a truth well told

Rajiv Saini puts honesty first in his approach to design, creating poetic spaces that are quietly evocative

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The last time I was here was more than a decade ago, and yet the climb two storeys up the expansive wooden staircase is strangely familiar. So is the large steel-finished table in the entryway. A maze of wood-framed glass doors lead me to a large conference room, which could pass off as a community table for friends. It's not your typical room for 10. There's the skylight too.

Of course there is art on the walls; on the table; and on the bench. The bench itself is a work of art. From here I move into another room, which if you let it, can moonlight as a contemporary gallery. At one end is the Akari paper lamp by Isamu Noguchi, which Rajiv is hugely protective of. The office legend says he barricades it with chairs on days there's work to be done around it. On the other side are two armchairs in wood and leather by Arne Norell. Modernist, master craftsmancarpenter Pierre Chapo's work makes an appearance too. On it, sits a red, hand lacquered tray, which Rajiv picked up on his travels. “We need to acknowledge the makers as craftsmen, they are the people that straddle traditions and techniques; the furniture they create are as much a collectible as every other piece you see here,” he says.