A new opening from Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts encapsulates the progressive attitude of India’s high-tech hotspot by balancing geometry, scale, glamour and greenery in a myriad of experiences, writes Neena Dhillon.
Often referred to as India’s Silicone Valley as a result of its thriving information technology ecosystem and robust start-up culture, Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) has seen unprecedented change during the past 15 years. Along with the inward investment, economic momentum and innovation associated with such high-tech dynamism, the city has equally faced more problematic issues such as saturation on its overpopulated southern side, and heavy traffic congestion that regularly brings its roads to a complete standstill. Fortuitously, real estate developer Embassy Group recognised the potential of a site along the city’s northern corridor – 30 minutes from the international airport – more than a decade ago. Investing in the land and then constructing an ambitious mixed-used development on the plot, Embassy Group has since witnessed its address transition from one outside the city centre to a strategic position within Bengaluru proper.
These sweeping changes have thrown up interesting challenges for Four Seasons and its design partners. Comprising three sleek skyscrapers, in which premium offices, private residences, dining and retail are all accommodated, Embassy One is home to the second Four Seasons in India, set amid five acres of landscaped gardens and water features. To ensure that the 230-room project evoked the modern nation in all its complexity, Four Seasons’ Vice President of Design, Dana Kalczak, turned to trusted partner Yabu Pushelberg to conceive the interiors “precisely because we wanted their signature contemporary style to represent today’s dynamic India”.
Glenn Pushelberg, one half of the Canadian design duo, recalls this evolution over a ten-year period: “The city of Bengaluru has changed massively since we first conceptualised the hotel project in 2008, requiring us to pause and look periodically at our design direction to ensure that the vision remained forward-looking, not just from our perspective but those of Embassy and Four Seasons too. The teams we worked with on all sides maintained vigilant dedication to the concept of this property being at the forefront of design, construction and hospitality, through to 2019 and what it is today.”
Eschewing clutter, stuffiness and outdated design statements, the hotel seeks to focus on the life and culture of metropolitan Bengaluru while keeping traditional sensibilities. As always, Yabu Pushelberg considered the development’s core and shell to first absorb the project’s “predominant genes”, as the firm explain: “The palatial architectural scale of Embassy One, pared-down with layers of monolithic materials, furniture and accessories, balance the traditional versus contemporary in harmony within a single space.”
One of those monolithic materials is travertine, which paves walls and floors throughout extravagant public spaces, the palette kept simple and neutral. To this, the firm has added recurring motifs and architectural installations, as George Yabu describes: “We introduced floor-to-ceiling Jali screens in brass across the hotel to serve as a motif that delicately entices people on either side of the veil, connecting the city to the hotel oasis. The screens visually integrate the immediate surroundings of booming Bengaluru, providing intimate moments and architectural cues.” Metal fretwork, superbly executed, brings visual flair to spaces like the lobby, where vitrines display branded works of art and floral arrangements bloom in vivid colour combinations. Chic glassware and ceramics are sparingly injected into the scheme too. In contrast, contemporary art plays a key role in public spaces, the collection curated by respected artist Riyas Komu, who was hired by Bengaluru’s Gallery G. One such piece, situated behind the textured metal reception desk, represents a geographic depiction of the city from Google Maps, embellished and reproduced on stained recycled teak by Saju Kunhan. Corridors act as gallery spaces for more maverick Indian art, with Sumedh Rajendran’s thought-provoking sculptural installations depicting a hybrid of animals, found objects and bodies, while GR Iranna’s modernist paintings are more ethereal.
Drawn naturally into the food and beverage venues on this floor, including the lobby lounge and The Collection – the latter serving whiskies from around the world – visitors get their first glance of the estate’s landscaped garden elements from the associated outdoor terraces. Celebrating Bengaluru’s status as the Garden City of India, these patios, lawns and glass-lined walkways, along with the 30m swimming pool, create a resort-like vibe at the heart of the complex, with surprising green spaces including a Butterfly Garden and the undulating Ribbon Mall. Next to reflective lotus ponds, modern gazebos serve as private dining spots for couples on date nights.
