About us

We endeavour to create meaningful built environments, that are customized for you to bring a sense of calm, wellbeing and comfort. A feeling of “being at home”, designed for usability, efficiency and a sense of “place” – a place where you would want to be, spend time and delightfully do things.

What do we do?

We are architects based in Bangalore, offering services in architecture, interior design and landscape design. Sustainable building technologies and methods (green buildings) are dear to us and we continue to seek opportunities with clients willing to make green-homes  which use unconventional or vernacular building methods, materials and are self-reliant in power-generation and water management.

“Tabula Rasa” is a latin word for a clean slate, a concept that describes an opportunity to begin again with no record, history, or preconceived ideas. This is how we treat each of our new projects, a tabula rasa! Each project brings in unique possibilities and a fresh new approach.

How do we do?

Over decades we have continued to work with our team of carpenters from Barmer, Rajasthan for most of our interior projects. For building construction projects, we rely on local builders familiar with local needs and resources. Each of our furniture pieces is handcrafted and custom designed for the project. Sometimes, to give a genuine ambience and material feel, we source genuine antique furniture for interior projects.

Who are we?

Tabula Rasa is led by Architect Hetal Varma. She is a graduate of the Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad. She leads all architecture and interior design work.


Architect Nikhil Varma, also an alumnus of CEPT, specializes in heritage documentation and conservation.


We also collaborate with specialized firms and individual experts as needed. Occasionally we have worked with distinguished people to guide and shape work on Museums and historical documentation. See more about our heritage work under Idam Heritage (idamindia.org)

Email: tabularasaindia@gmail.com | Phone: 9448118796 or 9741491577

Studio @Nobo Nagar, Nr. Meenakshi Temple, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560076

WHAT WE OFFER

ARCHITECTURE

We try to bring Indian design sensibilities reinterpreted into our architectural and interior design work, while avoiding the constraints of any specific genre. We believe that each form possesses its unique allure and deserves a design process that celebrates its individuality. Regardless of their shape or appearance, our spaces are crafted with you at the core. We aim to create an environment that resonates with your sense of belonging. To achieve this, we adopt an inside-out approach, beginning with your functional needs, aspirations, and imagination. By skillfully merging functional requirements with a purposeful and fitting design language, we bring forth spaces that are both meaningful and aptly aligned with your vision.

INTERIORS

Our approach to interior projects is rooted in an inside-out perspective. We begin by understanding and addressing the functional requirements, seamlessly integrating them with a well-crafted design and visual language to curate the desired ambience. Our expertise lies in delivering top-notch, comprehensive interior projects. One of our distinctive strengths is our utilization of traditional materials such as solid wood, plywood, and real-wood veneers for furniture. This unique selling proposition enables us to create interiors that exude sophistication, timelessness, and require minimal maintenance. Unlike store-bought alternatives, our meticulously handcrafted furniture pieces are carefully constructed by our skilled team of carpenters and elegantly polished in a range of finishes. We approach each project holistically, envisioning the entirety of the space, and endeavor to deliver interiors that are not only distinctive but also perfectly aligned with your personality, needs, and aspirations. We envisage the projects in totality and deliver interiors which are unique and suited to your personality, needs and aspirations.

GREEN BUILDINGS

We specialize in green construction techniques like mud-block walls, cob-walls, filler-slabs and mud-plaster. Our team consists of an experienced contractor with his masons, plumbers and electricians who can execute a project for you if construction is something that gives you shivers!

KITCHENS

Our custom-designed modular kitchens are international in quality and finish, yet suited to Indian needs. We consider how you use your kitchen- right from how you store things, the kind of food you cook, what things you like to keep handy and what can be stashed away to how you deal with your trash and dirty dishes. Our counter and cabinet heights are based on your height and ergonomics. And therefore, each of our kitchens is one of a kind. Made in partnership with our trusted vendors, our kitchens come in all the finishes available in the market; they not only look great but conceal a lot of storage too and serve you trouble-free for years!(of course 10 years are guaranteed!)

LANDSCAPE

Architecture without connection to its surroundings is like a life without friends! We pay as much attention to what our indoors open into. We design the indoors in a way that the space naturally flows into the outdoors as its obvious extension. There are also projects where we are brought in to create just the right landscape for an existing building. We design and execute hard and soft landscape for home-gardens and terrace gardens incorporating natural and man made elements, appropriate plant selection and outdoor lighting.

SUSTAINABILITY

We want to be as gentle on mother earth as possible while making buildings. We have been striving from the start of our practice back in the year 2001, to design green-buildings, buildings that are designed, constructed and operated with minimal impact on the environment. Our designs are aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of a home by making sure the building, on a daily basis, uses less energy by employing water conservation & harvesting, effective use of natural light & shade and by reliance on renewable energy options like solar power and wind power.