Interior & Design

Architecting the future

"Design can be an art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated". Preeti Kannan analyses the future trends in interiors and designs

Over the years, hospitality has carved a niche for itself in India owing to the renewed thrust in tourism. While it has slowly moved into the limelight, there has been an obvious shift in the kind of interior designs, architecture and décor of the entire hospitality industry, be it in restaurants, hotels, resorts or other related ventures. It is widely known that lines and forms, colours and textures, designs and spaces - all make the aesthetics of a hotel, each one contributing in its own way to the ambience, a hotelier wants to create. Hotels have always been the threshold for understanding designs, observes, Sarabjit Singh, principal designer, FAB Interiors, New Delhi. "It becomes a window to the society," he says.

If it is to be believed that change is only constant, then the hospitality industry would be a perfect example to stand testimony to this age-old adage. For, the industry has been exposed to constant modification and experimentation in design characteristics. Lines have been redrawn, forms reshaped, colours changed to suit the varying moods and seasons to suit the whims and fancies of the guests.

The most intriguing bit about design is not about how it looks and feels, but how it works with guests. It has evolved from an art to a science, with various permutations and combinations, depending on the function of the set-up. The Indian scenario makes for an interesting case study since it has witnessed so much change across various aspects including architectural structures, lighting, furnishings and the kind of material used artistically and functionally. Market demands, competition, Western influences, international trends, foreign investments and architects with a global exposure, elegance coalescing with utility - the reasons are manifold for this continuous transition in the industry. Like fashion and history, design also recurs and reasserts its presence in several ways like old wine in a new bottle.

A flashback

A few years back, heavy, dark-coloured furniture, huge decorative artefacts, false ceilings, intricate designs and carpets adorned lobbies, guestrooms and restaurants, while chandeliers welcomed guests into the hotel. This was classicism at its best. A lot of attention was paid to coordinate wall colours with furniture. The lobbies were large and the hotel larger than life to give a feel of grandiose and splendour. There was a lot of European influence in Indian hospitality from the 1950s through the 1970s.

A lot of thrust, in this period, was on detailing, carving, moulding, cornices, pilasters, heavy panelling, decorative columns, heavy ornamentation and motif designs. The colonial designs reflected the culture and the weather of the British. Hence, the architecture was weather-based, where loud and warm colours were used to shelter from the cold outside. Deep balconies, glass and wooden louvered shutters, and small windows helped avoid light and sun from coming in. There was a fusion between the Indian and the European thoughts.

In 1950, when Jawaharlal Nehru commissioned the new city of Chandigarh to reflect the new nation's modern, progressive outlook in 1950, Swiss-born French architect and planner, Le Corbusier was roped in to design the city. He brought in the use of concrete in different forms including fluid and curvilinear, among others. Therefore a lot of concrete styling was introduced into the country, which replaced the British arches.

"When Dave Keller came to India in late 1970s and designed the amazing Hotel Sheesh Mahal in Madya Pradesh, it was an eye opener for Indian architects," says Singh. "Different bangles were used for the entire hotel. The restaurant and coffee shop called Madhuban used earthen pots and madhubani art. Designers realised that even a bangle or an inverted earthen pot with lights can look beautiful," he says. This triggered a thought that the country had enough materials and artefacts of its own that could be imaginatively put to use.

As India's exposure of South Eastern Asia increased, minimalism started coming in. Modern designs and minimalist details were in vogue in the 1980s. A notable landmark was Chandu Chadda revamping the opulent Oberoi Hotels in India. He gave an entirely refreshing touch with his smart, trendy designs, which became a reference point because of its chic, simplistic style.

Then came the Mediterranean style with its casual, rustic look. Over the last few years, the trend has been definitely towards the nouveau and minimalist.

Current scenario

Globally hotels have assumed new dimensions with trendy designs, freaky ideas and creative utilisation of spaces to make it thematic and artistic. This trend has inevitably percolated into the Indian hospitality industry too. The guest of today is a discerning traveller, who has traversed the globe and has finer tastes and greater expectations. Not to mention better spending power.

Hoteliers now understand that it is no longer about selling only a room or food to its guest, but an experience. In the confines of private spaces, rooms and even bathrooms are getting customised to suit the mood of the guest. This is where technology comes into play where lighting is exploited to give the desired ambience and effect.

Great lighting can create magic and enhance the experience of the guest in private and public spaces. Lighting has moved away from its conventional use and can be adjusted accordingly. Similarly natural elements like water are being so innovatively used to give a sophisticated look, heighten the effect and transform a hotel from a mere utility space to a visually attractive place of stay. Thanks to the imaginative hoteliers and restaurateurs, there are musical, colourful, dancing fountains, water flowing below glass surfaces, weeping walls, water curtains and cascades dotting different parts of hotels and restaurants.

Wood is another thing that can never be passé and never seems to lose its appeal with architects and hoteliers. "A fusion of fine-art and technology can bring an exciting edge of design to contemporary, and not so contemporary, interior spaces. Combining rich, natural colours and stylish, elegant design, there is a place for 'worked' wood in every private or public space. The range can be installed to create a coordinated effect appealing to interior designers and decorators. They are hand-sanded and finished in a durable lacquer which brings out the natural colours of the timber," says Vaibhav Sethi, design consultant at Intense Designs, Secunderabad.

