5 Star Hotel - Vivanta, Gurgaon - Case Study

1. AR 507 - ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
- CASE STUDY
Vivanta by Taj, GURGAON
BY SHASHIKANT SAINI, 101116039

2. Introduction
Text description provided by the
architects: REDEFINING THE NATIVE
Set in the heart of India’s financial and
technological ‘Millennium City’, Taj City Centre
Gurugram is just 30 km from the national capital
and 19 km from the airport. The strikingly
contemporary hotel with 208 luxurious rooms
and suites looks over a capacious turquoise
pool. Singapore-based Warner Wong Design’s
urbane aesthetic reflects in the imposing glass
and granite façade with latticed Indian
accents and locally-inspired motifs. From fine
dining restaurants like Thai Pavilion and Culina
44, to the chic bar and lounge – Tease, the
popular La Patisserie and holistic wellness rituals
at the award-winning Jiva Spa, Taj Hotel in
Delhi-NCR offers a modish retreat for the global
business and leisure traveler. Our multi-lingual
staff is equipped to arrange pitch-perfect
formal events and glamorous soirées for guests
at the meeting spaces and banquet halls within
the hotel.

3. Location
The hotel resides in the city of Gurgaon, often dubbed the ‘Face of New India’. Overlooked as a
backward, rural community just a decade ago, Gurgaon has rapidly developed into an IT hub
and home to many multinational companies, partly due to its proximity and connectivity to the
national capital of New Delhi.

5. Design Principle
Designed on the principle of ‘height and light’, the hotel welcomes its guests into a triple height
lobby, flooded with natural light.

6. Legends
1 Drop-Off
2 Pre Function Room
3 Ballroom
4 Main Kitchen
5 Main Dining
6 Lift Lobby
7 Business centre
8 Small Meeting rooms
9 Meeting Rooms
10 Alfresco Garden
11 Celebrity Restaurant
Ground Floor Plan

7. Legends
1 Drop-Off
2 Pre Function Room
3 Ballroom
4 Main Kitchen
5 Main Dining
6 Lift Lobby
7 Business centre
8 Small Meeting rooms
9 Meeting Rooms
10 Alfresco Garden
11 Celebrity Restaurant
First Floor Plan

8. Sectional View

9. North Elevation

10. West Elevation

11. Challenge
Challenge was to find an approach that, one, resonates with the classic Indian spatial
experience and, two, can cut through the noise and chaos of the surrounding environment. The
tectonic language must be able to stand up to the visual clutter, the thick layer of dust that
envelopes this area, and the constant reminder that Gurgaon is essentially one giant
construction site.
Spatial Layering
A hotel, by very definition, needs to provide a space of safety, comfort, and relaxation for the
weary traveler. The Vivanta achieves this through a series of interconnected courtyards and
layered public spaces that draw on the traditional palace architecture of India. A series of
landscaped courtyards are surrounded by the main public interior spaces. These spaces are
separate, yet visually connected through layers of glass walls. The unpeeling of the layers of
screens, starting from the façade, gradually unveils the internal spaces. Skinning the building
reveals the swimming pool, restaurant blocks and other public spaces behind.
The spatial experience is simultaneously private but connected, interior but also continuous with
the exterior landscape. The grandness of the main lobby is multiplied by the layers of outdoor
courtyards and transparent connections to other public spaces like the main dining room and
banquet facilities.

12. Facade Strategy
While the spatial organization is meant to
insulate the guests from the chaos of the
outside world, the façade design is very much
about relating to and negotiating with the
messy context. The main mass of the two blocks
is clad in granite which renders the building as a
piece of rock emerging from the yellow dirt of
Gurgaon. The layers of glass and metal that
penetrates through the stone mass reaches out
to the emerging world of glass skyscrapers in
Gurgaon.
The overall experience of the facade is that of
something clean, minimal and refined, but the
collage of the stone, glass and metal somehow
feels one with the assemblage of yellow dirt,
concrete, brick and spots of green that adorn
the modern Indian landscape.

