Mastering A New Approach

Jay Vidyut Shah, Principal Associate Architect, Talati & Pantaky Associated Designers LLP, delves into the design and ideation process of the proposed Ibis Hotel located at Kalina, Mumbai.

Hotels, today, are more than just receptacles for their occupants—their function extends beyond providing spaces to sleep and stay in, and reflect the needs and aspirations of their guests. Reflecting on these ideals as the driving force behind their design approach, the architectural firm, Talati & Pantaky Associated Designers LLP, have been deliberating on a new language for hospitality spaces. Deviating from the typical design template adopted by the current crop of hotel brands, their design follows functional requirements rather than the conventions of certain brand typologies. Illustrating this with the firm’s ongoing project— Ibis hotel at Kalina, Mumbai—Jay Vidyut Shah, Principal Associate Architect, Talati & Pantaky Architects, delves into its design and ideation process.

INITIAL BRIEF

As a protocol, the initial brief that the team of architects and designers at the firm received from the client, InterGlobe Enterprises, simply laid out design instruction from the French design catalogue, given that ibis originally hails from a French chain of hotels. “The specifications and size of the rooms-to-the-amenities had to be strictly followed as per the catalogue and the client's brief. A mathematical calculation to fit somewhere close to 180-200 rooms in a very challenging and unconventional site footprint,” states Shah.

THE CHALLENGE