Lobbies and guestrooms are getting bigger because they have to be multi-functional, with guests preferring to bet on the experience and lifestyle offered by hotels. Architects are being encouraged to pay more attention to spaces like bathrooms. This explains bath tubs with gold chips and transparent bathrooms. They are no more tucked away in some inconspicuous corner, but open in to living spaces. In fact, The Park Hotel, has bathrooms opening into the living space. Frosted glasses are definitely in vogue, while entirely transparent glass, with thin curtains, is also used.

Glass is also a medium, which has an uncanny characteristic of making the simplest design look breathtaking. Bringing together glass and water makes for a deadly combination. It wouldn't be too far fetched to think of hotels and restaurants being floored completely with glass or even have glass walls in India, as internationally the idea is already tested successfully. "Glass and leather flooring are an age old concept in countries like Japan and United States and is slowly picking up in India too," says Ponni M Concessao, Chennai based hotel architect and interior designer. "Hotels are now waking up to the beauty of glass and are willing to explore its potential. However, the biggest deterrent in using glass is the high cost involved, as glass is a very expensive material. But, its aesthetic appeal and the novelty it lends to the hotel's interiors make it extremely appealing", she observes.

Restaurants are also not so heavily theme-oriented. Today it is contemporary based, depending on the cuisine. Earlier if it was an Indian restaurant, everything from the furnishing to the cutlery to the décor would be heavily Indianised. The Haveli in Taj Mahal Hotel is a fine example of an Indianised restaurant, whereas the Taj Palace is more contemporary.

Future trends

With new concepts like boutique hotels, ecotels and budget hotels, taking India by storm, architecture has assumed renewed significance. "Hoteliers are more receptive to new ideas and international trends," opines, interior designer Ritu Bhatia Kler, director of TID International. "As non-hoteliers are now building hotels and the competition has increased, interior design has gained more importance," she says.

She points out that the different categories like the budget and boutique hotels invoke different design sense. "However, there is still a niche segment that fully understands this in India. For example, the favourite term is boutique hotel. But this is not fully understood by many and is therefore not designed as per international standards," she believes.

There are still very few hoteliers who experiment with high maintenance materials, like The Oberoi Group and The Park Hotels. But the picture is not so bleak as there are new hotels that are emerging on their footsteps.

Furnishing, lighting and glassy looks

One thing is for sure is that there is no more time lag between global trends and the Indian scene as globalisation has shrunk the world. Ponni Concessao is certain about ecology oriented trends in hotels, where the kind of materials used would also be on the same lines. "Hotels will be more nature oriented, organic and be minimalist. Lighting will also emulate nature and incline towards natural effects, with the help of technology," she avers.

There would be a shift towards oriental philosophy, with a stress on Zen and spiritual designs and simple, straight lined and horizontal shapes will be in vogue. In the west, rainbow lighting is used to emanate different colours, but this is yet to come into India. Natural lighting would be tapped and used even in the night. This is where the use of solar energy would be exploited for reduced power consumption. Space design would also become prominent where one form would go in to another to save space. Beds would merge into walls, rooms will merge into the bathroom and plastics would be utilised extensively to give a curvilinear look.

Guestrooms are going in for a major change asserts Chander K Baljee, CMD of Royal Orchid Hotels. "There are more open bathrooms and shower curtains will be done away with. Instead shower cubicles and glass enclosures would come into place," he says. He also foresees office chairs being used in rooms instead of dining chairs to make the guest more comfortable.

More contemporary, sleek furniture from China, Malaysia and Thailand will substitute the heavy chairs, while budget hotels might start going in for factory made furniture for their guestrooms. There would also be lesser fuss in elements like mouldings, cornices, carvings and more acceptance of lighter colours even though it requires more maintenance. A larger variety of materials will be used since they are now easily available.

Concepts influencing design

The exorbitant land costs are giving way for new ideas like mixed-use developments, airport hotels and soon the hospitality industry will be inevitably attached to infrastructure and software industry to service them. The future will see hotels occupying a major space in IT, food courts and hospitals. Even as these fresh ideas permeate Indian towns and cities, they will each give rise to novel shapes and varied furnishings.

Restaurants and bars will also become multi functional because of the soaring costs. A bar could double up as a proper restaurant in the day, serving breakfast and lunch, and serve liquor by the night. Again design elements like mirrors and shelves would be used to the rescue to perform the concealing act. Restaurants might also be leased out for private functions and technology like sound proof enclosures would be required.

While carpet, vinyl, wood and laminate have been the traditional choice for flooring world over, the future will see unheard versions like hardwood floors from regenerated trees, carpet made from recycled bottles, recycled wood and locally-produced, indigenous materials such as lightweight concrete and tile.

The hotel industry is in for exciting times in terms of designs and architecture and with foreign architects working on Indian hotels, there is bound to be influences from all over the world. Hotels have to be daring enough to test new waters and more importantly give architects a freehand. It is a fact that Indian hoteliers still wield control over projects and insist on interfering with design elements.

However, Sarabjit Singh avows that people have started minimalist designs unreasonably and without any logic. "We are pushing minimalist and contemporary way too much. It is unfortunately considered a trend," he says.

Only time will say if classical designs will make a comeback or if the future will hold improvised and evolved versions of the minimalist structures.