Write-up by Akshata Ghuge & Shimul Javeri Kadri
Sunday, 12th January 2025
In the years that we have been working on cultural projects - hotels, museums and visitors centers, we have often ruminated on what our response should be and how architecture can positively contribute to its location. While environmental sustainability is essential, our focus on cultural and social preservation ensures the design belongs to the land it inhabits. The opportunity to build a hotel in Hampi clarified our thoughts and processes to craft this project.
Hampi - Where Architecture Meets History, Nature, and Community
The Vijayanagara dynasty, one of the most remarkable empires in Indian history, left an indelible mark on the region that is today known as Hampi. This ancient kingdom, renowned for its global trade, ingenuity and architecture stood for innovation and grandeur. Walking through the ruins of Hampi, one is transported to an era where art, trade, and spirituality thrived harmoniously. Hampi’s natural landscape complements its historical significance. Nestled amidst surreal golden boulders, lush green banana plantations, and sprawling paddy fields, Hampi feels like a mythical landscape suspended in time. Under clear blue skies dotted with white clouds, the essence of this place is profoundly spiritual and timeless. It is this beauty and aura that our hotel project seeks to honor—an endeavor to enrich the present while paving the way for a sustainable future.
Panoramic View of Hampi from the top of Matanga Hills
“A culture's sense of beauty is rooted in memory and the stories they hold onto. Human beings enjoy and venerate the past. We link it to our cultural identity, our memories, our emotions. As materials and technology evolve, culture follows, generally at a slower pace. Architecture plays an important role in bridging the gap and assimilating the advances technology brings with the emotions that memories enjoy. The disruption of cultural roots creates alienation and a loss in the anchoring of the human psyche. As architects, we believe our role is to sensitively assimilate the forces of the contemporary world with the tradition and history of the past..”
This project is an opportunity to create an experience that blends luxury with authenticity, ensuring visitors enjoy modern comforts while being immersed in the soul of Hampi. Cultural sustainability is at the heart of this endeavor, bridging the past and the present. Environmental and economic sustainability naturally emerge as byproducts of this cultural ethos.
The Krishna Pushkarni
Cultural sustainability begins with honoring Hampi’s architectural heritage. The inspiration for the resort emerges from the climatic and cultural responses that shaped Hampi’s original architecture— outdoor living through courtyards and colonnades, the spirituality and water conservation of its kunds, and the artistry of its pavilions. Six courtyards of varying sizes are at the core of the project, each imbibing some aspect of the original architecture. Corridors lined with columns and pavilions shaded by tiered roofs echo the rhythm of temple colonnades, while water bodies interspersed across the design evoke the serenity of the ancient pushkarnis.
Single Height Stone Cladded MS Column Design Evolution. Double Height Stone Cladded MS Column Design Evolution
As we studied the architecture of Hampi we recognised the transitions of the key structural element - the granite columns, through technology and time. The first columns were built out of several pieces of local grey granite connected through indents. As the technology for larger granite emerged, the columns became a single stone block but the indents remained as cultural memory. Hampi and its surrounding regions are rich in iron ore deposits. This has led to a thriving industry for mining and steel. The use of Mild Steel as the primary structural element seemed like a natural choice in celebration of this contemporary technology. Drawing from Hampi’s architecture, our steel columns emulate the cultural memory of stone columns featuring indents or sometimes clad in stone. Granite thus remains, somewhat ornamentally, as a memory and an opportunity to celebrate the craftsmanship of generations of stone masons indigenous to Hampi.
MS Plus Shaped Column MS Tiered Roof Mocked up. MS Tiered Roof (Day Lounge) skeleton Scale of the Structure of the
on Fabrication Site on Ground raised in place Tiered Roof
The pavilions of Hampi with their iconic pyramidal forms, are a defining feature of their temple architecture. The essence of the pavilion is how it spans large gathering halls with stone by corbelling inwards, as well as the ascendancy towards the sky where the unknown resides. The design reinterprets these structures through tiered roofs, built in steel, capable of managing the need for larger unsupported spans. The skylight at the top of these pavilions admits the blue sky of Hampi and the memory of spirit and soul into the interior spaces.
View of the Entrance Waterbody of the Resort
The vibrant Vijayanagar empire nurtured a rich culture of arts and crafts that has survived across generations. New institutions like Hampi Art labs and the Kishkinda Trust have emerged, innovatively tapping into local materials and skills to incubate varied craft clusters. Kishkinda Trust has transformed the abundant banana leaf into hardy fibres for carpets, waste baskets and wall hangings. Hampi Art Labs has evolved the traditional black pottery into a more contemporary craft. Our collaborations with them have led to newer forms and objects. Wall-mounted motifs in guest rooms are crafted from tamarind seed mache, made by women artisans in Anegundi through Kishkinda Trust. Figurine artworks inspired by Kinnal art, made from locally sourced wood, depict gods and goddesses celebrated during Hampi’s festivals. This craft will take contemporary shifts connecting guests to the region’s spiritual traditions but with a more modern interpretation. Similarly, our lampshades will be crafted by traditional Khun weavers and Sujni embroidery, indigenous to the tribal people of the area.
Artefacts made of Tamarind Mache Kinnal Art Baskets made out of Dried Water Hyacinth Black Pottery
& Banana Leaf
In essence, the resort becomes more than a destination; it becomes an enabler for sustainable tourism—one that uplifts the local economy, promotes traditional craft, and educates visitors about the value of heritage preservation. The attempt has been to create a language that is both timeless and forward-looking.
View of the Bar at the Resort
As construction progresses, the anticipation builds for what this project will bring to life. With an expected opening in the month of April - 2026; the resort promises to offer an immersive experience—a harmonious blend of luxury, culture, and history. Here, amidst golden boulders and sacred ruins, the resort stands as a quiet homage to Hampi—an invitation to breathe its history and witness its soul.
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