Zariboota

Design Firm: RENESA Architecture Studio
Principal Architect: Sanchit Arora
Location: Amritsar, Punjab
Project Typology: Retail
Photographer: Niveditaa Gupta

‘Zari’ (ज़री) is the fine, gilded thread on traditional, artisanal clothing.

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‘Boota’ (बूटा) is a finely embroidered motif created by hand.

Zariboota, in its essence, is born from an acute devotion to pure materiality and craft honed over countless decades in the Indian subcontinent. Situated in the teeming hub of Ranjit Avenue of Amritsar, Punjab, the store is set against the backdrop of a city that celebrates India’s heritage of lore and art.

Imagined for a family hailing from a multi-generational background in the realm of fabric and textile, this store is a modern embodiment of their long-preserved legacy. The venue houses a gamut of contemporary and ethnic Indian wear, strengthening the cause of the Make in India initiative. By extension, The space indulges in a quiet retelling of tradition in the voice of gritty, indigenous materials and design techniques.

At the outset, the store’s façade at the street-level builds an instinctive sense of intrigue, standing veiled in a matrix of fired brickwork. The elevation is intentionally punctuated by an array of wood folding doors infilled with panels of glass and wicker to give it a perception of translucency. The building’s threshold bears the ability to be completely opened, connecting the inside and outside seamlessly to pose as an integrated whole for intimate soirées and communal gatherings.  

The entirety of the store’s volume has been imagined in the rhythmic DNA of bricks, hinting at the aphorism of us coming from the earth, building on it, and humbly returning to it. The bricks crafted in alliance with Jindal Mechno Bricks have been created using mud from the lands of Bikaner in Rajasthan.

Firing the bricks accurately at a specific temperature lends them their distinct colouration, a blend of deeper browns and warm taupe that form the raw, unadorned skin of the space. The modest brick assumes a new lease of life, enveloping most walls, flooring in radiating forms, and structural members to embed movement within the store’s spatial embrace.

The neutral yet textured appeal of the bricks rightfully draws one’s gaze to the vivid hues of the garments on display. Subliminally, the earthy make of the bricks poses a welcome contrast to the brilliantly detailed pieces of clothing, both reprising the sheer labour of handiwork in their unique ways!

The internal layout of the store is a contiguous one composed of overlapping, curved partitions. The areas ensconced within these partitions pose as interconnected, looped galleries. They house display nodes curated to take patrons on a journey laced with colour, texture, and tactility. This specific design intervention allows the visitors to be led through a curiosity-fuelled trail through the premises, drawing them in to traverse the space and its offerings in immersive totality. Doses of brass, wood, and woven wicker manifest as furniture, lighting, mirrors, and artefacts to layer the store, walking the lines of the past and the present gracefully.

Prioritising the user-experience, the display systems in brass stud the curved walls, focal pedestals, and stoic internal columns, each made a homogeneous part of the design fabric. Auxiliary spaces like the fitting rooms, backend offices, tailoring workshops, and inventory storage have been inconspicuously tucked into fragments of the floor plan, imbuing the retail experience with an uninterrupted demeanour. Tactfully planned spot and mood lighting heighten the ambience, illuminating the merchandise as relics of artisanship. The almost cavernous experience of the store allows the visitors to disconnect from the humdrum of the city, surrendering themselves to the depth of the milieu.

Thinking of its materiality as a tapestry of expression, Zariboota signals the convergence of old and new, fittingly distilling the ethos of the project. With a robust architectural language surging through the interior environment, the designed elements become unassuming bearers of the store’s roots and endeavours that are indeed timeless in their spirit.

This piece was published on Archdaily, The Architect’s Diary (September 2023) and this piece was curated for the design studio’s portfolio on their website.