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THE PARK NEW DELHI NEW DELHI, INDIA |
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ARCHITECTURE / INTERIOR DESIGN |
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Prakash Mankar and Associates, Mumbai
Conran & Partners, UK
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Curves, curves and even more dramatic curves: Located on Connaught Place, the Indian capital’s cultural and consumer hub, The Park New Delhi is one of several Park Hotels comprising India’s first luxury boutique hotel collection. Gently swinging its look and feel around a new design concept involving the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and space. Inspired by Vastu Shastra, the ancient Hindu philosophy of constructing buildings that ensure a harmonious balance between man and nature – this is a mission the Park fulfils with utter panache.
Originally opened in 1987 and recently updated, the 224-room hotel offers a mix of eastern hospitality and western chic; the richness of Indian visual tradition and up-to-the-minute, globally inspired minimalist design that spans the hotel’s public and private spaces. Through its renovation, the legendary hotel has received a dose of high international style.
Indeed. Upon entering the lobby, guests encounter a breathtakingly arced white space – designed as part of an overall interior concept by superstar British designer Sir Terence Conran and Partners – that plays upon the concepts of movement and transparency, thus representing the elements of air and space. The façades of white glass allow natural light in at the same time as offering an aesthetic shield from the world outside and a sheer curtain of glass beads wends and winds its way from the ground-floor restaurants toward the marble reception and beyond. Breaking the space’s sleek white are curved customised sculptural sofas, rugs and lighting in hot pink, a celebratory colour in India. Further contrasts to the purity of the space are provided by edgy contemporary art, such as a subtly placed projection screen that displays a specially commissioned work by British video artist Daniel Brown. Modern chairs by Palluca Italia and The Campana Brothers, as well as capsule shaped, neonesque lighting by British light designer Paul Cocksedge add an even bigger dose of current style to a space that is devoid of any straight lines.
Elements of fire and water are represented on the ground floor as well, in both the restaurant Fire and adjoining bar, Agni. “Their design ethos conveys the dynamism of fire, which can be calm, fierce, warm and hot,” according to one of the hotel’s directors, Mohit Sharma. Guests can sample the delights of fine regional Indian cuisine in the leather and limestone clad Fire; or move beyond an elegantly curved bronze wall and enjoy an extensive wine list and array of creative cocktails at Agni’s – an arced, glass-beaded 35-foot long bar surrounded by low leather divans and deep tub chairs to sink into. Water makes a cool entrance in the restaurant Mist, which offers innovative Italian cuisine in a setting that echoes the entire area’s overall look. This time the glass bead curtain frames a palette of cool blues that segue into the hotel’s spectacular outdoor pool.
Taking the elements of air and space up again in the private spaces upstairs, the walls of the sweeping arced corridors describe these elements in words and symbols, leading guests towards their sleekly modern guestrooms. Dark-timber floors offset the light-coloured décor, which is beautifully accented in bluish-purple and orange. Meditative, airy effects are created with specially commissioned works by emerging artists such as Anay Mann and Sandeep Paralkar. Rooms vary in size according to the curved exterior form of the architectural frame: Single, double and twin options are available on normal floors alongside the deluxe rooms and suites on the two newly renovated “Residence” floors. Here private Jacuzzis and a 24-hour butler make absolutely sure that every single corporate and exclusive traveller experiences the very best that the well-established culture of Indian service and comfort has to offer.
While the hotel’s impressive curves are admittedly dramatic, additional features as displayed in the three opulent banquet rooms or what the designs of the upcoming spa hold in store all promise a harmonious feeling of wellbeing. Even extending as far as the elegant restrooms in the foyer, where geometric pink tiles exclusively designed by Dominic Crinson adorn a space that is usually only given a passing glance. An elemental feel is indeed omnipresent and one which unfailingly vacillates between the majesty of the past and the sleek simplicity of today. One might say this is mirrored in India as a whole. |
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