be international designers. Two such designers who I greatly admire for their work are - Nikhil Paul from Paul Matter and Vikram Goyal from Viya Home. I'm also a great admirer of international architects like Kerry Hill and David Chipperfield.
Favorite galleries and spaces.
There are so many spaces I love. I resonate deeply with Geoffrey Bawa's Town House in Colombo and some of his other spaces. A museum I discovered off late and commend is The Gyan Museum by Paul Mathieu. Two popular museums I have enjoyed walking through are the Brandhorst in Munich by Sauerbruch Hutton and Tate Modern by Herzog & de Meuron
Where do you go to look at great design?
Nature.
Favorite Design magazines or websites
While I always try and read about designs and projects directly from the source, I enjoy some of the content that websites like Yellowtrace and Dezeen cover.
Words by Srishti Jindal
