Part of the Max India enterprise, Antara in Dehradun is a first-of-its-kind senior living community that bases the premise of its design on a progressive approach to community building. The Clubhouse at Antara forms the heart of the community experience. Studio Lotus has partnered with the Antara team to design the 55,000-sqft facility as a diverse, richly-programmed space that creates a seamless blend of spaces from the inside to the outside.

The design philosophy behind Antara focuses on improving the quality of life for its senior community through thoughtful design interventions and has been brought to life through a cohesive collaboration between the architectural and interior design teams.

Studio Lotus’ key interior approach for the Clubhouse has been to integrate the programmatic needs with a restrained design vocabulary that infuses a home-like warmth and intimacy, in divergence from typical retirement homes that are almost sterile in nature.

The design team mapped resident journeys across day-to-day schedules and an annual calendar of events at Antara to distinguish between private and group activities and understand movement patterns and needs in detail. The exercise helped construct an overall narrative in which spaces have been sub-zoned into multiple smaller experiences to sustain an enriching experience over an extended period of use.

The interior builds from the guidelines of the architectural tonality and creates an understated balance that is perceptive of its users. The interior shell materiality attempts a refined interplay between tactile and muted expressions such as juxtaposition of a river stone rubble wall with smooth plastered walls to introduce an element of texture in an otherwise subtle scheme.

Keeping a minimal shell, the interior has been populated with a timeless palette of materials, furniture, lighting and curated art to inculcate a sense of place-making and familiarity. Large panels of architectural glazing have been carefully left free in most spaces to osmose the outdoors into the interiors and enhance its serenity by maximizing the natural beauty of the location.

The arrival experience to the club is the Lobby which has been designed to simulate a living room, with clusters of gathered and intimate seating, that the guests can use for casual encounters with co-residents or visiting friends and family. The Lobby also acts as a hub and connect to the activity zones and F&B areas which are flanked on either side. The activity areas on the left have been created as a progression of private sub-zones to include card rooms, art and craft areas and a library in one sub-pocket and a theatre for screening in another.

A large linear F&B space has been divided into a restaurant against the backdrop of a live kitchen and a buffet setup, the Verandah space, a private dining room and a community kitchen – all of which have been planned to allow for flexibility and seamless connections so that different configurations people can come together at different occasions. Crafted 4m-high MS screens have been inserted to create intimate pockets in the restaurant while pivoted doors of the community kitchen open up to devise a larger space for bigger events.

Designed in line with the MS screens, the skin of the F&B zone can be peeled back as large folding doors that open up the interiors to create a contiguous scheme with the semi-outdoor Verandah spaces when the weather is conducive.

Located on the right edge of the lobby, the Bar provides a key experience at the Clubhouse as the exclusive “go-to” place for the residents. Conceptualized as a classic interpretation of an art deco space, it anchors this sense-of-place idea with a custom-crafted leather paneled bar, wood paneled walls and warm tones of leather furniture and timber floors.

A harmonious material story and experience has been consistently woven across the ClubHouse which also accommodates through a dedicated wellness zone that includes spa treatment rooms, a gymnasium, swimming pool and private consultation room interconnected with a landscaped yoga pavilion.

While each space is articulated to be a distinct experience, there has been a deliberate effort to ensure that there are no dramatic shifts in the interior language to keep it visually comfortable for the aged eye. There has also been a conscious approach to keep connections porous – both through zoning and articulation. Areas requiring privacy have been partially screened using timber fins, metal screens and bands of glass but nothing has been kept tucked away from the vision so that physical accessibility and cognizance of spaces is easy and immediate.

A commissioned layer of art and craft has been filtered into the interior scheme as a sculptural overlay that is inspired of regional influences.