Sequestered in the envelope of Guwahati's alpine-dotted hills, BAH is an echo through time that signals its intention of rethinking recreation through the appendages of rooted materiality and earthy minimalism.
Cradled in the timeless embrace of the rugged Assamese foothills and towering evergreen emeralds, dwells BAH. A dynamic entity, this architectural intervention engages in a ceaseless yet silent exchange with its context, almost emerging from the land and existing in a sense of untainted repose.
The Northeast has viewed and preserved its relationship with nature in a sacrosanct light, unimpeachably amalgamating its architecture, culture, and craft with its preservation. The brief at hand and the driving catalyst at BAH stemmed from reflecting upon the raw potential of the site. The aspiration was to build in resonance with the challenging boulder-strewn topography and make the contours a part of the spatial blueprint. Nature had been a resident of the space for times immemorial and building with astute devotion to that reality was the only way forward.
A nodal destination within the larger hospitality masterplan of The Greenwood Hotels & Resorts, BAH's intention is far removed from the conventional perception of what recreation can look and feel like. The venue inhabits a focal position within the larger programmatic construct, allowing the patrons to encounter the same as they traverse the journey towards their accommodation or the administrative sections of the property. BAH occupies a unique and pivotal vantage point within the site, establishing a tangible dialogue amidst the guests and the pristine verdant landscape. The lofty ranges pose as a guardian-like mise-en-scène against which the unassuming structure holds its own.
In Assamese, the word 'Bah' / বাহ translates to a Nest; a humble yet intricate latticed art of shelter-creation that Mother Nature seems to have ingeniously taught its wee and mighty creatures alike. Analogously, the impetus became the genesis of a snug and inviting space ensconced in surrounding greenery — one that bore its immersive milieu open to an end-user to feel unfettered yet instantly at home. Sciography in its interplay of light and shadow whispers life into the quaint structure, casting a fleeting medley of visuals as the sun traverses the cyanic highland skies.
The native architectural ethos of the state seeps in ever so inconspicuously into the demeanor of the space and its indulgence of minimalist geometry. Influenced from late modern period architecture and the omnipresence of wood and local stone, BAH steers clear of superfluous ornamentation and pays a neoteric homage to the vernacular of the city.
The clients visualized this recreational space lending its volume to patrons for an array of versatile functions that have become a homogenous extension of one's living and rejuvenation regimens in the current times. The petite floor plan hosts spaces to unwind, converse, contemplate, and work — creating a layered ambiance that juxtaposes solitude and socialization upon a whim while nature revels in its glory right across the structure's threshold.
"Design is so simple, That's why it is so complicated." — Paul Rand