Emphasis on contrasting static vs dynamic elements - achieved by a studio- space which is rearrangeable and playful as opposed to beds and storage which portray permanence and stillness. Clear segregation of service core from master spaces.

Despite the pronounced division of existing space, the apartment evinced an ambiguous experience, in terms of internal navigation and functionality. The design principles were thus derived on the basis of five spatial concepts:

Transparency - through the accentuation of axial geometry; by observing loci of punctures across solid planes

Natural Light & Ventilation - visual connection across the planes enabling a ‘whole to part’ recognition of spaces in the user’s cognition.

Centripetal organization – an inward-looking organization with utmost reverence for existing surfaces; to consciously deter any design intervention to the existing envelope.

Inherent materiality – austerity of materials to show the clear distinction between ‘existent’ and ‘insertion’.

Simplicity – optimal use of existing spatial elements to create a play between the living and otherwise.

Altogether, this methodological approach tendered a homogenous space, which allowed dynamic functionality in alignment with the variable domesticity of user/s involved. Often when an extant space demands design intervention, there’s a pre-existent spatiality that defines the extent of changes that can be brought about. Nonetheless, the approach for restoring of #7, Southlands intended to identify and enunciate some of its characteristic spatial traits. With an iconic architectural style such as Art-Deco being articulated through a Bombay-based apartment, the concern was not only limited to what dwelt within the confines of this habitable space but also to reflect the essence of a larger entity – the city, in this case, Bombay.