Something old, something new...

New flagship for The Park Hotel Group opened in Hyderabad is medley of contemporary and traditional culture New York-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM) has recently completed The Park Hotel Hyderabad - the flagship hotel for The Park Hotel Group. This 531,550 sq ft, 270-room hotel infuses a modern, sustainable design with the local craft traditions, and is influenced by the region's reputation as a centre for the design and production of gemstones and textiles. The building's three sides wrap around an elevated central courtyard that can be accessed from the hotel lobby. This flexible outdoor area is protected from strong winds, and serves as an extension of the restaurants inside. It features a private dining court and a swimming pool, which can be seen from the adjacent areas and the nightclub below, with moving patterns formed by light passing through the pool's water. The outdoor courtyard was designed to be a multifunctional space accessible from the lobby, restaurants, and bar that surround it. Elevated three stories above ground, this veranda provides views to Hussain Sagar Lake and the city. The facade provides a range of transparency according to the needs of the spaces inside. Perforated and embossed metal screens over a high-performance glazing system give privacy to the hotel rooms while allowing diffused daylight to enter the interior spaces, and provides acoustic insulation from trains passing nearby. The opaque areas of the cladding shield the hotel's service areas from public view. The shape of the facade's openings, as well as the three-dimensional patterns on the screens themselves, were inspired by the forms of the metalwork of the crown jewels of the Nizam, the city's historic ruling dynasty. SOM designed many of the project's interior spaces, including the lobbies, the lobby lounge, retail, and banquet halls. The interiors continue the jewellery concept - with silver, gold and gem tones throughout. Many of the interior surfaces, including the mosaics, reflect local designs, which were implemented by artists and craftsmen from the region.