The Bandra Project by PizzaExpress is a new chapter for architectural intervention in the hospitality sector

How do you reinvent a brand with a legacy that spans more than half a century? Pronit Nath, a veteran architect of the hospitality sector seems to have found the answer. Established in London in 1965, the PizzaExpress chain of restaurants boasts more than 550 outlets in 14 countries.

While the chain has garnered praise for its cuisine and trademark dishes like Americano and Pasadena, it has intentionally offered a generically-designed interior space adaptable to most contexts. It is this casual dining and café-like vibe that the franchise has decided to outgrow by introducing The Bandra Project by PizzaExpress.

“班德拉项目集中在一个不断演进的铜ration of experiences within a welcoming community space. Each of our forthcoming openings will be hyperlocal and a tad whimsical, while always retaining the passion for great hospitality and good food, that we are known for,” says Deepinder Batth, COO.

As the restaurant opened its doors for an intimate opening for family and friends this month, architect Pronit Nath stood tall and proud, justifiably satisfied with his work for the Bandra chapter. With a client brief that demanded designing an identity to frame, crop and curate its local context, Pronit has fully delivered and set a high standard for the slew of restaurants that are slated to open across India.

Striking up a conversation with Pronit is easy. He showcases great clarity in his design process and candidly explains how the space came to be. Despite the ease with which he explains the project, it doesn't take you long to figure that every detail in the restaurant is the outcome of a meticulously researched social, cultural and historical context.

Initially, you only notice prominent design elements like the overhead suspended lighting. Explains Pronit, “We took inspiration from Calder mobiles and designed and suspended mirror mobiles. These are made up of round mirror modules at different angles that reflect people's faces,” he says. “So you could 'check someone out' or someone else could do the same, catering to the social circus, to see and be seen!”

Ayaz Basrai makes art come alive at The Bandra Project. “At The Bandra Project, working off Urban Studio's incredibly detailed ode to Bandra, we've tried to play off the beautiful green and shaded avenues of the suburb, to create a digital greening up of our own outlet. Flowers bloom slowly through the night, lilies up and float away, and art in its various evolving forms continues to populate our space, through the life of The Bandra Project,” elaborates Ayaz.

He phrases his description of the space almost as a haiku: “A Digital Bloom. A Slow Carnival. A Relaxed explosion of Flora.”

Standing at the bar waiting for your drink is actually rewarding in more ways than just sipping on drinks designed by two-time Diageo World Class winner Varun Sudhakar. As your eyes wander over the back wall of the bar you begin to notice the intricate laser-etched elevations of Bandra homes.

Pronit explains how the bar wall is an abstraction of the quintessential 'cabinet of curiosities' that we all saw in the living rooms of these charming bungalows in our childhood. These are made out of laser cut glowing veneer and showcase the elevations and elements of Bandra. He points to the design of the metal work that clads the bar itself. The pattern almost exactly mirrors the intricate railings that adorn old colonial homes around Bandra.

We caught up with Pronit after the opening to get an in-depth understanding of The Bandra Project.

Architectural Digest (AD): How did you conceptualize The Bandra Project by PizzaExpress?

Pronit Nath (PN): Conceptually as far as program is concerned the place needed to be open ended: it's designed for breakfast, casual dining, meetings, single dining or drinks with single tables for laptops and coffee, formal dining, and weekend party, Sunday brunches etc.

The food and drinks menu reflects this with a more varied offering and a much lesser part of it as just pizzas.

This itself sets it apart from the flagship which is PizzaExpress with a lot of the generic pizza express elements like the floor, colours, wall panelling lights, etc., with a more or less fixed programme.

AD: How is Bandra's social context relevant to the Project?

PN: Bandra is a social potpourri of sorts with a very casual vibe. There are different types of tables that offer varied seating experience. Two large marble tables in crucifix form become community tables. There are high and low tables, bar tables (tables that change height and position).

AD: How thorough was your study about Bandra's architectural context?

PN: Bandra has some beautiful old bungalows, part of some Bandra villages like Shirt Village, Pali Village, Ranwar, Chuim Village. These bungalows have very distinct facades and windows that are beautiful with a lot of character. We took the idea of these bungalows and abstracted different elements from them.

Concrete casts of the true scale of the Bandra windows are suspended to form a screen that allows light in and screens the building ramp on one side of the restaurant. The same modules repeat themselves as bevelled marble tiles to form the back-service walls of the display kitchen and bar. The ceiling is made of egg trays that add good visual texture and acoustic value to the place. The floor is simple kota stone with inlaid marble mosaic rugs. All the material palette and details allude to an old world elegant charm of the Bandra bungalows in the contemporary context.

AD: Can you tell us a little about the furniture choices, lamps and other accessories?

PN: We wanted to reflect the old world elegant charm and feel for the lamps made in brass, marble and glowing bulbs like the Italian 1950-inspired Nova lamps. We chose the design classic Thonet chairs in bent wood and cane, also an ode to the erstwhile Irani cafes of Mumbai...and cane colonial furniture.

Simple indoor planted pots sit on sliding brass table separators on the continuous crucifix marble community tables. We also made brass and marble single tables with individual lamps to look like one coherent unit so it's not awkward for singles. This is reflected in the bar seating as well and accommodates revolving smaller tables to place your coffee, desert or drink. Marble combination tables slide up or down on a screw system to become standing bar tables or sit down fine-dine tables at different times.

AD: What was the idea behind the verandah?

PN: The back open space of the building is made into a raised lily pond with the concrete hanging screens (of the window casts) wrapping itself around to get the outside in. This area becomes an open verandah for breakfast by the pond in the mornings or a private party zone in the night or for brunches. An angled mirror over the pond reflects the pond on the ceiling to let the tables at the back get glimpses of the water and lilies.

AD: What are some of the challenges you faced on this project?

PN: Mumbai has many Mumbais in it. There is a distinct context and history to each area. We wanted the space to reflect this in its design and it was a challenge to convince the PizzaExpress team of the potential of this place and avoid the generic elements. This also became the biigest attraction that we felt toward the project, to respond to the strong and charming context.

AD: Do you think you have a signature style in the hospitality sector?

PN: We tend not to have a signature style as each project and site are very different, and need a different spatial and styling move. Increasingly, it's also about the performance of the space to maximise returns, which informs our designs a lot more than what is seen on the surface.

Address: The Bandra Project by PizzaExpress, C – 534A, Ground Floor, HSBC Bank Building, Pali Road, Bandra West, Mumbai – 400051 | Ph.no: 022 62506800 | Timings 8 AM to 1 AM

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