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from rendering to reality “The yoopune story began with a trip to Tel Aviv, where I chanced upon two mag-nificent structures,” says Sagar Chordia, director of Panchshil, a property devel-oper in India. After learning they were by Philippe Starck, he invited the designer to create something similar in Pune, near Mumbai. “Buyers are younger now and looking for design that is contemporary. Who better to partner with than Philippe? He is bubbling with life and ideas.” The 17-acre project, which broke ground last winter, is landscaped by Bill Bensley.

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Namaste India

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a tangible future Starck and his yoo business partner, John Hitch-cox, who’ve done 30 residential properties, built an on-site show flat allowing potential owners to experience the project. Condos are available in two styles, Classic (a bit moody) and Nature (a lighter vibe), but all feature top-notch manu-facturers like Hansgrohe, Duravit, Poggenpohl, and Siemens. The designer could have outfitted the place entirely with his own pieces (a few do dot the rooms), but instead took an ecumeni-cal approach, adding items from Fornasetti, Ben Whistler, Cappellini, Tucker Robbins, Dessi Mo-bel, and Timorous Beasties, among others. “It will be a place where people will feel at home,” Starck says. “Where they will interact and have fun together. It’s a place of life.”

Prices start at $2 million. For more information, visit yoopune.com.

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emore photos