Thane Gets a New Hub to Socialise
#ThanyacheSOCIAL designed by Studio Osmosis is a precise representation of the neighborhood it resides in, right from the pin code to the people.
Thane has a rich and culturally significant history. Its historical relevance, hyperlocal food culture, active interest in the performing arts, and the people’s unique way of living a quiet life despite the commercialization of their surroundings is something that makes the area standout. #ThanyacheSOCIAL pays homage to all that and more with each element intricately crafted to reflect its rich traditions alongside the evolution of dining out in the new normal of ‘SOCIAL, with distancing’.
SOCIAL has a unique identity as a space where culture, creativity, and community collide and it everything that a hyper creative and entrepreneurial community needs an all-day café with excellent and affordable food and drinks, a creatively charged workspace that’s primed for collaborations, and a high-energy bar post sundown. We love the fact that every hyperlocal community we are present in makes their neighborhood SOCIAL their favorite adda. The project team has been waiting patiently for over a year and given the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents, the design, planning and operations ensure best-in-class safety and hygiene practices for the staff and guests.
Thane SOCIAL dons a distinct design identity that’s synonymous with the ‘city of lakes’. Housed inside Viviana Mall, local homes and small businesses feature in the interiors in unique ways. Drawing inspiration from the makaan-dukaan concept, SOCIAL’s now iconic booths have been stacked on top of each other – made to look like a home above and a shop below – reminiscent of the busy streetscapes of Ram Maruti Road in Thane. The concept is also very much a part of SOCIAL’s new take on space design in the post COVID era of social distancing. The vivid décor transports you to the times browsing curiously through Jambli Naka Market or simply chilling by Masunda Lake, where communities were not just birthed but nurtured too.
A section of the outpost also recreates the iconic Shri Gadkari Natya Griha, representing Thane’s deep engagement with the performing arts. Through furniture and light installments, the vibe takes you straight inside a quintessential Thane household. You also see a continuous bench seating along the walls, representing a typical katta where communities came together to spend quality time in each other’s company. The katta represents everything SOCIAL is to a community too: a space that encourages people to come together to #eat, #drnk, #work, #play and #collaborate with each other. The smoking area-home-pan shop setup is reminiscent of an old traditional home with memorabilia that takes you back to the transistor times.
Sameer Balvally, Principal Architect, Studio Osmosis, who spearheaded the design of the project collaborating with serial restaurateur Riyaaz Amlanai, says, “Thane SOCIAL takes you back in time, immersing you in the everyday life of a Thanekar via the quintessential ‘neechey dukaan, upar makaan’ concept. We further showcase the social fabric that evolved around lake-side kattas via the seating. At the heart of it all is the theatre, where everyone can immerse themselves in the celebration of food, culture, and art. In a post COVID world, one can dine at a barber’s shop, a chai ki dukaan, or the neighborhood tailor shop, all of which are intimate yet isolated pods represented inside the outpost.’ Shilpa Jain Balvally adds, ‘The katta seating has tables that can be rearranged while the open dining areas have flexible seating that can be separated – all initiatives that accommodate adequate social distancing.” SOCIAL is all about creating an engaging offline experience, and that thought is taken forward even in our food and drinks menu. Thane SOCIAL is all set to become the neighborhood’s go-to community space. The outdoor seating is an added zone which makes it a great set ups as well as perfect for Covid settings.
Based on their two decades of restaurant design experience as well as healthcare design background, during the first Covid wave that hit us, Sameer and Shilpa put together graphic and visual protocols on the various steps, safety, operations that any restaurant could take to open up post Covid maintaining the social distancing norms and making people feel safe coming back into public spaces to dine.
Thane SOCIAL is an urban hangout that’s designed to take you offline while still keeping you connected. From an all-day café and collaborative workspace serving the works, SOCIAL transforms from this creatively charged space into a high energy bar when work hours’ end, striking the perfect balance between work x play. It is a representation of the neighborhood it resides in, from the pin code to the people. It’s a second home, workplace, and hangout, all wrapped up in one mind-blowing experience.
