India’s largest design destination, The Colosseum, has opened its doors in Hyderabad. The grand opening was witnessed by 400+ renowned interior designers, architects, HNIs and media houses all under the same roof. During the launch, Neeraj Harkut, Co-founder, The Colosseum, said, “This is an extremely proud moment for all of us. A design centre of this scale will put Hyderabad on the global map and bring in designers and homeowners not only from India but Internationally as well.” Tejas Timbadia, one of the other co-founders, added, “Our objective is to bring the best of product design and luxury home décor under one roof and make sure that the buyer need not go anywhere else for their home needs. Moreover, we wanted to create an international buying experience and hence each floor is designed differently. Walking through The Colosseum is almost like living through a story that unfolds each step at a time.”
Designed by Kunal & Khushboo Khandelwal of Studio Design Inc, the curated centre offers an interesting mix of furniture, lighting, kitchens, wardrobes, home décor, soft furnishings, and curated collections from India as well as around the world. The selection includes an array of 120+ furniture brands, 80+ lighting brands, 200+ home décor accessory brands and 100+ soft furnishing brands. Each floor showcases a distinct category and while they are unique in their designs, there is an inter-woven story across the floors that ties the whole experience centre together. This complex, multi-storeyed showroom has been conceived as an amalgamation of interconnected design concepts and philosophies. While each storey has a unique story to tell, the experience centre has been designed to create a cohesive narrative for the customer.
The Colosseum transcends the definition of a design project. It is a curated and carefully crafted design experience that takes the visitor on a memorable journey. Along with macro and micro-level design concepts, a lot of thought and effort went into the nomenclature of every floor. As a result of their creative thinking, each area gets a name with its own intent and idea. The first two floors - named Plinth and Zenith, respectively - host multiple luxury setups, thus introducing interior design at the micro and macro levels. Maze, the third floor, is dedicated to modern and contemporary furniture products. Designed as a space of interconnected passages, each of these passages branches out into smaller setups that highlight the potential of the contemporary pieces housed on this floor.
The next floor, called Kiosk, is all about the drama, the ‘oomph’ factor. Finished in glossy, metallic surfaces, the Kiosk is the home for bespoke and curated furniture from Indian and International design houses. This floor is essentially the coalition of smaller kiosks dedicated to each designer. Next floor is the Box. Housing numerous, distinctive setups centred around kitchen and wardrobe elements from Cube, the Box represents structure, function and form. This floor has been designed around the dual ideas of constructing and deconstructing. The sixth level is called the Library. Cataloguing wallpapers, carpets, cushions, curtains, ceramics and accessories, this floor has been designed as a library of soft furnishings. This light, airy and luxurious setting has a European touch to it. Concluding the user journey is the Vault on the seventh floor. Designed to symbolise the light at the end of the tunnel, the Vault is dedicated to lighting, art and accessories. The floor takes the form of a long tunnel, a grey vault, which opens up into individual dedicated areas.
Another unique aspect of The Colosseum is the recognition it gives to artists and artisans. The thoughtfully placed installations around the space are the store’s way of giving back to the design community. The space houses multiple design installations throughout the length of the seven floors in close collaborations with Alex Davis, Ankon Mitra, Ikai Asai, Nimrat Narang, Stitch Story, and Shades of India.