The pool’s cascading waterfall-effect curtain doubles as a secret entrance to Infuse Spa, where fluidity is a key theme, playing on qualities of water, movement and immersion. “Drawn from all the incredible architectural stone columns in the region, we designed pillars to serve as a focal point for each corridor leading into the spa,” describes Yabu. “Within the arched and vaulted spa area itself, we have created a space that feels intimate and soothing.” Timber screens contrast with textured stone in the cosseting hideaway, while duck-egg blue enlivens the organic form of the welcome desk, accessorised here with a contemporary ceiling mobile that dances overhead. Elsewhere, gold glass mosaics pave the vitality pool and wet areas, while treatment rooms are soothingly neutral and feature striated marble.
One of the hotel’s big ambitions is to establish itself as the leading venue in the city for innovative food and beverage experiences. All-day dining restaurant Cur8 is large, accommodating 239 covers, and designed as a series of interactive spaces where live kitchens, custom-made ovens, a super-sized charcoal-powered grill, smoky tandoor, patisserie counter, bread section and all manner of fresh food displays are transformed into the stars of the show. Social in nature, given the feel of a Scandinavian living room via stacked log-effect feature walls, open-plan layouts and outdoor terraces, Cur8 is also characterised by timber-framed displays of spray-painted milk urns and tiffins as well as exuberant, kitsch, pop-art pieces by Thukral & Tagra. Two private dining rooms ramp up the sophistication, their metalwork screens framing red sandstone walls that are offset by contemporary geometric brass and glass lighting fixtures. As with the rest of the public spaces, Yabu Pushelberg has custom designed all of the furniture, favouring “an eclectic mix of contemporary pieces that sit very comfortably in pared-back architecture”.
To further enhance the dining offering, Level 21 at the top of the hotel houses a destination cocktail bar and Asian brasserie specialising in Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes. Each venue has been given its own unique identity by LW Design Group, representing an aesthetic departure from the rest of the estate.
Sharing details of the concept for Far & East, Pia Lakshmi Sen, an associate at the firm, says: “As part of the client brief, it was decided the restaurant should not include any real obvious presence of Bengaluru, because it serves a fusion of other Asian cuisines. So we have used dark and sophisticated materials, including honed marble floors inset with timber rug-effect panels depicting a pattern inspired by Louis Vuitton luggage. The bar’s three-dimensional metal basket-weave detail brings out the veins beautifully in the Nero Portoro marble, while the interlinking brass screens are notably Asian.” Achieving a level of textural sophistication, the scheme very subtly hints at its home in India through rail travel references – think detailing on glamorous luggage trunks or the ceiling feature that pays abstract homage to train tracks – as well as vibrant orange upholstery and tropical wall murals, which tip their hat to the country’s gardens and floral garlands.
Artisanal cocktail bar Copitas, meanwhile, upholds the same level of allure and exclusivity, but achieves this with white marble floors and counters, contemporary bronze decorative details inspired by jewellery and fashion, velvet upholstery and tactile fabrics in midnight blue and lime yellow hues. Sen adds: “One of my favourite features is the large light fixture above the bar counter, because it feels more like a sculpture than a chandelier, with the globes giving an illusion of a starlit sky.”
Away from the public spaces, guest accommodation dials down the design drama yet upholds the same key qualities that Yabu Pushelberg has instilled through much of the property. The spacious 230 guestrooms and suites are replete with hidden tech including the Lutron comfort control system, which provides intuitive mastery of lights, shade and temperature. Meanwhile, the interiors are a masterclass in toned-down colours and understated luxury, with geometric patterns and objects that contrast purposefully with the green views seen from windows. Yabu elaborates: “Guestrooms are intended to provide an escape from the public world, continuing the design narrative through subtle hints of geometry. The wallcoverings for example are adorned with jewel-like geometries, aesthetically linking the guest experience from arrival to room.”
And it is this harmony, balance and continuity of narrative that makes Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru a groundbreaking project in the city; the finishes and workmanship executed to a notably high level, the experiences multi-faceted, the architectural scale impressive and the micro details well-crafted, enduringly stylish and indicative of a modern Indian city.
