The evening before, Deepa Mehta is dressed casual in dark khakis, black sweater, and a woolen Indian shawl with discrete embroidery detail that drapes her petite frame. Her long, shiny, straight, dark hair appears as though she’d just stepped out of a hair salon and her eyes are curious and kind. Deepa Mehta is in fine form, and ever so articulate with her answers during the Q&A which would follow the short screening moderated by Charlie Keil, Associate Professor of the Institute of Cinema Studies. Though to invited guests and members of the general public, she admittingly was stressed about the imminent approval meeting with her literary friend of five years.

At Innis College, located at University of Toronto, I am sitting in the Town Hall, an auditorium which yearly hosts/seats upwards of 50,000 attendees of events and screenings, and it’s where the presentation with this extraordinary filmmaker took place. Students, financiers, educators, professionals, and many other South Asians enjoyed a pre-SR preview of her poetic and poignant film hosted by Janet Paterson, Principal. By the same token, Ms Paterson also used the stage to signal the launch of the Town Hall fundraising campaign to raise $3.25 million, the estimated budget to redesign this core space — the heart and soul of Innis College.

The overall sentiment gleaned by the audience seated in this large grey room desperate for a makeover after more than twenty years of wear, was one of pride and honor: to watch Deepa Mehta’s unreleased film with Deepa Mehta. How utterly cool. The eight-10-minute film clip we were privileged to watch was superbly edited, a teaser of Midnight’s Children. It held my attention from the first second and, without doubt, her film will be another stellar work of art. A daring and caring filmmaker, Deepa Mehta films are so appealing because they are at once personal and mainstream. Her cinematic stories leave you pregnant with emotions and ideas about family, feuds, discord, love, zindagi (Hindi: life), other universal themes and “change as the only constant”.

Quick facts about the making of Midnight’s Children

The idea of making a movie based on a Salman Rushdie novel was hatched more than three years ago over dinner together at the filmmaker’s Toronto home; choosing which novel to adapt into a screenplay was her decision and an obvious one for the story’s “cinematic” qualities; the first draft delivered by Salman Rushdie was (not surprisingly) a lofty 297 pages; an average film script is 120 pages; the film shoot lasted 69 days in Sri Lankan settings where temperatures reached a soaring 42 degrees Celsius every day without reprieve from the heat; there were 64 locations and 30 actors of which 17 were main actors; the storyline spanned 60 years. Plus, for added real-life drama, the Sri Lankan government created permit issues and threatened to stall film production brought on via pressures from the Iranian government over the shooting of a Salman Rushdie adapted screenplay, despite the lifting of the fatwa twenty years ago. But the issues were resolved.

The logistics of making a film with layered histories that spans six decades and where “design was very important, cinematography and costume design” required that Deepa Mehta take to the gym eight weeks before international production began. She attributes a steady gym routine acquired at the JCC (Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre) in Toronto for keeping her “fit, alert” during the filming “marathon”.

It was an energizing autumnal evening and, as I left the University campus by foot, I couldn’t help but wonder how lovely it would be to have colorful conversation over a meal with the affable and talented Deepa Mehta. She has so many more stories to tell!

From the point of view of my customer experience post-construction, this Starbucks is the same if not more confusing; simply ordering here is easier said than done. Where the queue might begin is a curvy, complicated walk from the main entrance. An existing support column downstairs is enhanced by a wide counter and stools around it and thus uses this area effectively, yet only a few feet away the other support column impedes human flow and disrupts the sightline to the chilled items for sale. On two occasions, I overheard customers asking: “Are you in line?” referring to whether the person next to them had placed their order. The space allotted between this seating area and the areas of commerce are rendered full of limitations and people flow has not been considered at peak hours.

