Could a building in a tight space provide a solid
transparency at the entrance and yet make you
think it melts into the sky? The most talked
about architectural construct in 2009 has been
ITC’s Gardenia in Bangalore. In its
appropriation both of Mies van der Rohe’s
exquisite transparency and the corporate
rationalism of `responsible luxury’ the hotel
creates a language that is novel.
Created by the same architect who wove together
the idea of green buildings with ITC Green at
Gurgaon in Delhi, Gardenia unravels as a serene
composition that weaves art, architecture and
the city of Bangalore into an aesthetic
experience.
Interestingly architect Rajinder Kumar the
Corbusier of hotels in India is anything but a
doctrinaire designer or a dogmatic personality.
His hotels, ITC Kakatiya Hyderabad, Leela
Kempinski Mumbai, and Taj Luknow have all stood
as statements in a period of time.
His houses, parks (Nehru Park) and other
buildings (Asian Development Bank in Delhi) have
over the years been executed in a relatively
broad stylistic range, reflecting his subtle
hand mooring tradition with an eye for
modernity: a candid yet cautious curiosity.
However, both in terms of context and place and
the diverse tastes of his clients he is one of
those students of Delhi’s School of Planning and
Architecture who believes that the drawing on
the board must leap at you.
Indeed, the elegant restraint of the building
reflects an ultra-modern suit at every turn. The
entrance has a crisp and clean blast-resistant
glass façade, which is reflective and open yet
functions as a sophisticated shield against the
climate as well as invites the outside in.
What ensues is a luxurious but restrained
lining. The building’s form, with “shoulders” to
either side of a raised central section, allows
the creation of multiple balconies; with, glazed
shafts bringing light into the heart of the
various floors, with glimpses of vegetation and
greenery in the Patrick Blanc vertical gardens.
Rajinder Kumar’s talent is to take an empty
space, extract a city’s historic essence to
create something new and aesthetically urban.
“Design over the years has changed in form and
function,” he says.” It has been absorbed by
everyday culture.
And we have to keep those constants in mind.” He
has always been more interested in forms that
have already become part of our culture.
Tall glass walls spell ultra modern chic: it
appears transparent when viewed from in front
but, as you move around, the verticals seem to
meld into a continuous surface, as if the site
were bounded by a solid wall. It is simply the
precision of glass and the minimalist rendition
of forms, though, that makes this structure
significant and marks it as a turning point for
ITC’s corporate philosophy of `sustaining design
and responsible luxury’.
“This is the way in which we construe this
concept of sustainability in our plan, in our
services and in every little detail of what we
do,” says Nakul Anand, chief of ITC Hotels.
“I think the best example of this commitment is
in how we take responsibility for the impact of
our activities on the environment, no matter how
big or small. Also, it’s about shouldering this
responsibility and making an effort to find a
common rhythm between man and nature.”
Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Gardens
Forget art, forget textured walls-the idea of
reflecting upon a vertical wall of plants in
different hues of green is an idea that seems
soothing to the eye and mind in an age of image
overload. Patrick Blanc’s vertical gardens that
run through the entire wall of the hotel become
a statement in the marriage of science and art.
This wall is Darwin’s delight-and the Mur
vegetal introduces the best example of saving
space and creating a wall that befits
sustainability.
Botanist, Patrick Blanc the French genius took
his lessons from rainforests. He focused his
attention on the ability and adaptability of
plants that vie for sunlight in the rainforests.
Once the needs of water and soil are looked
after they exist in happiness. Blanc used this
to create his thriving gardens.
The 1500 species of Philodendrons were brought
from the Nilgiris.Looking at it from the
Gardenia’s coffee shop it looks like a varietals
garden which inspires surreal insights. Gardenia
becomes the pilot of projecting a national image
of sophistication and cultural engagement, and
integration into local context, at the same time
ensuring the protection of those who work within
and around it.
Working in concrete, cement, wood and glass,
Rajinder creates a crisp, colourful ensemble
that celebrates the hotel’s new public role
while solidly marking its past.
