TATA.ev store: Celebrating electric mobility with a purpose

Crafting an immersive experience in today’s brick and mortar retail world is not just about designing an aesthetic expression, but also about creating an intimate, exploratory space for consumers to engage with the brand ethos and narrative. It’s about resonating with the ideals that consumers today look for in a brand.

TATA Motors, which has been going strong on EV technology and focusing on democratizing access to electric mobility, wanted to create a store experience that would present a compelling consumer-facing brand entity epitomizing the essence of electric revolution. The design team at Landor rose up to the challenge and created a space - the TATA.ev store - that went beyond being a transactional space. They crafted a spatial experience that celebrates the brand’s three core pillars of sustainability, technology, and community.

Design narrative 

“The creative philosophy, ‘Move with Meaning’ effectively conveyed the objective of the brand and retail being far beyond just mobility, but about moving forward with purpose and a sense of responsibility towards the environment and community. The entire experience was crafted with the creative, strategic approach of Design with Meaning, defining our approach on all facets of the project to be conscious and purposeful across every touchpoint,” shares Mriga Kothare, Design Director - Landor, while talking about the TATA.ev store project.

Materiality 

Every aspect of the store space was infused with the philosophy of ‘Design with Meaning’ and many of the construction elements focused on the potential for recycling or were built from recycled materials. Thus, unfired clay, composite plastic panelling and furniture, as well as locally sourced furniture, foliage and fabrics were among the materials that went into the making of the store. 

Lighting 

When it came to the crucial lighting aspect of the store, the primary goal for the design team was to build a dramatic, technology-focused yet soft and warm lighting and look of the space without losing sight of the core ideals. The lighting at the TATA.ev store was thus designed in 2 key directions – for impact, and efficiency. 

Strategic layering of lighting thus ensures experiential communication to the consumers. For example, installation lighting around the pillar creates concentric ripples, with a mirror at its center that draws the visitor’s gaze. As visitors see themselves mirrored at the center of the ripples, the lighting symbolizes the message of impact every individual can have on the environment. This transforms into a strategic beacon, pulling attention from within and outside the store, and creating a bold nighttime presence for TATA.ev.

“By weaving a story through lighting, the store envelops visitors in a dynamic moment of change – reinforcing the message that customers are not alone in their sustainable journey, and take steps towards meaningful futures together,” explains Mriga, while talking about the approach to lighting in the store. 

Community Space 

A car showroom is primarily a community space for any strong consumer facing brand today. The TATA.ev project aimed at creating a space for the 100,000+ strong TATA.ev community to come together for events, collaborations, and conversations, and facilitate meaningful interactions among the community. 

Calendarized talks and activities through the year focused on green living, recycling, innovation, movement workshops and more are part of the community activities being planned in the space.  

The Blue Tokai cafe collaboration located in the store takes the community vibe a notch higher, inviting people to linger, explore, and form deeper connections with fellow community members. 

Sustainability 

It takes the entire end to end cycle – from design concept to construction and day to day operations - for a store to be truly sustainable. The TATA.ev store aimed to follow the end-to-end cycle to be truly integrated with the brand’s sustainability mission. 

Besides recycled or global-certified materials and panels, there was also focus on local sourcing of materials to minimize emissions from transportation. Incorporating indigenous foliage also ensured regionally authentic touch in each store. 

“The integration of recycled panels, specifically in our brand colours, within washrooms and custom furniture underscores our collaboration with Minus Degree, a Delhi-based entrepreneurial venture championing a fully circular plastic economy,” adds Mriga, while highlighting the sustainability aspect of the store design.

Besides, all lighting within the retail stores is energy-efficient LED, and equipped with dimmability, enabling responsiveness to external light levels and reducing unnecessary energy consumption. 

Design Challenges 

The main challenge in the project lay in ensuring sustainability compliances that remained true to the brand’s mission to be sustainable and transparent. “We had to approach it with a critical sustainability lens that was uncharted territory for us. We had to account for not just the build and construction ecosystems, but also demolition, disposal and labour as well. This was a big shift compared to the regular ways of working and it needed commitment on all fronts from all parties involved to see through successfully,” sums up Mriga. 

Project Check list 

Duration: 1 year 3 months

Completion date: 21 Dec, 2023 

Location: Sector 14, Gurugram (https://maps.app.goo.gl/7Nmf7StJzthRhJds6)

Credits 

1. PMC: Design Ahead
2. Lighting: Plus Lights & Gardler
3. Green building consultants: Environment Design Solutions (EDS) Global
4. Café partner: Blue Tokai
5. Flooring: SS Projects Consultant
6. Bathroom vertical cladding: Minus Degree
7. Bathroom flooring: Klaystore
8. Loose furniture and totem: Diamond Display