CHARPAI PROJECT
AKFD, SERENDIPITY
2019 - NEW DELHI, INDIA
If one were to imagine a single piece of furniture which is truly Indian it would be the Charpai. It is perhaps one of the most functional pieces of furniture ever created - portable, economical, sustainable, compact, multifunctional with utility, not only for personal use, but also for social use, and for people to get together.
Curated by Ayush Kasliwal
Co-curated by Ramayudh Sahu, Anirudh Pratap Singh
For this edition, the Charpai Project moved from the shared open spaces of towns and villages to the lawn of a Taj hotel in New Delhi. Placing this humble, everyday object in a hotel garden tests whether the Charpai can still gather people together, far from the commons where it began.
DESIGN DETAILS
The installation is a playful interpretation of the Charpai, built as an open framework of slender posts and colourful woven platforms across the hotel lawn. It brings together multiple aspects of the charpai, from the techniques and patterns of weaving on the loom, to its portability.
An abstract reference to the game of snakes and ladders, the raised levels invite guests to climb, sit and converse, turning the lawn into a social space. Against the manicured green of the garden and, after dark, the lit façade of the hotel, the structure reads as both furniture and landscape.
The weaving of the rope panels is done by Hemsingh of Boogdi, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
“A structure that asked for nothing — yet gave you space to gather, pause, and exhale.”
MORE PROJECTS
CHARPAI PROJECT
2019 - NEW DELHI, INDIA
CHARPAI PROJECT
2019 - NEW DELHI, INDIA
