Spaces Vol 1 Is 6

axis’s - rather, structures occur naturally,
in a more loosely bound, or organic,
pattern. This pattern they say was inspired
by the way village settlements are laid
out – and so the end result was a Shangri-
La Village Resort.
Shangri-La’s instructions had been to
create a place that was warm and
welcoming, giving a flavour of local
architecture – while providing all the
comforts of a deluxe resort of this
category. Surrounding settlements around
Pokhara like Birethati and Siklis were
visited to draw inspiration from for the
village concept. One of the designers
even thought of creating a village based
on the idyll of Gaulish villages featured
in the Asterix and Obelix comics, which
some readers may be familiar with!
However, reflecting on local elements of
design was their brief, and that is what
the resort has finally incorporated.
DETAILS AND FEATURES
In fact, a lot of this village element at
the resort is found in the details like the
Maithili motifs on the walls, the lamp
niches in the stone walls and the stone
walls themselves. Typical Nepali villages
in the region incorporate a lot of stone,
straw and wood in their construction and
these materials have also been used
extensively in the resort to add to the
village feel. Here, an essentially modern
construction has been disguised to more
or less give it a village veneer.
The profile of the blocks with the guest
rooms, backed up against the southwest
perimeter of the property, has been
deliberately broken up by creating a row
of split level cottages with four sets of
rooms each, with two more in the section
joining the cottages. All of these blocks
are shaped like a typical ‘matchbox’
Nepali house and have only two floors
each. There are also a number of rooms
in the southern corner of the property
that seem to lie below ground level, an
effect achieved by converting their
combined flat roof area into a lawn. These
rooms may remind guests of the flat roof
design of the houses in Manang and the
Mustang regions off north of the
Pokhara valley. All of these rooms face
the mountains to catch that priceless view
- and every room comes with this view.
The entire orientation of the resort has
therefore been created with this view in
mind. One of the most attractive
features about the design of the resort
is the way in which rooms seem to have
so much privacy, an effect enhanced by
the split levelling and the fact that no
rooms face each other. The effect of
Above: The entrance itself
promises expansiveness within.
Left: Split level designs have
been incorporated adding to the
independance of each room
with regard to uninterrupted view.
Right: One view of the resort that
exemplifies the thoughtfulness
towards the creation of an
interesting landscape.
SPACES SEP-OCT 2005 45