Regardless, it is still popular drawing huge numbers, though its decibel level can be annoyingly high. When the upper floor is unoccupied it is like an oasis in the sky, but normally it is where business folk and students flock, hold meetings and make themselves comfortable much as they would at home. Employees’ chatter can be heard between floors and is reminiscent of collegiate behaviour (OK, so they’re mostly acting their age), while cell phone users abound in their indiscrete conversations on sport, business, financials, and much more. I acknowledge that this kind of coffee shop could never live up to the feeling of being at a public library, a place where the sound of silence, my preferred music, usually prevails.

The new furniture, mostly moveable pieces including bistro chairs, bar stools, corner and communal tables, armchairs, and chairs with arms, loveseats, floral rugs, and drapes too, necessitate that constant tidiness be maintained by staff if harmony is at all to be achieved. But upstairs, a pair of soft leather armchairs, although attractive pieces, are already starting to show signs of wear and perhaps are more appropriate in a study at a private residence than for rough general use at a busy Starbucks. Meanwhile, some improvements include easy access to the main bathroom (though you need to first ask for the door code upfront), and a quick pathway to the upper floor via the same set of narrow stairs shooting out to a side street exit.

After my first visit and walk-about, I had asked a kind employee if the redecoration was complete. “Yes,” he answered, “is there something missing?” Biting my tongue, I responded, “It needs help.” One month later, I still hold the same belief. The quick point I am trying to make here is that a finished space is not finished if it looks and feels unfinished. I have to EOL (Exclaim Out Loud).

Of course, I recognize that there’s no turning back the hiked prices and that we are all patrons who are continually and literally paying the price for retail expansion and expansive business costs in still dreary economic times. But with this incremental charge for my tall, wet cappuccino (without lid, sleeve, stick, sugar or napkin), I ask myself why thoughtful design cannot come with?

In my short history with Starbucks, I have adapted to a new coffee brand and a way of ordering my preferred drink, and adjusted (granted with some fuss) to the changed decor and design of one such coffee shop.

But I look forward to walking into this newly designed store, one of five along my path, but only the second one to undergo a cosmetic transformation in less than a year.

The potential is everywhere for commercial environments to endorse twin friends, beauty and function, and match them with easy communication, even with a general public. Whatever the design outcome, I reckon that at the very least the reconstruction will be an optimal improvement.

1) Will this be a brand reinvention through redesign?
2) Is a commercial metamorphosis meant to act as a stimulus to improve business?
3) Were focus groups used to best determine what employees, regulars and newbies would like to experience? If so, what did findings reveal?

Eco Deco believes that most people react positively to a good-looking and good-smelling place and the feeling it brings to their body, eyes and mind. Most people can recognize the difference between what is comfortable and uncomfortable, practical and impractical, thoughtful and thoughtless, necessary and unnecessary. We are informed by design and vice versa. It is democratically accessible. I’d also like to add that most people deserve to live and consume — in dignity — whether in a private or public space. It can be enjoyable, and possibly you know the feeling.

So then why are Starbucks outlets hauntingly unattractive places? Incongruous color palettes, inflexible moving spaces, disregarded functionality of negative space, ill-conceived lighting installations (or lack thereof), poorly-delivered ventilation plans and even less considered sound proofing options….

A Starbucks in Toronto, Summer 2011 Photo credit: Eco Deco

Someone in Toronto once told me that Starbucks is “where the people are”. She was referring to it being a good place to network — and stay for hours if need be. This is a generous truth about the Starbucks culture. But the Starbucks design team should consider geometry, symmetry, proportion, and harmony, one as an intricate function of the other, when designing, redesigning or retrofitting their stores because their consumers, frankly deserve better.

Clients, who are increasingly design-aware, would appreciate good lighting (task, ambient) which enhances a reader’s experience while nursing a cup of coffee or tea; a non-disparate ventilation system where, regardless of season, the indoor temperature adjusts according to the outdoor temperature, but also ensures that hot or cold air be equally and fairly distributed throughout the establishment so as to diminish even avoid the chance of catching a debilitating cold. At most Starbucks where I’ve visited, they are perennially dark, shadow-ridden and depressing places despite the crowds. I do not know why, for instance, where there are window coverings, why they are not easy to manipulate according to the changing natural light outdoors and a consumer’s whim. What’s wrong with spreading sun?

