Vintage, beach, futuristic, homely, or even artsy—cafés across India have been upping their game with exciting themes and refreshing creativity.
While good food is definitely a crowd-puller; ambiance and interior décor are also not far behind.
Sustainability is another trend that is becoming popular in Indian cafés. With their vertical gardens, zero plastic, and even second-hand furniture, these joints not only give their customers a good culinary experience but also ensure that they do not leave behind a carbon footprint.
But how often do you come across one which—is a stunning union of unusual and sustainable—is made up entirely of cardboard?
Well, if you are a resident of Mumbai, you might already know the café in question. But, for those who don’t, we are talking about Cardboard, India’s first cardboard café!
Located in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), the design concept of Cardboard quite literally explores out-of-the-box thinking. Its entire interior landscape, including furniture, light fixtures, signage as well as the menu card and bill and cutlery boxes, have been made using, well, cardboard.
Through an immersive cardboard experience, Cardboard advocates the usage of environment-friendly products and renewable materials, with combating climate change and global warming as their frontrunner objective.
Conceived and designed by architect Nuru Karim of NUDES, the café was brought to life by Amit and Bhavna Dhanani of BAD Management in collaboration with Shilpa Tulaskar and Vishal Shetty from Thyme & Reason Hospitality.
“It was Nuru Karim, our architect who brought the idea to us, and together we decided it was something we were interested in pursuing. Nuru’s style is very explorative and very sculptural, and it was something he had in mind for a long time. The project was extremely collaborative—Nuru and his team at NUDES designed the space including the various furniture and elements (many of which use parametric modeling), says the founder