Case study Design

1. AR 507 - ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
- CASE STUDY
Vivanta by Taj, GURGAON
BY SHASHIKANT SAINI, 101116039

2. Introduction
Text description provided by the
architects: REDEFINING THE NATIVE
Set in the heart of India’s financial and
technological ‘Millennium City’, Taj City Centre
Gurugram is just 30 km from the national capital and
19 km from the airport. The strikingly
contemporary hotel with 208 luxurious rooms
and suites looks over a capacious turquoise
pool. Singapore-based Warner Wong Design’s
urbane aesthetic reflects in the imposing glass and
granite façade with latticed Indian accents
and locally-inspired motifs. From fine dining
restaurants like Thai Pavilion and Culina 44, to
the chic bar and lounge – Tease, the popular La
Patisserie and holistic wellness rituals at the
award-winning Jiva Spa, Taj Hotel in Delhi-NCR
offers a modish retreat for the global business and
leisure traveler. Our multi-lingual staff is
equipped to arrange pitch-perfect formal events
and glamorous soirées for guests at the meeting
spaces and banquet halls within the hotel.

3. Location
The hotel resides in the city of Gurgaon, often dubbed the ‘Face of New India’. Overlooked as a
backward, rural community just a decade ago, Gurgaon has rapidly developed into an IT hub and home to
many multinational companies, partly due to its proximity and connectivity to the national capital of New
Delhi.

5. Design Principle
Designed on the principle of ‘height and light’, the hotel welcomes its guests into a triple height lobby,
flooded with natural light.

6. Ground Floor Plan
Legends
1 Drop-Off
2 Pre Function Room
3 Ballroom
4 Main Kitchen
5 Main Dining
6 Lift Lobby
7 Business centre
8 Small Meeting rooms
9 Meeting Rooms
10 Alfresco Garden
11 Celebrity Restaurant

7. First Floor Plan
Legends
1 Drop-Off
2 Pre Function Room
3 Ballroom
4 Main Kitchen
5 Main Dining
6 Lift Lobby
7 Business centre
8 Small Meeting rooms
9 Meeting Rooms
10 Alfresco Garden
11 Celebrity Restaurant

8. Sectional View

9. North Elevation

10. West Elevation

11. Challenge
Challenge was to find an approach that, one, resonates with the classic Indian spatial experience and, two,
can cut through the noise and chaos of the surrounding environment. The tectonic language must be able
to stand up to the visual clutter, the thick layer of dust that envelopes this area, and the constant reminder
that Gurgaon is essentially one giant
construction site.
Spatial Layering
A hotel, by very definition, needs to provide a space of safety, comfort, and relaxation for the weary
traveler. The Vivanta achieves this through a series of interconnected courtyards and layered public
spaces that draw on the traditional palace architecture of India. A series of landscaped courtyards
are surrounded by the main public interior spaces. These spaces are separate, yet visually
connected through layers of glass walls. The unpeeling of the layers of screens, starting from the
façade, gradually unveils the internal spaces. Skinning the building reveals the
swimming pool, restaurant blocks and other public spaces behind.
The spatial experience is simultaneously private but connected, interior but also continuous with the
exterior landscape. The grandness of the main lobby is multiplied by the layers of outdoor courtyards
and transparent connections to other public spaces like the main dining room and banquet facilities.

12. Facade Strategy
While the spatial organization is meant to
insulate the guests from the chaos of the
outside world, the façade design is very much
about relating to and negotiating with the
messy context. The main mass of the two blocks is
clad in granite which renders the building as a piece
of rock emerging from the yellow dirt of Gurgaon.
The layers of glass and metal that penetrates
through the stone mass reaches out to the
emerging world of glass skyscrapers in
Gurgaon.
The overall experience of the facade is that of
something clean, minimal and refined, but the
collage of the stone, glass and metal somehow
feels one with the assemblage of yellow dirt,
concrete, brick and spots of green that adorn the
modern Indian landscape.

