Bold & Fluid

When you enter the Kohler Experience Centre in New Delhi, you walk into a space that is no ordinary showroom. Studio Lotus has designed a space that is truly in every way an “experience” centre.

- Carol Ferrao

There is “interesting” and then there is the sublime. When you think of bathroom showrooms, you invariably imagine a trail of washbasins or WCs lined in succession, all cramped up in one place with little to no context. But that’s definitely not the case with the Kohler Experience Centre in New Delhi. Not only does it depart from the conventional understanding of an “experience centre”, the design transports you to a haven of luxury and wellness and communicates rather strongly how much the bath space has evolved over the years.

All that Kohler asked of Asha Sairam, principal architect of Studio Lotus, was to create an “immersive” experience centre, where the perception of luxury sanitaryware is heightened and the design community is assured that they are liaising with a design sensitive brand and a thought leader. It wasn’t just about introducing cosmetic elements in the space, there were rigorous iterations, R&D and prototyping involved in creating the resulting canvas that highlights the brand’s over 600 products. The site and location were more than ideal for such a set-up. “(Located at) a prime high street at Lajpat Nagar, the 10,000 sq ft site was excellent with large open floor plates,” shares Asha.