Vastrakala PORTFOLIO TWO

In the last 25 years, the Indo-French hand-embroidery company Lesage Intérieurs has produced a portfolio of fine embroidered furnishings for legends across the world, an esteemed and prolific legacy.

- Cosmo Brockway

"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for our use alone." - John Ruskin

Founded by Jean-François Lesage, Malavika Shivakumar, Patrick Savouret, and Sandeep Rao, the offices may be in Paris but a large part of the magic happens on the Coromandel Coast in Chennai where manufacturing unit Vastrakala has been based for the last 25 years, in an atmospheric late-19th-century mansion. In March 2021, they moved into their new atelier, a "modern manufactory" just outside the city of Chennai. 

Designed by renowned architect Niels Schoenfelder of Mancini Enterprises, it was born from two pivotal seed points: to move closer to the homes of the embroiderers, and fostering equality and inclusivity in the workplace. Vastrakala's newest abode is SA8000-certified, a leading global social certification that ensures a holistic and fair workplace for people. It is also a LEED-certified building, equipped with solar panels, wastewater management systems, and other essential sustainability tenets. For the architecture of craftsmanship in India, Vastrakala is an elegant case in point.

"IT WAS TO BE A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE COULD feel a sense of belonging and being honoured for their skills. Every member of the team, from Jean-François onwards, could step outside for lunch in a pavilion set among trees or take fresh air on the veranda," says Niels Schoenfelder, as we talk about the essential idea of architecture for Vastrakala's new atelier.