Hotel at Hampi
Hospitality Interior I Hampi, Karnataka
Project Highlights
Client Dhruvdesh Ventures
Area 1,40,000 sq.ft.
Status Ongoing
Team Shimul Javeri Kadri, Roshni Kshirsagar, Priyanka Dalvi, Shruti Yelane, Jaya Gangwani, Ketki Gandhi, Sama Shetty, Nikita Rathish, Kiranjyot Makkar, Aditi Mathew
By translating Hampi's traditional crafts into a contemporary design language, the interiors create an immersive environment that is both authentically local and distinctly sophisticated.
The interior design of the Hotel in Hampi functions as a gateway to the region’s living heritage. Anchored by three core pillars - Culture, Architecture, and Nature - the spaces are crafted to capture the site's inherent stillness. By balancing contemporary hospitality with a deep reverence for local craft and historical context, the design celebrates both the cultural tapestry and the natural landscape of Hampi.
This profound connection to the outdoors is materialized through a strictly context-driven colour palette. By pulling the natural hues of the landscape directly into the built environment, the spaces instantly ground guests in the physical context of Hampi.
An Earthy Canvas
A deliberate connection to the external environment defines the spatial experience right from the point of arrival. Expansive floor-to-ceiling windows and warm wooden ceilings frame panoramic views, seamlessly drawing the surrounding beauty indoors.
This connection is anchored by a strictly context-driven colour palette that translates the landscape into the built environment. Neutral beiges, yellows, and warm stones reflect the iconic golden boulders, while bright blues echo the clear local sky.
Layered with rich natural woods, warm sunset accents, and balanced greens drawn from the surrounding plantations, the interiors become a sensory extension of Hampi itself.
Materiality and the Spatial Shell
The interior shell translates ancient silhouettes into a contemporary material expression. Moving beyond traditional carved granite, the design utilizes a refined palette of steel, glass, and brass.
In the octagonal bar pavilion, a gleaming brass canopy sits suspended beneath a geometric ceiling, creating an intimate, highly polished spatial experience. Dramatic, concentric black-and-white flooring and dark interior columns fabricated from locally sourced mild steel contrast with this.
Drawing from the region's contemporary identity as an iron ore mining hub, these dark steel columns are designed to light up like lanterns at night.
Guided by site-specific environmental studies, the octagonal bar pavilion sits entirely surrounded by water to channel westerly winds across reflecting pools, naturally cooling the air before it ascends to the upper dining tier.
Sculpting with Light and Metal
Bespoke lighting and art installations act as the final layer of the interior design, bridging ancient history with contemporary mediums. In the dining pavilion, ethereal fabric light sculptures draw direct inspiration from Hampi's famous musical pillars.
Nearby, local Kinnal woodcarvers reinterpreted festival figurines into dramatic, monotone Gauri heads for the banquet spaces.
Soft Furnishings and Tactile Traditions
To soften the stone and steel shell, the furnishings actively integrate the region's endangered crafts into the contemporary layout. The architects collaborated with the Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra to develop custom Lambani embroidery on a raw silk base in a muted palette, creating striking five-foot-tall bedside lampshades.
This highly tactile approach extends to the secondary lighting and textiles. A second family of lampshades was designed utilising Karnataka's traditional Khana weave in black and beige-gold, executed in partnership with the contemporary label Kubsa to lend a distinct mood to the spaces.
Beyond textiles, the functional decor includes bespoke rugs, waste-paper baskets, and monumental wall hangings hand-woven from local banana fibre and water hyacinth through the Kishkinda Trust.
The Craft of Stitched Stone
The foundational interior palette relies on the revival of stitched stone walls, a traditional form of masonry prevalent across the heritage site but largely lost to modern concrete construction. During the project, the design team discovered that the local plaster masons were originally trained stone masons who no longer had the opportunity to practice this specific craft.
To achieve the authentic colour of Hampi's historic built landscape, the team studied local quarries and learned that the famous golden-sand hue is the result of years of natural ageing, while the inner stone remains grey. By extracting thin slabs from the top stratified layers of aged sandstone, they successfully converted these regional stones into the stitched masonry walls that define the interiors.
The hospitality project in Hampi draws its inspiration from the rich heritage of the region, particularly the architectural marvels of the ancient temples. Anchored around tiered roofs reminiscent of the traditional structures found in the area, the design by this hotel architect pays homage to the rhythmic columns and delicate slabs observed in the old temples.
Central to the design ethos is the abundant presence of Hampi Stone, a material deeply ingrained in the landscape, punctuated by the swaying coconut trees and stone walls.
