Udaivilas: Setting New Standards

A humorous sandstone mural depicts the rural Chinese moving to the beach in search of sun and sand.

Although our client did not fully understand why we put so much emphasis on the design of each garden area, the concept was based on the premise that people would come here for at least three or four days and they should have an opportunity to experience every one of the gardens, and to use them, not just look at them from the balconies of their rooms. The biggest challenge to our design was the existence of the sand dune on the beach. Around 16 feet (5 meters) high, some of it natural, some of it man-made, the dune obscured the view of the ocean—the very thing that world-weary travelers come to see—from the ground floor of the hotel. Our solution was to carve a corridor through the dune. Oceanographers were asked to come and examine it, and they concluded that we could reduce its height by 6–9 feet (2–3 meters) without compromising its role as a natural protection barrier for the site. With government approval, obtained only towards the end of the resort’s construction, we were able to go ahead, thus contributing to the success of our tropical ocean-facing garden, a unique attraction in China. Local artisans on Hainan Island were commissioned to carve the huge sandstone sculptures that are a stunning feature of the resort. The ones in the dining area comprise a series of 8 foot (2.5 meter) high abstract human figures pulling in a fishing net from the sea. Brian Sherman, our company director and a landscape architect, got the inspiration for this while jogging down the beach one morning. He saw some fishermen on the beach, their boat grounded on the sand and 20–30 men pulling the net in from the sea (with not much fish in it—the sea is pretty overfished here!).

Designed to delight children, one can swim right into these smiling caves.

A serene view of the palm-filled pond flanking the three-meal restaurant.

Refreshing blue waters are churned up by the 10 foot (3 meter) tall horns of half a dozen musicians.

The lanterns of the main lobby, in combination with the columns of the restaurant, provide some interesting textures. We designed this lineal restaurant that leads out to the sea and is flanked by a pond full of coconut palms.

MARRIOTT MUMBAI ON BOLLYWOOD’S BEACH

Located in the fashionable up-market Juhu area overlooking the Arabian Sea, just minutes away from Mumbai’s many film studios, the opulent JW Marriott is the favorite hotspot of Bolly-wood celebrities and stars and their followers and the hotel of choice for the many business travelers drawn to this rapidly developing business center 20 minutes from the airport. Long before India’s recent unprecedented economic growth, co-owner and architect Vijay Raheja had the foresight to orchestrate the construction of India’s only JW Marriott. Bensley Design Studios was commissioned to create a tropical seaside garden for the hotel. The main landscape preoccupations were with space and the framing—as well as screening —of vistas. The water park and the lavish sculpture garden that we came up with were thus built well above one of the world’s most heavily used beaches on the ocean side. On the street side, guests drive up one floor to the lobby, which is blocked off from the chaotic urban scenes of Mumbai by a huge screen and water feature. The subtle play of water and landscape throughout asserts an air of both harmony and power. The garden design is primarily aquacentric: four pools of varying shapes and sizes—a straight-edged main pool composed of two intersecting lap pools, a curvaceous saltwater waterfall pool, a children’s pool featuring an alligator slide and a semicircular spa pool—are linked by torch-lit pathways scattered with pavilions bearing a great variety of roof shapes, lawns dotted with sculptures inspired by Indian folklore and lush plantings.

A traditional stone medallion drops water into the ponds at the entrance to the hotel.

Italian Bisazza glass mosaic tiles manufactured in India were used on the pool walls to create some fabulous patterning.

A doorman sportingly stands below one of the fountains at the main entrance to the hotel, raising his hands in the traditional Indian greeting.

We called this tall sculpture of a lean man kissing his plump wife on the back of a turtle the “Kiss of Rajasthan. ” Located in the naturalistic saltwater pool, it symbolizes eternal love. Waterbeds flank the statue. A decorative stone frame, designed as a setting for taking holiday photos, is positioned behind.