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 a hundred years ago when a local Rajput chieftain 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 locale — especially those permanent in nature — be erected with minimal impact. Keeping this in mind, Studio Lotus has designed a system of low-impact foundations and lightweight superstructures for the newest iteration of the hospitality destination.

At the centre of the experience is the Baradari, situated over the dam; designed using a lightweight metal frame, the Baradari is a contemporary expression of the Rajputana twelve-pillared pavilion. Housing the restaurant for the new property, 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. 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 the widely-acclaimed RAAS Jodhpur, local crafts have been expressed as contemporary interventions in the new property.