Architecture
Architecture

RAAS Chhatrasagar - Walled City Hotels
Client: Nikhilendra Singh
Entrant: Studio Lotus

Blue Elephant

Entry Title:	RAAS Chhatrasagar
Brand:	Walled City Hotels
Client:	Nikhilendra Singh
Entrant Company:	Studio Lotus
Description:	A wildlife camping experience that reinterprets the historical, and weaves in the biodiversity of its setting with resilient ways of building, RAAS Chhatrasagar seeks to stand out from the crowd by blending in with its environment. RAAS Chhatrasagar is a 20-key hospitality property located near the town of Nimaj, in Rajasthan’s Pali district. Perched atop a nearly 150-year-old check dam that forms a perennial rainwater lake, it reinvents an earlier property that used to operate out of seasonal tents, thereby providing guests with a year-round opportunity to observe the region’s abundant biodiversity amidst 800 acres of pristine forestland. A local, highly successful boutique hotel company with a history of turning around difficult projects, RAAS (www.raashotels.com) was brought on board to chalk out a comprehensive blueprint that would improve and enhance the guest experience, while retaining the essence of what the guests loved about the property. The design brief called for developing a perennial property resilient to the harsh summers and cold winters of the region. In addition there was a need to increase the existing capacity to sixteen tented units and augment the public spaces with a richer amenity mix. Of paramount concern was the site's sensitive ecological context, which made it imperative that all additions be erected on minimal environmental footprint. To establish an intimate connection with the outdoors while being mindful of the surroundings, the design team conceptualised a system of low-impact foundations and lightweight superstructures for the project. Keeping in mind environmental concerns, the team set out to construct almost entirely without cement, employing a dry construction methodology and using lime as a binder wherever minimal wet work was required.
Company Credits:	Studio Lotus
Company Credits:	Furniture – Mangrove Collective
Company Credits:	Environmental Graphics – Flora for Fauna
Company Credits:	Structural - Manjunath BL & Co.
Company Credits:	Landscape - Akshay Kaul Landscape
Individual Credits:	Design Team - Ambrish Arora
Individual Credits:	Design Team - Ayesha Hussain
Individual Credits:	Design Team - Deepesh Harbola
Individual Credits:	Design Team - Pranvi Jain
Individual Credits:	General Contractor Interiors - Buildkraft