The Crescent Veil: A Bar Becoming a Hospitality Retreat

Firm

Aviral Design Studio

Architect

Aviral Mahajan & Hemani Badyal

Location

Nagrota, Jammu

This project involves the transformation of an existing single-storey bar into a Urban Hospitality Retreat located at Jammu. Read everything about the metamorphosis here.

UnFiltered Brief

The brief was to reimagine the site as a multi-programmed hospitality complex integrating a club, bar, restaurant, and hotel accommodation, while retaining its identity as a social and leisure destination and enhancing its architectural and experiential value.

UnFiltered Design Philosophy

The design is rooted in the idea of adaptive transformation, where the site’s earlier use informs but does not limit the new intervention. The architecture seeks to balance energy and retreat, layering vibrant public spaces with calmer private zones. A strong emphasis is placed on spatial experience, verticality, and visual continuity, ensuring the resort functions as both a dynamic entertainment hub and a refined hospitality destination responsive to its hill-side context. The ground and first floor houses the Night club with open sitting restaurants while the third floor is envisioned as a segregated zone of retreat- housing hotel rooms and allied amenities that prioritize privacy, comfort, and acoustic insulation from the energetic functions below. At the top, the expansive rooftop becomes a separate point of attraction with a rooftop restaurant and bar with panoramic views of the Trikuta hills.

UnFiltered Design Features

The project is defined by a layered experiential strategy, where architecture, landscape, and program are carefully orchestrated to offer a distinct experience at each level of the building.
At the heart of the outdoor experience lies a water body integrated with an artistic sculptural installation, conceived as a focal point and a moment of pause which enhances the sensory quality of the space through reflections and microclimatic cooling.
The project further extends its experiential quality through well-defined outdoor seating areas, designed as extensions of the indoor dining spaces.
Architecturally, a continuous metal screen running along the full façade emerges as a strong unifying element. Complementing this, a series of open arches are strategically introduced to make the structure porous and visually permeable, allowing seamless indoor–outdoor connectivity and framed views.
Internally, each floor is designed to offer a distinct spatial and atmospheric experience, achieved through variations in volume, lighting, materiality, and seating typologies.

The journey culminates at the rooftop level, conceived as a layered focal point at height—offering panoramic views, an elevated social setting, and a memorable climax to the overall spatial experience.

UnFiltered Design Challenges & the Solution

The project posed multiple challenges due to the irregular plot geometry, the transformation and joining of an existing single-storey structure, with the new making a significant increase in scale and programmatic complexity. These were resolved through strategic zoning, breaking the mass into articulated volumes and organizing functions vertically. Visual connections across levels and carefully placed circulation cores ensured ease of movement, while fragmentation of mass helped maintain human scale and spatial legibility despite the project’s size.

Another key challenge was to create a cohesive architectural identity, particularly in reworking the existing façade to align with the scale, proportions, and design quality of the newly extended built form. This was addressed by unifying the old and new through a consistent façade language.

UnFiltered Material Choices

Perforated Metal Screens (Jali Panels): Custom-designed perforated metal panels form the dominant upper façade language. Finished in a warm bronze / champagne tone, these screens act as a visual veil—filtering light, providing privacy,
Flooring:

Customized tiles in the club introduce vibrancy and movement
patterned terrazzo in the outdoor seating creates a durable yet visually engaging surface.
Marble flooring in the main passages balances luxury with comfort, acting as a neutral connector between high-energy and relaxed spaces.
Micro-concrete in the outer areas establishes a seamless, monotone backdrop that allows activity and landscape to take precedence.
Subway tiles in the toilets and live kitchen ensure hygiene, clarity, and ease of maintenance.
Granite and cobblestone are used in external pathways and landscape areas to introduce texture and tactile contrast
RMC flooring in the parking ensures robustness and longevity.

Acoustic rock wool panels: Acoustic panels with rock wool filling and rock wool panels at the ceiling. Ready- made acoustic panels(in foam and wood) of different shapes complementing the designs.
Curtain wall: A continuous glass curtain wall runs along the length of the hotel floor plate, eliminating intermediate vertical members to create unobstructed views and a refined, seamless façade expression
Ceiling: A dark-toned ceiling with exposed services and integrated acoustic treatments enhances the club ambience while allowing dramatic lighting installations to stand out. Soffit panels used for exterior in warm wooden tones, fabric frills ceiling for semi open areas visible from outdoors
Furniture & Upholstery: Plush upholstered and customized seating in velvet and leather finishes introduces softness and comfort, contrasted with metal accents for a refined, contemporary feel in the club. Outdoor furniture features cane and jute finishes paired with metal and wood accents, creating a tactile, natural aesthetic that balances durability with warmth
Lighting Fixtures: Decorative chandeliers, pendant lights, and sound synchronized LED strips create layered lighting, accentuating textures and enhancing the overall luxury club atmosphere.
Fiber and metal: Customized sculptures in fiber for water body area and metal for creating mushrooms at rooftop.
POP: for Indoor ceilings and classical sculptures for interiors with neon light effects done in pop as per the design language of the club.

We can’t wait to see the finished project as soon as it is ready.