In the second show, ‘Creating Sustained Values’, Abhishek Mathur, Director, Studio HBA, India discusses the role of creativity in bathroom designing, need for collaborative efforts, turning constraints into opportunities and much more.

Responding to the question on his creative freedom and the experimentation in designing the bathrooms, Mathur said, “I think whenever a guest goes to a hotel, they come with a certain set of expectations and one of the strongest touchpoints of any hotel is its bathroom.”

Speaking of his designing experience, Mathur said that one of the important aspects of designing a washroom is the demographics of a bathroom. 

Citing the example of designing a bathroom in a city hotel in Kerala, Abhisek Mathur noted, “We attempted to give the bathroom a personality. We went a little further and worked with graphic designers to also design accessories like shampoo bottles, shower robes, door handles. So, it just cuts across a little deeper and to help carry on the whole design narrative.”

“So yes, bathroom designing is one of the most exciting components of doing a hospitality design,” Mathur added. 

Speaking on the contemporary design challenges, Mathur said, “If we are claiming to be experts on design, I think it is a mandate for us to try and convert constraints into opportunities. It is like creating a lot of options and fitting it into a jigsaw puzzle. My team and I have a lot of fun taking up a project on a constrained flow plan. So, I see it as a playful act of designing to find the right fit. And to me it’s quite gratifying to get to the moment where you know this works and you are onto something good.”

Mathur also said that another responsibility as a designer must be to try and encourage the use of local material, the latest technology but all should be done in a way that it contributes to guest experience. 

“With the guest experience as the first and foremost principle, collaborations emerge with a lot of other operators on board. As they say all good properties are a result of a good collaboration,” Mathur added.