‘Hospitality projects should be welcoming and warm’

Ever since its inception in 2013, Tushar Mistry Design Studio (TMDS) has stuck to the strong philosophy of functionality in all its designs. It is, in fact, given paramount importance followed by aesthetics and is distinctly visible. Over the last one decade, TMDS has set a benchmark in the design vertical with the diverse projects they have done. “Our experienced expert team of designers, architects and project managers have worked on projects spread across magnitude and budgets. In hospitality segment, TDMS has crafted spaces across formats ranging from fine dining, casual dining and QSR models at a Pan-India level,” shares Principal Architect Tushar Mistry. The experienced architect has worked on hospitality projects like Wok on Fire, Parosa at Ahmedabad, White Charcoal, Loco-Loca, Korner House, Nini’s Kitchen, Eskay Clubs & Hotels at E-HOTEL and The Café Baraco.

Passionate about construction and design from his early childhood, Mistry completed his architectural and design studies before taking up varied projects. He now recommends products and services to help on board to simply get the job done. His experience of over 20 years and the passion to create brings to establishment of the design studio that needs no introduction. Talking about techniques used to translate ideas into functional designs, Mistry says, “For any business to be successful, APEX, CAPEX and Return on Investment (RoI) are the most important parameters for the owner. It goes without saying that while designing spaces, focus should be on these parameters. Adoption of ergonomics and interior designing software help us in translating concepts into functional designs, thereby helping in customer’s businesses.” 

Sharing his views on how has the concept of architectural design changed, Mistry says, “Change is the only constant and this holds true to architectural designs too. Owing to the demand of newness and presence of technology, architectural concepts have evolved over the years. Akin to other fields that have its own evolution journey in terms of thought process, necessities and technology, designing spaces have undergone evolution. While the techniques or cogitation continues to stay as basics never change, the whole approach of architecture design has undergone a facelift which is visible globally. Previously, there used to be road blocks in executing the thought process but with augmented reality – ideas that were considered impossible have been put into process and made possible.”

While designing a hospitality project, as the name suggests, the factors kept in consideration include it being very welcoming, warm and hospitable. The top five factors basis on which we conceptualise and design our projects are:  

Being functionally correct: Any design that is part of the space has to be functionally operational, giving the guests a wholesome experience of the space.

Aesthetics: While functionality is the backbone of the design, the aesthetics offer the visually appealing holistic brand experience.

Apt furniture: Furniture plays an integral part in the décor of a hotel space. We stress on ergonomics while choosing the right furniture for a space, as they need to satisfy the décor as well as be very comfortable. Again, the furniture should be both aesthetically and functionally perfect.

Correct lighting: Extremely important in showcasing the space in best possible way. It has relevance with functionality and aesthetic value as it has to be comforting to the eyes and help create an ambience that is warm, cozy and welcoming.  Note that lighting is very important to go with the décor and brand identity as it makes or breaks a whole space.

Services: All the basic services including air conditioning, ventilation, cleaning and music systems have to be planned meticulously. While they may not be directly connected to the aesthetics, they are related to functionality and operationality.

TMDS closely works with many hospitality brands, from fine dine to casual dine to QSR module to kiosk module, spas, five star properties, F&B oriented hotels, hotels which are room revenue generation oriented and banquets. “With each experience, there comes a different learning because the design space criteria are very different in every opportunity. In a fine dine restaurant, the décor and ambience are sophisticated. Even the RoIs here are calculated differently from that of a casual dining restaurant or the one following a QSR model where people would seek quick service over ambience,” avers Mistry, adding that the design, aesthetics and functionality of the space at Wok On Fire is contrasting to that of Nini’s Kitchen as the former follows a QSR module format and priority is given to the way the kitchen and the dispensing place are designed. “However, at Nini’s Kitchen, a casual dining place, the colour scheme, seating arrangement and furniture play the central role. On the whole, working with different brands helps us garner multiple experiences and teachings of the different aspects of hospitality,” he informs.

On the latest trends in hospitality designs – interiors, guestrooms, lobby and banquet space, Mistry says, “When we talk about the latest trends in hospitality designs, ‘neoclassical’ has definitely made a comeback. We see industrial and bohemian designs prominently when we look at cafes or casual dining spaces. Banquets have gone back to ‘neoclassical’ or ‘classical’ styles which have always been there and will continue to be there. ‘Eclectic’ or ‘mechanistic’ styles are used in bars which give a colourful, bright and trendy vibe to the space.”

To incorporate sustainable measures in their designs as it is the way forward with green spaces getting huge prominence and preference, TMDS tries to incorporate natural elements like Kota stones, wood and metals while furnishing a place. “We take care to involve daylight factor while designing spaces so that we don’t need to use artificial lighting in the day time, thus helping largely in energy savings,” says Mistry for whom conceptualising and building Nini’s Kitchen in Ahmedabad was one of the most challenging projects. 

“The reason being that there was no blank canvas to ideate. Instead, we had to work on pre-notion designs, a difficult task for any designer. So while we didn’t conceive the idea, we were responsible for conceptualising it based on the elements suggested by the client. We created a new brand identity seamlessly while retaining the brand essence. The result was an industrial look that is bright and colourful, and meeting both grounds for this look was an arduous task. However, with our expertise, we have breezed past it beautifully and now we are designing the 12th outlet,” he says.