Seating is another point of contention. For indoor and outdoor needs, choosing the right type of seating for communal usage is fundamental. But it is possible to find a chair, that is wide and weighty enough for people of all ages, sizes and habits to be comfortable enough to stay awhile. Plus, each store should allot for additional seating albeit in the form of stackable chairs on hand for the oft chance that coffee for one becomes a tea party for many.

What is more, employees need to care about their environment too. Physical surroundings should be kept regularly tidy where tabletops, chairs, floors, ledges, and even lighting fixtures are dusted, cleaned and tended to with as much attention as is given to consumers when taking their drink and food orders.

This consumer is a believer: there is always room for improvement. And forty years on, the Starbucks story could still say more — but also do much more.

Curious, I approached a couple of workers to enquire what was going on and what could patrons expect to see. They looked at me and, with their thick accents, took turns saying they had no idea what the design plans would be but just that Starbucks was in charge. This franchise would be closed for two weeks — which seems a long time — while I considered the loss of income generated from drink and food sales would potentially be great. Exchanging more banter, the younger one revealed they would “not take any credit or blame”. In response, I suggested they could take some credit; building a branded store from its bare bones into something solid and internationally recognizable is no small feat. Proudly yet hesitantly, he begged to agree adding, “Yah, credit for doing it on time”. We both chuckled and went on with our day.

During my visit, there was hardly ever any reprieve from the constant advertising, marketing, selling, promoting, tempting, distracting — and too often in large quantities — of stuff and services. Opportunities to acquire anew were boundless around the clock. But how much of anything and everything do we really need?

Indeed, need is not the operative word but want, its subliminal sister. Put on your Happy Socks and carry on!

While at West Chelsea’s Gallery 1500, which represents a roster of Brazilian photographers, an artist’s photo-collection of urban and industrial mainstays around Berlin was on display in large, framed format. However, it was a separate architectural photo art which caught my eye and one I’d wish to have for my own wall…. Shot by another photographer, Bruno Cals, my favorite from his Horizons series is “Avenida Paulista 01″ because it is so beautiful, spiritual but also dynamic.

As I revisited the memorized paths of my majestic Manhattan from trips gone by, I was however a first-timer at The Campbell Apartment, a wonderful discovery, but only once I found my way through the labyrinthe of Penn Station to this secluded haven off the beaten path.

Serendipitously, I happened upon Assouline, located at The Plaza, where I purchased a tennis fashion book while waiting for a friend. At the gorgeously chic BG Restaurant, I delighted in afternoon tea for two, goofy conversation and appreciated an almost aerial view of the Park, where earlier I had strolled most happily through Literary Walk, a part of quintessential Noo Yawk’s gapingly beautiful Central Park, albeit even under a lengthy but welcomed drizzle.

Since my last visit to the Big Apple, new commercial spots — resto-store/hospitality — such as Eataly and Mondrian Soho, have opened and are worth a visit or a stay. While in Madison Square Park, I stood in awe — even by night — of Jaume Plensa’s 44-foot tall, 360 degrees contemplative Echo statue on summer display.

"Echo" by J Plensa, Madison Square Park Photo: Art Observed

A few days on, I had experienced (finalement!) the Renzo Piano-designed modernist expansion of The Morgan Library & Museum, despite my numerous failed attempts to do so much sooner on earlier trips. Here I cooled off at the luminous open concept Café, later entering a sparsely-lit gallery to view a magnificent body of work entitled Jim Dine: The Glyptotek Drawings before assisting at an auditorium screening of Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo.

On an almost daily basis, I strolled along the High Line south to Gansevoort and along its newest addition north of West 23rd Street; attending also a special Friends of the High Line cocktail reception for artist, Sarah Sze, whose outdoor art is currently on view along the HL. Like photos: ecodecoARORA on Facebook.

"Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat)" by Sarah Sze, the High Line, Summer 2011