Swirls of 'Sorbet' inspire MuseLAB's retail experience design for Aquant, Mumbai

With bold forms, a bracing colour palette and spatial storytelling, Sorbet, innovative sanitaryware brand Aquant’s latest flagship store, breaks the commercial archetype of retail experience. Located in an upscale southern region of Mumbai, India, the experience centre is designed by Indian architecture and interior design practice MuseLAB, founded in 2012 by Indian architects Huzefa Rangwala and Jasem Pirani. Described as a “bathware discovery lounge,” the project presents bath solutions with organic spatial design and bespoke, vibrant forms resembling a cloche, ensuring an intriguing and immersive experience for visitors.

MuseLAB visualises the project as a "sojourn" that ventures “far beyond recalibrating what conventional experience centres could look like”. In an attempt to bring out the visitor’s inner child and encourage play, the architects craft a journey that compels one to leave all the conceptions at the door and prepare to be surprised. Formerly a rug atelier, the store's facade design features a minimalist glass window set in a rectangular frame, with an elevated, protruding portico made of metal trellis that establishes the bespoke design language of the store. Taking advantage of the 12ft high ceiling and the expansive 2,600 sq ft floor area, the interior spaces are arranged in circular zones at different levels, resulting in organic navigation around the space resembling the swirling patterns of a sorbet. Instead of adhering to a conventionally neutral spatial backdrop for the exhibits, the retail space is dressed in mint green, paired with raspberry red fabrication ceiling, charcoal black kota stone and rubble-style flooring.

A water feature welcomes the visitors as they enter the space, followed by the waiting and reception area, which increases the anticipation of exploring the store. As the paths diverge, one navigates through the expansive collection of designer basins and water closets placed along curved partition walls in a roundabout before entering the event space. As one ventures deeper into the store, the mockup areas and the live areas facilitate a better understanding of the products, individually and in relationship with each other, by crafting conceptual settings. Smaller sections are utilised for live faucet displays, with the intent of focusing on product designs of all scales. The store also comprises an eight-seater conference room, along with a guest restroom, a staff restroom and a staff area with a pantry, storage and a couple of work desks.

Sorbet’s halo-shaped bespoke lighting design adorns and accentuates the circular layout of zones, creating visual distinctions among them. The varying heights and thickness of the partition walls make and break visual connections within the large space, facilitating comfortable navigation and maintaining visual interest from all vantage points within the store. While elements such as the cloche-shaped domes and pedestals, striking red ceilings and accents add drama and interest, the monochromatic green canvas and cohesive design language emphasise the displayed sanitaryware. Permutations and combinations of such contrasts and similarities in form, colour and composition are the core of the retail design.

The simple zoning, complex detailing and consistent layering of the interior spaces ensure an experiential design, making Sorbet a memorable, inspiring commercial design project. It encourages, no, demands a visit in person instead of scrolling through a digital product catalogue. Sorbet by MuseLAB embodies the brand Aquant’s innovative design spirit, boldly showcasing the desire to experiment and implement never-before-done conceptual designs and establishing a strong identity.