Dravidian temple architecture at the scale of a small city block — that is the ambition SRSS Architects brought to the ITC Grand Chola when it opened in Chennai in 2012. The Singapore-based practice conceived a 10-floor, 600-room structure across approximately 1.6 million square feet on Anna Salai, giving the exterior massing a procession of flattened domes and colonnaded facades that draw directly from the monumental grammar of Chola-dynasty temple complexes. The hand-carved stone motifs threading through the stonework were executed by artisans from Mamallapuram, the coastal town that has sustained this tradition for centuries, and from the courtyard images the effect is genuinely ceremonial: palm-lined pools extending between wings of cream and amber masonry, the whole composition framed by domed pavilions lit at dusk like something between a palace and a sacred precinct. The interiors move between idioms depending on where you find yourself. Guest rooms pair dark-stained timber wall panels with bronze-toned leather headboards and black-veined marble desks, the palette warm and corporate-palatial in equal measure. The bar, fitted beneath a barrel-vaulted teak ceiling with crystal pendant chandeliers and low leather club chairs, has the atmosphere of a gentleman's club reimagined for the tropics. Underpinning all of it is a commitment that sets the property apart from its peers: the ITC Grand Chola holds certification as the world's largest LEED Platinum hotel in the new construction category, a distinction awarded by the India Green Building Council.

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