The theme was “dimension” and students presented it in as many ways as one can think of. iNIFD Salt Lake held its annual interior designing exhibition, Infusio, recently and students transformed their DD Block campus into a canvas of creativity and innovation. At the entrance was a 3D figure of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man made by Sweta Singh, Jyoti Verma, Barsha Roy Chaudhury and Avijit Adhikary.
“This image is the basis of all furniture-making as it provides the proportions of the human body. It indicates, say, what the height of a chair or bed should be if we want to sit or lie comfortably,” Sweta explained. Students also showed the evolution of brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Amul and Asian Paints. “We focused on Gattu, the mascot of Asian Paints created by cartoonist R.K. Laxman,” said Bhavana Agarwal.
“In our table-top model, we showed Gattu in various corners, but especially on the dull side of a room, throwing colours at the bright side. It was as if he (through Asian Paints) is making everything colourful.” Students had created bright designs using wool and lines in one section and in another they depicted Egyptian civilisation as most of their ancient designs were also based on geometric shapes and lines. “We used threadwork to bring out their chessboard designs and hieroglyphics, alongside gods and goddesses. We also made an Egyptian outfit and mummy. It was tough to make all this in 15 days but with our team of 10 to 15 students, we managed,” shared Susmita Samal. Students had created illusions in one space through lines and mazes, and there was a circus themed selfie corner nearby too. “Since the maze used mostly blacks and whites, we created a contrast effect with colours here,” said Chaitali Sharma.
Around the world
Heritage sites and monuments were the highlight on the sixth floor of the institute. There was the Taj Mahal, the Konark Temple, the Imperial Palace of China and the showstopper — a Japanese house. “We were initially asked to build a modern Japanese house but we added some traditional elements like sliding doors, sleeping mattresses and bamboo base,” said Sayantani Sengupta. Roshan Mallik, a member of the team that made the Taj Mahal model, said they focused on details. “Even if it was within a 4ft x 4ft surface, we didn’t miss out on the reflecting pools and mosques surrounding the monument,” he said.
Among special guests was the Chinese consul general Zha Liyou. While admiring the Imperial Palace model he shared the history of Chinese architecture and of how India and China share certain similarities in art and culture. Zha even suggested student exchange programmes between iNIFD and designing institutes back home.
“I wish success to these aspiring designers and hope they become ambassadors of an Indo-China friendship,” he said. There were prototype furniture like a bar and an office room built for disabled chartered accountants and state-of-the-art washroom. The most eye-catching piece was an outdoor chair built mainly of bamboo and inspired by a throne. “We had kept the idea of sustainability in mind and come up with this. We have also included a side table with a few amenities so users can spend to quality time outdoor,” said Rumi Jain. The staircase of the sixth floor had a beautiful garden deck with excellent lighting that was a dream for photographers too.
Actress and social worker Alokananda Roy was among the special guests and encouraged the students. “An institution and its teachers make a huge impact on students and their success,” she said. “Calcutta should be proud of how far this institute has come today.” Sreemoyee Ghosh, head of the interior design department and chief mentor of Infusio, was all praise for the budding designers. “Students have put in great effort to understand the concept,” she said.