Fact File
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Size: 370 sq m
Principal Architects: Christopher C M Lee and Kapil Gupta
Photography by: Jordi Huisman
The interior of Qualia, Mumbai, by Serie Architects is a coherent array of spaces following a linear form that has been accentuated by the careful insertion of delicate material details. By framing and highlighting the open kitchen and food preparation spaces, the designers have perfectly integrated the restaurant’s ethos—to make the culinary experience engaging, interactive, and theatrical, which stimulates the senses. The linear volume has been divided by three large columns in the centre of the space, while a semi-transparent bronze curtain reveals and conceals the theatre of the kitchen. The sweeps of the curtain define each bay while also unifying them visually.
The ceiling has been designed as an array of timber frames within which rows of timber louvres absorb and direct sound to a thick layer of sound insulation foam above. These frames seamlessly manoeuvre onto the façade over the open kitchen to create rows of timber shelves that hold the bar display and stacks of glass jars with pickled vegetables and fruits. Black terrazzo is the primary floor and wall finish, perfectly complementing the predominant palette of timber surfaces and bronze chainmail. Stretching 16 feet in height from the timber ceiling to the floor, this curtain is drawn up over the bar, open kitchen, and sommelier station, creating distinct proscenium-like spaces.
