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Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien established Doshi Levien, their London-based design office, in 2000. For the past thirteen years the partners have focused on work that “celebrates the hybrid and explores the coming together of cultures, technology, storytelling, industrial design and fine craftsmanship.” In an interview Doshi said, “The language that interests me is that of the hybrid. The visual language that cannot be placed or defined. The language that talks about plurality of global culture and ideas.”
One of their recent projects, a vanity called Chandlo, is a perfect example of Doshi Levien’s ethos. The design for Chandlo draws inspiration from Bauhaus and, apparently, from the bindi worn by Indian women on their forehead. The elements from Bauhaus and De Stijl are obvious in the skinny, linear legs, the gridded pattern on the stool cushion and the strong, mirrored geometric shapes on the tabletop. The reference to the bindi is a little more conceptual and is rooted more in the general idea of the ritual of grooming.
Chandlo is composed of “a central, front faced mirror with a red steel frame, a side mirror with a rose colored filter and a plywood jewelry box with rosewood veneer, all structured on a solid ash surface.” From Doshi Levien’s website:
“Chandlo was designed as a special prototype made by BD Barcelona for Das Haus 2012. This was an installation by Doshi Levien for IMM Cologne that explored their vision of a perfect home. Das Haus consisted of interconnected spaces opening up to a central courtyard. The different areas of the home depended mainly on objects and furniture to define space.”
