A Canvas of Culture: Crafting Odisha’s Story in a Luxury Hotel Space
The client is a well-known chain of luxury hotels globally. They approached us to craft experiences that blend contemporary elegance with traditional warmth.
My Role: Design Researcher.
Project Duration: Dec 2021 to Feb 2022
Approach: Workshops, Research planning, Visual Documentation, Content Analysis, Critical Visual Analysis, Prototyping.
The idea was to immerse guests in Odisha’s culture through a multi-sensory experience and offer guests an authentic taste of the region’s culture through their hotel suites at Puri Beach.
The challenge existed in seamlessly infusing Odisha’s vibrant art, cuisine, and traditions into a luxury hotel experience.
Forming a Research Focus
Our team conducted an initial workshop to brainstorm with the client agency. It facilitated the directing of the narrative of the experience. We recognized the foundation themes around the regional heritage and values through 2-day desk research.
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Crafting the Study Approach
Based on the foundational themes, we put out a research question to latch onto for our further studies
How might we craft the stories of Odisha’s heritage in a luxury setting?
Before finalizing our design strategy, we had a 10-day timeline to plan, execute, and synthesize our findings before the first pitch round. Optimizing our human, financial, and time capabilities, we decided to orchestrate on-ground and on-desk research activities.
For the given conditions, we utilized visual ethnography as a primary method and collected photographs and videos as data points. We conducted thorough desk research to validate stories and enrich our ideas.
Daily debriefing sessions between the on-desk and on-ground teams facilitated filling critical gaps and generating rich information.
The goal was to identify significant entities involved in the regional narrative that will anchor the further process of investigation.
Research Blueprint and Execution
To capture the essence of the state’s culture, we delegated an on-ground team to Raghurajpur and Puri. These centers are known for their influence on the cultural identity of the state.
We referred to the sources cited by experts in relevant research papers and articles to gather visuals, narratives, and complementing data on the desk.
Additionally, our team on the ground collected physical artifacts as a source of reference for their form, construction, and other details.
We filtered the bits of data about the region’s festivities, crafts, and heritage and stuck our themes around Geographically Indicated (GI) crafts and products. GI products are deep-rooted in the region’s folk and classical heritage and have distinct identities. This eased our challenge of integrating regional influence into a luxury setting.
We supplemented the above process with a couple of case studies from luxury and hospitality brands.
Synthesis and deliverables
Systematic categorization of data was followed by a narrative analysis. Understanding the representation and portrayal of regional culture in hospitality through case studies helped us construct a narrative of an immersive luxury experience.
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As the project progressed, feedback workshops with the stakeholders allowed us to adapt and formulate new syntheses. Towards the initiation of the design phase, our team prototyped a couple of recommendations that gave the client stakeholders clarity of thought.
Outcome
We crafted an array of over 50 styling options tailored specifically for the suites, baths, dining areas, reception, and retreat zones.
This exploration informed the selection of materials and ornamental detailing and aligned with the overall vision of the project.
