Extracting The Extraordinary Out Of The Ordinary

The Rope Cafe, Gandhinagar, Gujarat

- Shriti Das

Materials like jute-rope, corrugated sheets and sunlight rarely imply extraordinariness. They are perhaps the most generic and taken-for-granted resources. Yet, tHE gRID Architects spin an uncommon and path breaking narrative for the Rope Terrace, a terrace café in the sunny city of Gandhinagar.

Sun, for reasons of light and life, is of utmost importance to the planet. It endows life to living beings and even inert matter. It is imperative for growth and degeneration and for mental wellbeing. The sun is what all architecture and space-design manoeuvres around or at least should aim to incorporate and acknowledge. Most architecture celebrates natural light, moderates it, shelters inhabitants from it and has even deployed it as an aesthetic with play of volumes and punctures. And yet the same sun spells havoc if it shines too bright or lingers too long. Like the tropical sun, that is infamous for the soaring temperatures and glare that it endows upon the city. While a terraced café or restaurant in such regions seem counterproductive, the Rope Terrace Café optimises on sunlight as the plentiful resource that it is and celebrates the sun, its glare and the shadows it casts.

Most design entails shielding away from it given the searing temperatures that the city experiences. For Rope Terrace Café, the clients envisaged a space that captures the effervescent and young vibe of the city. Alongside residences and offices, Gandhinagar is home to design institutes, law schools, management colleges and so on. Its populace is in a state of constant flux with a penchant for new ideas and inspiration.