<rt-red>We as humans are great story-tellers.<rt-red> We choose how we want to tell a story and what we want to say. In an increasingly polarised and alienated world we could choose to convey a story of collective hope, rather than a dystopian one. Narrative-building can be an incredibly powerful tool.

‍

Creating a space that tells a story and establishes meaning for the user requires an evolution of thought: design is more than simply functionality. When meaning is attached to a place, it can move beyond temporality, becoming timeless because people love it and want to engage with it, and make it their own. Narrative-building is the platform to create this sense of place; design the medium with which to create dialogue.

‍

<rt-red>To build a narrative that connects the building and client with the user means understanding the value system of the client, and their aspirations. What is their vision? What is their desired impact for the user?<rt-red> Once this is established, we can anchor these values into the design to ensure every decision and intervention we make upholds that vision and is relevant to the wider culture of that area.

‍

‍

Building a narrative at The Trees Development: The Imagine Studio, the Club at The Trees, the Sculpture Park and the Beer Garden

‍

With over a century of experience, the Godrej Group believes that businesses have a responsibility to contribute to both economic growth and social progress for sustained, long-term success. This value system became the foundational narrative for their flagship project ‘The Trees’. The Trees development is a mixed-use township combining commercial, residential, and retail locations, located within the mangrove belt of Vikhroli, Mumbai. The site was originally an industrial plant  founded by the Godrej group in the 1940s. Their goal, three-quarters of a century on, was to reimagine this site into a space that meets contemporary urban needs while retaining the legacy of its industrial history. Continuity through the past, present and future.

As part of the larger masterplan (created by Nikken Sekkei), we were tasked with designing four interventions–The Imagine Studios, followed by the Beer Garden, The Club at The Trees, and the Sculpture Park–to be focal points of interaction and experience within the larger site. 

‍

The Trees Development

<rt-red>Our intent was to ensure that these settings remained relevant to the city’s urban fabric. This meant attending to the emotional, experiential, and cultural aspects of identity, not simply its physical and spatial manifestations. <rt-red>

The Sculpture Park plays a crucial role in activating the central greens, offering a sculptured and fluid design that encourages interaction and connection. It facilitates seamless interactions between various functionalities, becoming a vibrant urban focal point. 

‍

Its sweeping form rises from the landscape and becomes an envelope that is open and inviting towards the park-facing side, and displays a more sculptural character along the site's other edges. The fluid form allows for pockets of interactions that flow into public spaces, intended to be buzzing, vibrant hives of activity, that could also accommodate Food and Beverage vendors.

‍

‍

These interventions offer a potential model for how inclusive urban spaces in India could evolve, highlighting the importance of integrating community engagement, cultural identity, and a participatory approach to the design process. It invites reflection on how urban environments could better reflect the needs of local communities, to foster a sense of belonging while balancing the preservation of heritage with the demands of modernity. These spaces hence, can serve as a step toward reimagining urban development that is both inclusive and contextually relevant.

Narrative building in design allows spaces to transcend functionality and become meaningful, connecting deeply with users by evoking emotion, memory, and cultural identity. By anchoring a project to a narrative that sensitively incorporates past, present, and future, design becomes a tool for creating timeless places that resonate with the community and encourage engagement through shared experiences.

Can we tell a story of hope? 

‍