Having grown up surrounded by native blooms blanketing the streets, seasonal ones budding with new life, and saplings turning into giant umbrellas of refuge, these memories never leave interior designer, architect and artist Raseel Gujral Ansal. As an ode to all these internalisations, in addition to things she grew to admire in her later years, such as the natural motifs from Amazonia jungle, and the mangroves of Sunderbans, she offers a generous pouring of all this onto the walls of Olive Qutub.
Her nature-inspired series is timed with the 15-year celebrations of the restaurant in Delhi. There are murals, paper lanterns, and table décor, all embodying biophilic design. The green palms run as a recurrent theme for her Sunderban influenced series. Meanwhile, the large naturally-lit courtyard sees its white facade brightened up with spurts of blue as part of her Urban Jungle series.
This partnership with Italian restaurant Olive has given birth to a new kind of design project that takes art outside drab museum spaces. It marries decor aesthetics with gastronomy offering an atypical background for diners to enjoy their meal. In fact, she has inspired Chef Dhruv Oberoi to create a complimentary mini casa amuse-bouche along with a special cocktail, The Gin Paradox, by mixologist Harish Chhimwal keeping the colour scheme in mind.
The whole concept also corresponds to the larger sentiment of conservation and sustainability running as undercurrents among its population. Of all the art-driven projects she has taken on, this one seems to be keeping her in the best of spirits. Besides this, she is stretching her scope to include wallpaper design, fabrics, cutlery and more.
The more she experiments the more she gains the power to imagine unique, bold things. “I feel my creative best when I can make full use of my skills and add value to the limitless design space. There is so much more I can explore. What started with interiors will end with never-ending possibilities,” says Ansal.
This effort is shouldered by another woman who has worked relentlessly in congruency with Ansal — Sabina Singh, Design Director of the Olive Group of restaurants, also acknowledged in the industry for her keen design valour. She has been the creative person behind restaurants Soda Bottle Opener Wala, The Grammar Room, Serai, among others. And now, the two, Ansal and Singh, walk-in tow to make Olive into a multi-dimensional nature-inspired design den.
New design project
Raseel Gujral Ansal’s partnership with Olive, one of Delhi’s best restaurants, has given birth to a new kind of design project that takes art outside drab museum spaces. It also corresponds to the larger sentiment of conservation and sustainability running as an undercurrent among its population.