ODE TO NAVI MUMBAI

The Taj Vivanta Vashi, designed by The BNK Group, has an architecture that reflects both the culture and context of Navi Mumbai

- BINDU GOPAL RAO

A hotel whose design keeps the ethos of the local community, the youthfulness of the new age young millennial traveller, and the aura and maturity of the Taj Group, the Vivanta Vashi ensures all these aspects come together seamlessly.

DESIGN ETHOS

Located in Navi Mumbai, this greenfield property was initially planned to be a Gateway, then a Taj, and eventually a Vivanta brand. The idea was to reflect a brand and a hotel that catered to the millennial traveller. Behzad Kharas, Chairman & MD, The BNK Group explains, "The first few Vivanta's that have a clearly defined a brand story and what we want it to depict; and that is when we realized that Vivanta is a hotel that needs to be designed for the new age traveller. Hence the design needed to be young. It could not be as opulent as a Taj Hotel, and needed to look trendy, young, and have some contextual features of where it is built."

The design palette of this hotel is defined by its location, an area which is frequented by flamingos, and also the fact that Navi Mumbai is one of the first planned cities in modern India. The third aspect that dictates the design is Vivanta's new logo, which is a formulation of lines and dots. Inspired by the Eastern harbour, where flamingos are regular visitors, as well as the fluidity of water, each piece of art at this hotel is related in context to its surroundings. 'Sophisticated quirkiness' is how the art can be best defined here.

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