Spaces Vol 1 Is 6

well as work really hard, for this would be the
consortium’s make or break project. This also meant
Shangri-La could have more of a say in the design
process and so there was a lot of input from their
side but all in all a very healthy interactive design
process ensued, resulting in a mutually satisfying
end result.
Design Consortium, which is now known as Design
Cell, then consisted of four young architects: Sanjay
Pradhan, Umesh Man Shrestha, Arun Dev Pant
and Shakti Man Dangol. The current CEO of the
Right & above: Pebbled paths and lush green ferns
are well married to thatched cottages.
He had the vision to see the possibilities-Shyam B.
Pandey.
Below: The grounds of the resort offers many
excellent examples of an aesthetic mind.
Shangri-La in Kathmandu. He had the
skills and experience required and shared
in the vision of its owners. So when the
Shangri-La group decided to set up a
presence in the growing tourist market
in Pokhara, he was a natural choice to
represent Shangri-La. Interestingly, at this
point, a design for the Shangri-La Village
already existed, created by a French
architect. But though acknowledged as
being superb in many aspects both by
the client and its final architects, this
design did not find fruition. So why was
Design Consortium selected over both
an existing already-paid-for design, as well
as other established architectural firms
in the country at that time? They say
Sengupta had a gift for recognizing talent,
and he and his team saw in the Design
Consortium team, well…talent! Also,
being young and enthusiastic, they would
help infuse energy into the project – as
Left page: Symmetry and harmony are well
demonstrated in the corridors.
42 SEP-OCT 2005 SPACES