A multitude of Sins, a local studio in Bangalore, has created a colorful restaurant inside Bangalore using a mix of recycled materials, including bicycle bells and cassette boxes.
The restaurant, the Circus Canteen, socially called Big Top, is nominated in the category of sustainable interiors to receive a 2022 Dezeen Award.
A multitude of Sins obtained the components of the interior during a citywide waste donation campaign that lasted several weeks.
The materials, which ranged from toys to home appliances, were then carefully categorized and used in the design of an eclectic interior with mismatched flooring and furniture.
Studio: Less than 10% of materials used in the interior are new.
Smita Thomas, the founder of Multitude of Sins, told Dezeen that “the Circus Canteen was inspired by] the idea of creating a collection of unwanted items in a curatorial manner.”
The restaurant is entered through a scarlet-colored door decorated with humourous bicycle horns and arches constructed from teal-colored scrap metal.
Archways are lit by chandeliers made from bicycle chains and vehicle headlights.
The two-level dining area features custom-made tables and chairs that also double as installations.
Salvaged items used to create booths include abandoned couches, outdated bathroom ventilators, and colorful coffee tables made from old oil barrels that have been sliced in two and covered with glass surfaces.
Thomas acknowledged that “one man’s garbage is another’s treasure.” We have felt and seen this phrase come alive as we put together The Circus Canteen.
The flooring of the restaurant is a mosaic made from samples purchased at ceramics shops. A colorful collection of old cassette tape boxes frames a serving hatch in the kitchen.
The multitude of Sins project was inspired by the desire to design an interior for a restaurant with a minimum carbon footprint. This is in response to the growing concern of many designers about the wastefulness of the industry.
Thomas said that the creation of every element, from the custom lighting to the flooring to the art installations to the furniture, was due to the waste donation campaign.
It reminds us to adapt skillfully and reinvent ourselves with agility.
The Circus Canteen belongs to Bangalore Creative Circus, a project created by artists and scientists who organize various community events in the Indian city.
Other restaurants that use reclaimed materials are in Spain, which features elements made of upcycled junk or construction site waste, and in Slovenia, which is defined by recycled components to create a mixture of patterns and textures.