RAAS Chhatrasagar
Architect: Studio Lotus
Location: Nimaj, India
Type: Resort
Year: 2021
Photographer: Avesh Gaur, Noughts And Crosses
The following description is courtesy of the architects. The fourth in the series of boutique hospitality destinations by Walled City Hotels, RAAS Chhatrasagar is located near the historic town of Nimaj, Rajasthan. Chhatrasagar is an artificial lake that formed over a hundred years ago when a local Rajput noble created an embankment across a tributary to the Luni. A lush green belt along the dam walls has come to form over the years due to the embankment, attracting migratory birds.
Expanding the erstwhile temporary tourist camps set up across the embankment, RAAS Chhatrasagar is a 20-key property designed to tread lightly on the site. The sensitive ecological context of the site made it imperative that all additions to the local be erected with minimal impact. Keeping this in mind, the architects designed a system of low-impact foundations and light-weight superstructures for the newest iteration of the hospitality destination.
At the centre of the experience is the Baradari restaurant, situated over the dam; designed using a lightweight metal frame with dry infill stone, it is a contemporary expression of the Rajputana twelve-pillared pavilion. The Baradari creates a seamless connection between the two key experiences offered by the site—the panoramic views of the lake, and the serenity of the forest belt, with its built envelope extending up to the embankment walls on one side, and opening onto the deck lining the private pool on the other.
Retaining the memory of the tourist tents, a tensile fabric roof stretches over a series of lightweight partitions mounted with boarding and hand-painted fabrics executed by Dhvani Behl’s studio Flora For Fauna. The fabric linings create a canvas that celebrates the diversity of plant and animal life in the region—a reflection of the wilderness beyond. Private suites designed to provide uninterrupted views of the forest as well as the lake are nestled between these partitions. Local timber and stone punctuate the spatial experience; in tune with the design philosophy of RAAS Jodhpur, local crafts have been expressed as contemporary interventions in the new property.
A wildlife camping experience that reinterprets the historical, and weaves in the biodiversity of its setting with resilient ways of building, RAAS Chhatrasagar seeks to stand out from the crowd by blending in with its environment.
