Hotel on the Ganges
Hospitality Architecture I Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
Client Marasa Hospitality Pvt. Ltd
Area 66,195 Sq.ft
Status Ongoing
Team Shimul Javeri Kadri, Vaishali Mangalvedhekar, Amruta Sakalkar, Sonali Bhargava
The site for this hotel sits at the feet of a little hillock, and its long and narrow shape slopes down towards the unseen Ganga. The river, on the site, is an unseen, unheard, but omnipotent presence.
The land of the Ganga – the first emergence of the holy river into the plains – is where spiritualism, religion, ritual and culture meet. Rishikesh has a mystical quality to it –perhaps as a consequence of its position as a gateway to yoga, meditation and white-water rafting in addition to the rituals traditionally performed by the devout Hindu in the waters of the Ganga. Schools of yoga, meditative chants and ashrams for pilgrims jostle among each other in the rush for space on the edge of the holy waters.
The site for this hotel architecture sits at the feet of a little hillock, and its long and narrow shape slopes down towards the unseen Ganga. The river, on our site, is an unseen, unheard, but omnipotent presence.
The site
Meditative oasis among the hills
The veneration of the natural in Hindu religion is at its most apparent form in the veneration of the Ganga. The landscape of a backdrop of gentle hills, structured ghats at the edge of a grand flowing river and steep hilly roads were our cues for the architectural design of a hotel that attempts to create its own meditative oasis in Rishikesh.
