Decked Up!

Hotel Anchorage, a boutique hotel designed by Dhruv Sarveshwar Lal & Associates in Mohali references all things nautical.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Latent Image, courtesy Dhruv Sarveshwar Lal & Associates

The site

The project came to the architects in the form of a shell structure standing just off a prominent highway to Chandigarh. The majority of its civil work was completed in a standard bay showroom format with little to no consideration for the functions it was to accommodate. 

The brief

The client, being a captain in the merchant navy, wanted the built environment and the space within it to portray his passion and profession. “The design had to convey a seaside setting in the typology of a bay showroom; a contemporary rendition of his classical poised sensibilities,” architects Dhruv Sarveshwar Lal and Sheetal Sharma helming this project tell us.

The design intent

The name of the boutique property was already decided: ‘Hotel Anchorage’. And this is what the architects had to achieve — the feeling of a ship anchored at port. The facade treatment, the seafaring elements, the colours, textures and materials… all had to convey a certain calmness, yet be visually fluid. “There was very little room for manoeuvring while trying to do this,” the duo reminisces.

The civil intervention

Structural beams ran right through the centers of a set of rooms and the designation of spaces and functions was insufficient to support the running of a hotel with voluminous spaces. Spatial formats and interactions had to be reorganised without altering the existing framework. The levels on which guest rooms would be accommodated underwent reconfiguration. The services were painstakingly planned to create precious space on the lower floor, reception, lobby and restaurant. “This paved a path for creating a semblance of order and sense of grandeur,” the architects elucidate.

The spatial flow

The reception and waiting lobby are housed on the ground floor. Centrally located, these act as a circulation node which then branches to other floors and areas — including a restaurant which is placed to the right, overlooking the themed external landscaping. The services and the kitchen are sensibly placed to the rear to eliminate any interference with the ‘guest areas’. Both, the rooftop lounge and the banquet in the basement have their own lobby areas.

The material palette

Materials and their application played an important role in defining a design language which sought to seamlessly fuse a rustic interior with a contemporary design sense. Local artisanal bricks, raw wooden planks (made at site), paint (including wood finishes) and cane were some of the materials employed. Artwork and artefacts also shouldered the responsibility of conveying the theme and adding to the user experience. 

The challenge

“Probably the biggest challenge was playing with and developing a nautical theme using subtle elements that could seamlessly bind the design and not underplay each other,” reveal Dhruv and Sheetal. “All of this had to be done within an already set envelope which, at every step, tried to limit the creative construct.”

The highlights

The concept is reinforced in various ways, large and small: a live boat makes a compelling statement at the entrance; sinuous forms flowing from the top of the building to the landscape are reminiscent of water; the same articulation graces the reception counter; the lobby, envisioned as an area under water, sees a ceiling design inspired by undersides of docked boats, while the restaurant is styled along an overall theme of a dockside cafe. “In a project entirely based on a theme, it is difficult to point out favourites,” say the architects. “However, we had the most fun while developing the ceiling of the waiting lobby and the ribbed arch ceiling of the restaurant.”

Fact file

Project: Hotel Anchorage
Location: Mohali
Area: 13,000 sq ft
Principal architects: Dhruv Sarveshwar Lal and Sheetal Sharma
Design team: Mohit Sharma