14. Design Elements
#1
The façade is composed of a series of planes that resonate with the interior spaces and
courtyards

15. #2
The mirrored ceiling of the porte-cochère canopy announces the grand lobby beyond

16. #3
The language of the façade is brought into the interior

17. #4
Link bridge over the water feature

18. #5
The main lobby and reception area visually and physically connects multiple levels of the
building

19. #6
The glass link bridge between the spa and the restaurants on the mezzanine level

20. #7
The main hotel block is separated by a narrow courtyard space but connected by glass link
bridges

21. #8
The bar and rooftop pool

22. #9
The building’s mass and volume sits amidst a tangle of urban sprawl and a rapidly
changing context

23. Amenities

24. Swimming Pool

25. 24x7 Fitness Centre

26. Thai Pavilion
• Iconic Thai
restaurant led by
MasterChef Prajuab
Shoosridam
• Operational
hours: Lunch 12:30-
15:00;
Dinner18:30-
23:30
• Covers: 72including
22- seater private
dining room

27. Guestrooms

28. Guestrooms

29. Presidential Suits
• Perched at the top-most floor
• 2,098 square feet
• Panoramic views of the skyline
• Living room, master bedroom, inter-connecting
Taj Club room
• Luxurious bathroom with private
steam/sauna and Jacuzzi tub
• Private butler
• Private pantry
• Smart iPad controls
• Dedicated fire exit

30. Presidential Suits

31. Luxury Suits
• 688 square feet
• City / pool facing options
• Separate living area
• Ergonomic workstation
• Five-fixture bathroom
• Walk-in wardrobe
• Ideal for long-duration stays

32. Executive Suits
• 512 square feet
• Pool facing
• Ergonomic workstation
• Five-fixture bathroom
• Walk-in wardrobe
• Ideal for long-duration stays

35. Club Lounge – Exclusively for guests in Taj Club Rooms and
Suites

36. Luxury
Room
• 350 square
feet
• Pool- facing
rooms
• King/twin bed
options
• Ergonomic
workstation
• Four-fixture
bathroom

37. Deluxe Room
• 350 square
feet
• City- facing
rooms
• King/twin bed
options
• Ergonomic
workstation
• Four-fixture
bathroom

38. Thai Pavilion – Authentic Thai Dining

39. Culina | 44 – Our 24-Hour International Eatery
• All-day dining
restaurant
• Operational hours:
00:00-23:59
• Global cuisine,
theatre kitchens
• Covers: 103 indoors +
25 atthe
Alfresco
• Breakfast, lunch and
dinner buffet
• Weekend brunches
• World of Taj, All-
DayBreakfast,
Comfort Food

40. Tease – Terrace Bar
• Award-winning
terrace bar
• Operational hours:
15:00-03:00
• Covers: 48 indoors
+ 28 covers at the
Terrace
• Signature elixirs
and
handcrafted
infusions
• Live nights –
stand-up
comedy, DJ,
music, mixology
• Tease After Hours:
1+1 from midnight
to 3 am

41. La Patisserie
• Gourmet
patisserieand
delicatessen
• Operational hours:
11:000- 20:00
• Freshly baked
breads, exquisite
tortes,bespoke
cakes,artisanal
chocolates, French
macarons and more

42. Ballroom
A pillar-less ballroom spread over 4,555 square feet with a clear ceiling height of 21feet

43. Glasshouse
Glasshouse is a signature venue for intimate meetings and gatherings energized with natural light

44. Boardroom I
A 13-seater boardroom withlounge

45. Boardroom II
A 4-seater boardroom

46. Banquets Capacity Chart
VENUE
AREA
(sqft)
LENGTH X
WIDTH X
HEIGHT
CASUAL THEATRE CLASSROOM ROUND-TABLE U-SHAPED BOARDROOM
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Ballroom 4555
87.8 x 53.02 x
21.9
650 600 550 425 200 150 250 200 80 50 80 60
BallroomI 1968 38 x 53.02 x21.9 125 100 100 80 100 50 80 70 40 30 24 15
BallroomII 2585 49 x 53.02 x 21.9 150 125 150 125 100 50 120 100 30 20 36 20
Ballroom
Prefunction
2642 71.4 x 37 x21.9 300 - - - - - - - - - - -
Glasshouse 1178
37.5 x 31.4 x
13.2
80 60 80 60 40 30 50 50 24 0 20 10
Glasshouse
Prefunction
616 23.7 x 26 x13.2 50 - - - - - - - - - - -
Boardroom I 676 42 x 16.10 x13.2 - - - - - - - - - - 12
Boardroom I
Lounge
289 17 x 17 x 13.2 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Boardroom
II
156 13 x 12 x 13.2 - - - - - - - - - - 4
Boardroom
III
204 13 x 17 x 13.2 - - - - - - - - - - 8
VictoryI 548 34.3 x 16 x9.3 40 30 40 30 20 - 18 12 18 - 14 0
VictoryII 951 56.6 x 16.8 x10 80 60 80 60 30 - 32 12 24 - 24 0
TheTerrace 4566 250 200 200 150 - - 40 30 - - 0 0
The Alfresco 6777 300 250 300 200 - - 0 0 - - 0 0

47. Jiva Spa
• Inspired by traditional Indian healingwisdom
• Four treatment suites