Hotel Kempinski, New Delhi

For one of the most prestigious and sprawling hotels in New Delhi, Odyssey was involved in the design and execution of the installations for Water Features, Hardscape, Facade and Sculptures.

HARDSCAPE AND WATER FEATURES

The scope included the design and construction of 22 water bodies and 2 swimming pools spread across the two towers of the Hotel. The material palette primarily consisted of Black Galaxy, Irish Brown, Black Granite, Dark Grey Granite, Travertine and Gwalior White. The water bodies ranged from reflective, overflow and the cascading variety and were clad with 50 mm/100 mm thick curved coping in various profiles.

FACADE

The twin towers of the hotel building are designed to be clad with a combination of Irish Brown, Bianco Marfil and Gwalior White in 30 mm thick stone. Odyssey processed the stone into specific sizes and installed 4500 SQM of stone in less than 4 months. The canopies at both entrances were clad on all sides, using the overhand technique with 30 mm thick Irish Brown Marble.

SCULPTURES

A total of 105 sculptures were supplied, which included 39 lotus fire bowls carved from solid black granite blocks (600 x 600 x 600mm, 500 x 500 x 500mm, 450 x 450 x 450mm) and polished by hand. Each fire bowl weighed between 400-750 Kg, while some fire bowls were hollowed to permit fire to pass through.

The artwork also included stackable block sculptures made of a combination of Black Granite and Semi-Precious Stones including African Carnelian, Grey Agate, Red Onyx, Indian Agate and Lapiz Lazulli. These solid blocks were pre-polished from all sides and stacked on top of one another to create a monolithic structure of up to 2100 mm in height.

The swimming pools were designed with solid skeletal fish sculptures that appear to be floating on water. These were carved from solid dark grey granite and overlaid with Lapis Lazulli. The project was an opportunity to demonstrate the Odyssey expertise in innovation with stone, and was demonstrated through art installations and the landscape.