Since its inception, Studio Pomegranate has been consciously working on a wide range of design solutions. Our projects have ranged from urban renewal, architecture, interior design, and furniture specific to our projects. For years we have talked about designing standalone products free of any project as a backdrop. However, given the range and nature of the work we engage in, we were never able to do it.
All our projects have a simple set of operating principles – Does it work? Are we changing the world? Is it beautiful? There are some more under these heads, for example- doing something new, that was never done before is changing the world; but these are all that we need to know for now.
Context, and use has been a strong base for our projects, as it should be. Where we would weigh all the aspects of a given site- to understand space, aspiration, light, material, cost, finishes, etc. Then present a comprehensive design strategy for the design. The brain processes information in ways that set themselves up as we practice a certain methodology. We were quite steeped in the context-use methodology, it was our mode of operation for everything done at the studio.
At the end of October 2018, we met with Henry Skupniewicz, co-head of Godrej Design Lab who wanted to know if we would be interested in a fellowship. We met the team at GDL- Suruchi, Hriday, and Neeta who walked us through some of the work done by GDL in the past, as well as the Godrej Factory in Vikhroli. We were told that us being the first fellows- there wasn’t a set framework, nor what could or could not be done. We would however be able to work with the resources of Godrej Design Lab, and possibly even the parent company- Godrej and Boyce. (This is the clincher!)
Given our nature of jumping into things we haven’t quite understood yet- we accepted!
The first idea we worked on was a series of rooms with either one wall or two walls removed. A stackable, modular dollhouse made of concrete. We aren’t talking about the barbie doll aesthetic, but something modern, with opportunities to design all of the space yourself. It would be so cool! We could make all the furniture inside, bathrooms, and courtyards, like a micro-architecture project. Which was why it was such a BAD IDEA. It was a product that was creating its own context and use; We weren’t going to learn anything out of this product, and only propagate what we already do well. It was time to rethink all of this.
One of the pieces of furniture inside this dollhouse was a very thin metal table, it was a single piece, with three thin legs. We called it the Lilypad. This became our starting point for a human-sized piece of furniture that could be placed indoors, or out; you can lift it with one hand, so as to be able to carry the table, a chair, and a book to another place. It needed to be bold, given its dainty construction. What if we could pack it in a small box? so placing it in shelves for transport, and sale is easy.
Building this started with some pieces of laser-cut aluminium, folding them, and putting them together with some nuts and bolts. It didn’t work. Stainless steel was too heavy, and didn’t work. It was a bit too wobbly, and wouldn’t take simple loads.
We then went back and looked at adding some folds to the metal to stiffen it, there was no way we could afford to increase the weight. A few more iterations later, we had two legs for each leg assembly, a stiffening piece above, and a tie in between to hold the structural frame together. Quite the journey! 
Finishes were great fun, wanting to avoid the commonplace ones, we went once again to the Godrej Factory, and they helped us out with some top secret finishes that now adorn our first prototypes. There are now four different sizes with two table top configurations of three or nine segments. There’s always three legs, made of two legs in each assembly. The weight is between 1.3kg and 1.8kg.
We are elated to have been able to achieve this, it is our first foray into standalone product design, and Godrej Design Lab has been instrumental in pushing us to work on this. It was a great learning experience, and we are certain we have made many new connections in our synapses. This also shows that as designers, we must be aware of our shortcomings, to learn new skills, and be able to stay creative, and relevant in the future.
We are now working on other products, on our own, as well as with Material Immaterial who have been making beautiful concrete products. We hope to add more products to our list of projects, and be a part of the product design community.
Images by Jimmy Shroff
Architecture+Design 