14. The façade is composed of a series of planes that resonate with the interior spaces
and courtyards
Design Elements
#1

15. The mirrored ceiling of the porte-cochère canopy announces the grand lobby
beyond
#2

16. The language of the façade is brought into the interior
#3

17. Link bridge over the water feature
#4

18. The main lobby and reception area visually and physically connects multiple levels of
the building
#5

19. The glass link bridge between the spa and the restaurants on the mezzanine level
#6

20. The main hotel block is separated by a narrow courtyard space but connected by
glass link bridges
#7

21. The bar and rooftop pool
#8

22. The building’s mass and volume sits amidst a tangle of urban sprawl and a rapidly
changing context
#9

23. Amenities

24. Swimming Pool

25. 24x7 Fitness Centre

26. Thai Pavilion
• Iconic Thai
restaurant led by
MasterChef
Prajuab
Shoosridam
• Operational
hours: Lunch
12:30-15:00;
Dinner 18:30-
23:30
• Covers: 72including
22- seater private
dining room

27. Guestrooms

28. Guestrooms

29. Presidential Suits
• Perched at the top-most floor
• 2,098 square feet
• Panoramic views of the skyline
• Living room, master bedroom, inter-connecting
Taj Club room
• Luxurious bathroom with private
steam/sauna and Jacuzzi tub
• Private butler
• Private pantry
• Smart iPad controls
• Dedicated fire exit

30. Presidential Suits

31. Luxury Suits
• 688 square feet
• City / pool facing options
• Separate living area
• Ergonomic workstation
• Five-fixture bathroom
• Walk-in wardrobe
• Ideal for long-duration stays

32. Executive Suits
• 512 square feet
• Pool facing
• Ergonomic workstation
• Five-fixture bathroom
• Walk-in wardrobe
• Ideal for long-duration stays

35. Club Lounge – Exclusively for guests in Taj Club Rooms and Suites

36. Luxury Room
• 350 square
feet
• Pool- facing
rooms
• King/twin bed
options
• Ergonomic
workstation
• Four-fixture
bathroom

37. Deluxe Room
• 350 square
feet
• City- facing
rooms
• King/twin bed
options
• Ergonomic
workstation
• Four-fixture
bathroom

38. Thai Pavilion – Authentic Thai Dining

39. Culina | 44 – Our 24-Hour International Eatery
• All-day dining
restaurant
• Operational hours:
00:00-23:59
• Global cuisine,
theatre kitchens
• Covers: 103 indoors +
25 at the
Alfresco
• Breakfast, lunch and
dinner buffet
• Weekend brunches
• World of Taj, All-
Day Breakfast,
Comfort Food

40. Tease – Terrace Bar
• Award-winning
terrace bar
• Operational hours:
15:00-03:00
• Covers: 48 indoors
+ 28 covers at the
Terrace
• Signature elixirs
and
handcrafted
infusions
• Live nights –
stand-up
comedy, DJ,
music, mixology
• Tease After Hours:
1+1 from midnight
to 3 am

41. La Patisserie
• Gourmet
patisserie and
delicatessen
• Operational hours:
11:000- 20:00
• Freshly baked
breads, exquisite
tortes, bespoke
cakes, artisanal
chocolates,
French macarons
and more

42. Ballroom
A pillar-less ballroom spread over 4,555 square feet with a clear ceiling height of 21 feet

43. Glasshouse
Glasshouse is a signature venue for intimate meetings and gatherings energized with natural light

44. Boardroom I
A 13-seater boardroom with lounge

45. Boardroom II
A 4-seater boardroom

46. VENUE
AREA
(sq ft)
LENGTH X
WIDTH X
HEIGHT
CASUAL THEATRE CLASSROOM ROUND-TABLE U-SHAPED BOARDROOM
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Without
Stage
With
Stage
Ballroom 4555
87.8 x 53.02 x
21.9
650 600 550 425 200 150 250 200 80 50 80 60
Ballroom I 1968 38 x 53.02 x 21.9 125 100 100 80 100 50 80 70 40 30 24 15
Ballroom II 2585 49 x 53.02 x 21.9 150 125 150 125 100 50 120 100 30 20 36 20
Ballroom
Prefunction
2642 71.4 x 37 x 21.9 300 - - - - - - - - - - -
Glasshouse 1178
37.5 x 31.4 x
13.2
80 60 80 60 40 30 50 50 24 0 20 10
Glasshouse
Prefunction
616 23.7 x 26 x 13.2 50 - - - - - - - - - - -
Boardroom I 676 42 x 16.10 x 13.2 - - - - - - - - - - 12
Boardroom I
Lounge
289 17 x 17 x 13.2 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Boardroom
II
156 13 x 12 x 13.2 - - - - - - - - - - 4
Boardroom
III
204 13 x 17 x 13.2 - - - - - - - - - - 8
Victory I 548 34.3 x 16 x 9.3 40 30 40 30 20 - 18 12 18 - 14 0
Victory II 951 56.6 x 16.8 x 10 80 60 80 60 30 - 32 12 24 - 24 0
The Terrace 4566 250 200 200 150 - - 40 30 - - 0 0
The Alfresco 6777 300 250 300 200 - - 0 0 - - 0 0
Banquets Capacity Chart

47. Jiva Spa
• Inspired by traditional Indian healing wisdom
• Four treatment suites