# Prototype N[ON]

Retail concept for Moroso, Mumbai. Mumbai, India, 2008. Design: Collaborative Architecture.

Temporary architecture serves as a testing ground for ideas that inform the evolving body of work at Collaborative Architecture. Conceived as spatial experiments, these prototypes provide a framework for testing, refining and reconfiguring architectural propositions before their translation into larger-scale applications. Prototype N[ON] is an early manifestation of this research-driven approach, establishing a lineage of experimental constructs that continues to inform the studio’s practice.

Presented as part of a design showcase organized by Universal Expo and Index Media at their 2008 trade exhibition in Mumbai, India, the project brought together ten prominent architectural practices, each invited to develop a conceptual and spatial intervention within a 5 × 5-meter footprint.

Conceived as a prototypical retail interface for the Italian furniture brand Moroso, Prototype N[ON] explored the possibilities of retail space as an evolving spatial construct. Rather than approaching the brief as a conventional display environment, the project used the pavilion as a testing ground for alternative spatial strategies, examining how a limited footprint could accommodate new relationships between enclosure, display and spatial experience.

## Key facts

- Location: Mumbai, India
- Client: Index Fairs, for Moroso
- Typology: Retail, Exhibition, Temporary architecture
- Status: Completed
- Year: 2008
- Area: 5 × 5 m

## Material Logic and Construction

The project’s material and construction logic reinforces its experimental premise. The tectonic elements are weaved to create the space. Simple MDF panels, supported by mild-steel frameworks, were prefabricated and assembled on site, with an acrylic emulsion finish unifying the assembly. The resulting system demonstrates how a deliberately restrained palette of materials and straightforward construction techniques can support an exploratory architectural proposition.

## Awards and shortlists

- 2008: IIID Awards, Design Practice of the Year, Winner
- 2009: A+D Spectrum Innovative Interior Award, Commendation

## In print

- 2008 Nov–Dec: Indian Furniture Journal
- 2009 Jul: Buildotech
- 2009 Jul: Insite
- 2009 Aug: Inside Outside
- 2009: 2A (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/2009-2a-retail-issue-prototype-non-and-wrap-4.pdf)
- —: Hinge 175 (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/features/hinge-175-prototype-non.pdf)
- 2011 Mar: Architect and Interiors India, Fab 50
- 2016 Jan: Trends, interview

## Online

- —: Architype Review, interview with the principals (http://architypereview.com/lalita-tharani-mujib-ahmed/)

## Books

- 2009: LINKS: New Exhibition Design (the pages on the project, PDF: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/press/books/2009-new-exhibition-design-links-prototype-non.pdf)

## Credit for publications

Prototype N[ON], Mumbai. Design: Collaborative Architecture (https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/prototype-non/)

Page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/prototype-non/