Excerpt: Museum of Meenakari Heritage and Flagship Store by Studio Lotus proposes a unique archetype for retail design with a new brand experience centre. The project pays tribute to the region’s cultural heritage and cosmopolitan landscape through a design that honors enamel work tradition. The building’s identity is influenced by Rajasthani, Mughal, and Art Deco historic styles, resulting in a distinctive blend that stands out from any particular style.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Studio Lotus proposes a unique archetype for retail design with the new brand experience centre for luxury jewellery label Sunita Shekhawat. The art of Meenakari or enamel work is an age-old technique renowned for its vibrant and intricate designs on metal surfaces. While enamel work originated in Persia, it has flourished in India, particularly in Rajasthan where it is passed down through the generations and deeply embedded in the region’s artistic legacy.
This 16th-century art serves as the foundation for the work of well-known Indian jewellery designer, Sunita Shekhawat. Her eponymous brand lends a fresh spin to the age-old tradition with timeless yet contemporary jewellery. Studio Lotus’ design for the brand’s flagship store and Museum of Meenakari in Jaipur pays homage to this approach; a nod to the region’s vibrant cultural heritage amidst a fast-evolving cosmopolitan landscape.
An existing concrete shell had already been erected on site when Studio Lotus was brought onboard. The studio was given carte blanche to pull the structure down and treat the site as a blank canvas. Since it had only recently been cast in concrete, the architects decided to work with the existing shell, in line with their design philosophy of minimising the embodied carbon footprint.
Programmatically, the ground floor houses a museum-gallery, with the store located one floor below and the offices a floor above. The second floor is intended for bringing in like-minded luxury brands, and the top floor, with its panoramic views of the nearby Rajmahal Palace, is designed for use as a restaurant.
The identity of the building is shaped by multiple historic influences of the region—Rajputana, Mughal, and Art Deco—to create a unique composite distinct from any particular style. This new vocabulary mirrors Sunita Shekhawat’s own design approach to her jewellery, which, while rooted in tradition, crosses over seamlessly into European and other contemporary iterations.
The oddly shaped footprint was externally articulated by bevelling the balconies and subsequently devising a form that intricately layers patterns and details that draw from different periods, woven together into one cohesive image. Externally, the ground and first floors are articulated to read as one through a double- height entrance arch in elevation. Clad in hand-carved Jodhpur red sandstone, the facade harks to Sunita’ Shekhawat’s roots in Jodhpur. While quite distinct in expression, it fits seamlessly into the pink palette synonymous with Jaipur’s urban fabric.
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