Location : NH-8, Bharuch 

Area       : 26,000 sqft

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A highway hotel, the Novus has two restaurants, a banquet and rooms along with a garden area. One of the prerequisite of the clients for the design was that it had to be maintenance free, and suitable to withstand the dusty highway-side location. The building was designed to be open on the ground floor, with the activities on the floor visible. The banquet and the staircase is framed in an L shape protrusion, with the rows of windows showing the rooms on the top.

 

The ground floor has the restaurants. The outer is open in the front, along with large windows on the side that brings in ample daylight. Additionally, lighting elements are designed through the abstraction of orchid flowers growing on the plant. As the open restaurant is subject to much vehicular noise, a deep set coffered ceiling is designed to absorb the sound. This also helps in camouflaging the beam grid.The inner restaurant is enclosed with softer lighting. The square grid of the coffered ceiling in the open restaurant is transformed into a panelled ceiling here, with white square panels set against a grey painted ceiling. The wall lights were visualised as square planes floating on a ring of light. These floating planes are set against a backdrop of stone clad wall.

 

A staircase near the entrance leads to the first floor, which is occupied by the banquet and rooms. The banquet hall is designed with monochrome surface finishes, with the stage area in a corner highlighted in a wooden wall panelling. The panelling also serves the purpose of sound-proofing, and the wall is shared by the rooms. The false ceiling and the stage wall panelling designs are derived from a hexagonal grid. While the ceiling has a repetitive pattern, the wall has a metamorphosing pattern with hexagons and rhombuses.

 

The rooms have a contemporary design, with uniform colour scheme and furniture elements. The colour scheme for the rooms is neutral with shades of white, grey, and brown.