Geometric Modulation

Designed by Renesa Architecture Design Interiors, the Unlocked Cafe in Gurugram owes its intriguing nature to inspirations from India’s own heritage and a modern puzzle game, and clever space-sculpting with geometrical forms.

- Rupali Sebastian

What do you get when you cross an iconic piece of Indian architecture with a digital puzzle game… and apply deconstructive architecture to it? A space that is offbeat — with a capital O. Welcome to the aptly titled Unlocked Cafe, the board-game-themed restaurant and ‘escape room’ that offers you a spatial experience replete with intriguingly modulated volumes, striking colours and strong graphics.

The process of transforming a “dark, gloomy”, 2,000-square-foot space in Gurugram with very little natural light into a lively cafe was an exercise in “geometrification”, say the architects at New Delhi-based Renesa Architecture Design Interiors, the design firm which worked on this assignment. “The brief given by client Sanjali Nirwani specified a board game cafe theme that would encapsulate the visitor as soon as they enter,” reveals Sanchit Arora, Renesa’s Studio Head (architecture). “Our team wanted to translate this concept through a fresh outlook towards game cafes that would make it stand out. We wanted to create something un-cliched and uncluttered that was simple but arresting with the use of a cost-effective material board,” adds the architect.