One-day seminar was arranged for the students of Interior Design and Resource Management specialization. Students from degree and diploma level attended the program. The core topic for the Seminar was ‘Luxury Interiors’ .
Inauguration : 9:45 am -10:00 am – The seminar commenced with Mrs. Hemani Malhotra welcoming the guests and the faculty members along with the students. She gave a brief introduction of Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science (Empowered Autonomous Status). This was followed by University song. The dignitaries of the dais were invited to light the lamp as a tradition to evoke the Almighty for blessings before starting the program.
Mrs. Manjari Bhalerao, Vice principle of our college gave the welcome address. Ar. Pranav Bhatt, who is the senior most faculty of the college and Guest of Honor for this event, was requested to speak a few words of guidance to the young audience. According to Sir, luxury means something which we as an interior designer can provide to person belonging to any strata with the available resources. He also mentioned that market survey is very important and as designer we all should have knowledge about the materials available with the prices. After the addressing he was felicitated with the memento.
The program was further hosted by the second year students. They introduced our speakers for the day Ar. Neilesh Kenkare (Chief Guest ) and Ar. Bhavya Kenkare. They were also felicitated with the memento.
Session I:Luxury Interiors – 10:00 am – 12:00 noon Speaker: Ar. Neilesh Kenkare & Ar. Bhavya Kenkare – Arch-Aid Architects & Interior Designers
The Seminar started with our first speaker and guest for the day, Ar. Neilesh Kenkare who is the owner of the firm named Arch-Aid, he runs the company along with his wife Ar. Bhavya Kenkare. They have won several awards for their work in luxury segment. Ar. Neilesh Kenkare stated that designing is a continuous process. Professionals have to keep updated with the current technologies in the market. He spoke about the importance of having awareness of the trends as a designer and it reckons in the work we do. He discussed about the basic rules of design which includes spatial organization, circulation patterns etc. Also talked about various themes used in interiors. Proceeded by the topics as types of texture used in interiors, tools of design, under that he also explained how we can create patterns and
mindful designs and also how fragrance and music are also important elements in overall designing of place. He shared information through his work. He also ended by saying we should always have a passion towards our work. It was more like an interactive session where he wanted to make the students understand what actually luxury interiors is and why is it important to learn it through multiple examples. He gave an intriguing presentation which kept everyone attentive during the seminar.
A tea break of 10 minutes was given after which Ar. Bhavya Kenkare spoke about her work. She kept it brief and spoke about two of her sites which were unique and one of a kind. Both the sites had everything which was customized and nothing which was bought from a wholesaler or from the regular market. The importance of attention to details, how to work on site and be in sync with the team, crucial to develop team work and networking. She set a perfect example of how a woman in designing field can achieve such great heights. She emphasized on importance of ethics and punctuality at work. Also highlighted the point that luxury is all about experimentation and craftsmanship.
Session II: Forest Curtain Hardware
Speaker: Mr. Ambrish Parekh; Director, Forest India
The next speaker of the day was the Director of Forest India – Drapery Hardware, which is a leading company in curtain track systems and window coverings based in Netherlands. It is his family business and he is the second generation entrepreneur running the company which has repute for 3 decades. The company has 250 people involved in research team.
Mr. Ambrish Parekh demonstrating drapery hardware control with an automation app
He gave demo of their products, spoke about the company and their collaborative works with various designers. His demo was fascinating because it is the next level of the curtain and window systems. They have endless design possibilities because of their flexible curtain racks. They have worked with some big clients and are well appreciated in their field. He was open to all queries of the students as well as the faculty. They were very generous and distributed pamphlets of their company.
Session III – Lighting Concepts and Design
Speaker –Mr. Kirti Singh
After the lunch break, the entire department gathered back in the auditorium for the next and the last session was on lighting design concept. On the stage, was a really intellectual, practical, knowledgeable and humorous person as our guest speaker – Mr. Kirti Singh from Foxwork’s Light LLP. Mr. Kirti is a professional lighting consultant and expert in terms of lighting designing and concepts of lighting.
The session mostly consisted of sharing his knowledge on all recent trends in lighting design, properties of lighting, how to make use of the lights absolutely comfortable for eyes and mind, and about few important
calculations of fixtures use.
Mr. Kirti Singh’s company has been a part of many hi-budget and luxury spaces by designing perfect luxurious lighting for the space.
One of his project was with actor Jitendra Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor’s bungalows, where they achieved a design which had not even a single visible fixture throughout. All one can see is light effect and not the fixture.The lighting budget for that project was 20 crore.
He started the session by explaining all about a little technical things and terms which consisted of:
➢ Circadian rhythm
➢ CRI- Colour rendering index
➢ CCT- Correlated colour temperature ➢ Luminance and Illuminance
➢ Candela
➢ Luminous Flux,
➢ Lumens, Lux
➢ UGR- Unified glare rating
He explained us all how to read a diagram, that we can find on the box of every fixture called “Conical Photometric Diagram’’. What are the different types of lights and how they should be used to accomplish different requirements was another point of concern that he took up. Direct, Indirect, Ambient, Accent, Task And Emergency, he elaborated on each of the lighting types and their uses. Mr. Kirti not only gave information to us about the positive side of the lights but also showed how badly a wrong lighting design can affect a human in that particular environment. Proper planning and positioning of the fixtures based on proper calculations will help to achieve the best and most ideal lighting effect,one would desire of. Throughout the session, he kept everyone focused and interested by his humorous approach. He ended the session by very wisely answering to all doubts and questions of the students. Mrs. Hemani Malhotra felicitated the guest speaker Mr. Kirti Singh and his team.
Mrs. Chetna Raje proposed the vote of thanks to all the contributors of this event. The event concluded at 4.30 pm.
Student Feedback:
- The seminar was really helpful and a great guidance for future.
- All the Resource Persons were excellent.
- The presentations had appealing content and academically supportive.
- The topics covered were really new and interesting.
- Looking forward for more such guiding seminars.