Defined by its delicate, intricately designed patterns, the art of Meenakari is a hallmark of India’s . Although the practice of enamel-fired metals and ceramics traces its roots to 15th-century Persia, the art style has particularly flourished in the city of Jaipur, where the practice has been passed down and honed over many generations. Along the way, Meenakari heritage profoundly informed the local design culture at all scales. For acclaimed Sunita Shehkhawat, it’s a tradition that shapes both her eponymous brand and its striking new flagship.
Designed by Delhi-based architects , Jaipur’s mixed-use 750-square-metre hub combines a variety of retail settings with a museum-like gallery devoted to Meenakari design traditions, as well as offices, design studios and artisan workshops, and is set to be topped by a rooftop restaurant. And while the breadth of programming alone ensures the building is a local destination, its expressive design makes the architecture itself a prominent part of the cultural journey.
The three-storey structure is immediately distinguished by its red sandstone facade, which features an interplay of solid stone surfaces and a variety of exquisitely detailed filigree patterns, including the folded array of stone lattices that animates the lantern-like top floor. From afar, the design offers an homage to both Shehkhawat’s Meenakari-inspired jewelry and Jaipur’s distinct architectural identity. (The Rajasthan capital has popularly been known as the “Pink City” since 1876, when much of the metropolis was repainted ahead of a royal visit by Edward VII.)
Situated on a prominent corner lot in the city’s bustling centre, the building’s expressive and individual presence belies a sensitive and carbon-conscious approach to the built context. While the architects were presented with a brief to transform the setting, they opted to preserve — yet re-imagine — the half-finished concrete skeleton that stood on the site, reducing the project’s embodied carbon footprint by avoiding over a million kilograms of CO2 emissions induced by demolition and new construction.
Inside, the space is divided into a surprising variety of uses. On the ground floor, the building’s most public-facing space is given over to a gallery devoted to the history and evolution of Jaipur’s Meenakari tradition. Alongside the cultural space, a small and fully separate boutique for Rolex is housed in a discrete space, and accessed via a dedicated door at street level.
While the marquee ground floor space was initially envisioned as the Sunita Shehkhawat shop, the designers opted to celebrate the gallery as the building’s public face, with the luxurious flagship retail situated underground, creating a tranquil, private shopping experience. For visitors, the procession from the gallery to the shop underscores the cultural context that informs the Sunita Shehkhawat brand. Upstairs, meanwhile, offices and studios occupy the second floor, while the showpiece upper storey is set to be animated by a rooftop restaurant.
Throughout, the interiors are every bit as intricate and eye-catching as the facade. At the heart of the building, a sculptural spiral stair creates an intuitive spine, seamlessly tying together the facility’s varied program — together with an adjacent circular glass elevator.
Inside, a sumptuous interplay of wood, terrazzo and natural defines the spaces, with rooms subtly delineated by the bespoke frescoes that embellish the semi-vaulted plaster ceilings. Depicting vignettes of flora and fauna, as well as local architecture, the frescoes were each individually crafted by one of 12 local artisans, who meticulously painted the ceilings during a months-long process. Framed by understated monochrome plaster walls, the paintings draw the eye up the ceiling, before it inevitably settles back down to the equally intricate works of art and jewelry that fill out the rooms below.
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