The Amber, New Delhi

Project Name: The Amber, New Delhi
Architectural Group: Amit Khanna Design Associates (AKDA)
Architect: Amit Khanna
Project Location: Sukhdev Vihar, New Delhi, India
Project Type: Hospitality
Project Completion Year: 2010
Project Area (Total): 4500 Sq ft / 425 Sq mt
Built-Up Area: 12000 Sq ft / 1150 Sq mt
Structural: Space Consulting Engineers
Mechanical: Space Consulting Engineers
Civil: Space Consulting Engineers
Artwork & furnishings:  Vivek Sahni Designs
HVAC:  Daikin
PMC: Pawan Khosla
Image Courtesy: Amit Khanna Design Associates (AKDA)
Text: Amit Khanna Design Associates (AKDA)

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ll travelers expect to experience local culture when visiting foreign countries or even a different part of their own country. However, contemporary hotel design seems to celebrate familiarity over authentic local design. This project attempts to marry the two divergent approaches by combining the globally accepted standard amenities of a hotel room, with the atmosphere of Northern India pervading the public spaces. This helps to showcase the location’s unique materials, cultures and traditions, and provides visitors with a memorable experience.

From the exterior, the hotel seems to float above a transparent, fully glazed public lobby. Deep recesses shade the front, while white fabric sandwiched between glasses tempers the sunlight on the sides. A large courtyard in the centre of the building brings light to all the floors via fully glazed walls and incorporates a water feature at the ground level as the backdrop for the breakfast area.

The courtyard has been embellished by a circular mirror motif designed by a local artist. AKDA was entrusted with the design of the fixed furniture in the public places; the sleek white Corian surfaces serve as a minimalist backdrop to the colorful upholstery of the loose furniture. All walls, floors, ceilings are similarly kept a brilliant white, to offset the colors.

Considerable research was undertaken while incorporating the cultural designs, as these objectsare symbolic of a variety of socially significant meanings that may not be immediately apparent to the visitor. Further it ensures that only traditional elements were used, as opposed to the recognizable clichés.

In the upper floors, all rooms have their own colors, ranging from fiery red to golden yellow, evoking the desert colors of the Rajasthan desert.

The bathrooms are kept minimal in soothing tones of grey and white, with a cool beige ceiling. The design team brought in work from area artists, while local manufacturers provided custom furniture for the project.

 

[author] [author_image]http://www.howarchitectworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Amit_Khanna.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Amit Khanna Design Associates (AKDA) integrates the disciplines of architecture, interior design, furniture, lighting and product design under a singular ethos. We love building things. Established by Amit Khanna in 2004, the studio philosophy is to make regional specificity and sustainability intrinsic to the design process and product.
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