Loft 38 / Khosla Associates

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Text description provided by the architects. This project offered us a unique opportunity to conceive of an entertainment hub on one of Bangalore’s prime high streets. Not only did we design the Architecture of the building and its Interiors, we also got involved with advising our clients on its positioning as a high energy venue, and on the broad genres of music to be played within the space.

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Our intent was to create a landmark venue for music lovers, which would attract an exciting array of djs and bands on the cutting edge of their respective genres, both from India and abroad. A diverse and rotating monthly schedule would ensure a broad spectrum of entertainment for the audience.

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The form of the structure draws inspiration from traditional Barn Architecture with its voluminous interior shell and an overriding gable roof. As designers we chose to contemporize this typology for the possibilities it offered as a potentially theatrical space. Various levels (or lofts) within a larger volume interact seamlessly with one other, while freeing sight lines from the stage at one end and the DJ booth on the other.

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The warmly clad wooden roof at 37 ft. high envelopes a space that is articulated with a bar and dance floor on the ground floor and lounge and restaurant spaces on the successive two levels. All the dining and lounging areas on the upper levels act as galleries flanking either side of a dramatic atrium, looking down on the busy dance floor. The rear stage wall is clad entirely with rustic wooden logs stacked one atop the other to form a rich textural backdrop, cleverly referencing the firewood stacked in barns.

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The Architectural vocabulary combines an exterior skeleton of Steel I girders as columns and beams, steel decking sheets as the floor plates and brick masonry painted white as the infill. On the edge of the upper levels, expanses of glass sheets act as railings.  The Steel columns divide the space longitudinally into 3 bays; they soar upwards from the ground like trees and branch out elegantly into trusses that support the wooden gabled roof. Staircases on either side of the stage are sheathed in a monolithic envelope of 12mm unfinished steel.

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Owing to the large crowds that visit such venues especially on weekends, we chose to highlight the dance floor and the ceiling, as they are viewed from various vantage points. A strikingly patterned terrazzo floor in shades of grey and black forms a whimsical floral pattern on the dance floor. The ceiling, clad entirely in perforated sheets of plywood has 3 custom designed chandeliers suspended from the roof into the central atrium.

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The degree of customization extends into the furniture design, the light fixtures, and various other design details. The furniture is an eclectic mix intended for casual dining as well as lounging.

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The carefully programmed LED lighting sharply highlights the soaring columns and gently bathes the rear wooden log wall in deep hues of purple.  The myriad of textures conceals the extensive acoustic treatment within the entire shell.

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The material palette is a mix of Oakwood, olive coloured structural steel, unfinished mild steel and distressed white brick.  

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The dramatic interior volume of the building steps out into a calm and intimate open to sky courtyard with its own bar for those seeking respite from the internal audio levels. 

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The Brand Identity is created by TSK Design; the name LOFT 38 reflects the main differentiator of the space - the soaring volume of the architecture. 38 is the pin code of the location - the most buzzing high street in the city, as well as the height of the building in feet. The logotype is a contrast of bold and eclectic housed in the iconic barn like shape of the building. The signage, larger than life juxtaposes the soaring structure behind while grabbing the viewer’s eye from the street.