ITC's Gardenia weaves in art, architecture and the urban language - Economic Times
December 17, 2009
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 facade, 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.
