Telugu Medium

Design Firm: Sona Reddy Studio
Principal Architect: Sona Reddy
Design Team: Sona Reddy, Anjali Miriyala, Jemy Joy
Location: Hyderabad, India
Project Typology: F&B
Photographer: Pankaj Anand

At Telugu Medium, the space’s milieu and the cuisine are interwoven entities — a fine rendition of rooted nostalgia and simplicity. The structure and interior engage locally-sourced materials and building techniques that ardently celebrate the Deccan.

Tucked in the leafy urban neighbourhood of Jubilee Hills, Telugu Medium poses as the newest haunt, intuitively meshing the past and the present. The site shares its zip code with a smorgasbord of gastronomical joints, drawing patrons in large numbers to the coveted locality. Co-founded by entrepreneurs Malvika Rao, Anil Karnati, and Rohit Medisetty, this fine dining spot was dreamt up to summon the older, simpler times through the ambience and culinary offerings the eatery extends to its diners. The space unshackles itself from the clasps of fleeting trends when it comes to its demeanour, distilled adroitly by Sona and her team. The design studio has moulded a narrative that tugs at one’s penchant for good-old nostalgia, capturing the pulse of comfort food synonymous with the Deccan.

“Food in our country is a sentiment, an experience that families relish — a feel-good meal at our humble dining tables or an elaborate course at an esteemed culinary venue. With Telugu Medium, the brief was driven by the essence of nostalgia. We strived to create a modern experience garbed in the simplicity of heritage. The age-old building techniques and materiality are storytellers, creating a space which relies on artisanship to create a contemporary destination,” elucidates Sona.

Breathing renewed life into the straightforward brief, the design team began this creative expedition by curating locally sourced materials and recognising generationally-honed techniques. These included massive brick domes, vaults, and exposed, load-bearing walls to minimise the employment of concrete and steel while simultaneously creating a passively cooler interior environment for the arid climate of Hyderabad.

“One’s first rendezvous with the building's western façade whispers the discreet yet engaging narrative that brews indoors. Shaded by old trees native to the site stands the stoic structure, its skin a veil of exposed Karimnagar bricks; a visual both intriguing and elusive,” highlights Reddy. A series of projecting bricks have been studded into the elevation’s top half to introduce a palpable layer of texture. Breaking this geometric composition boldly, the opening into the restaurant is earmarked by sizeable concrete planter boxes. The salmon-rust, Tadelakt-clad compound wall frames slivers of the alfresco waiting space, paved entirely in brick. This intervention seamlessly tethers the building to the land it emerges from, rendering it a monolithic form.

The site’s northern edge harbours outdoor seating, embraced by the sprawling canopies overhead, wild hibiscus bushes, and the fanning banana. Along this edge of the building, the 2-feet-deep sill and lintel mark the perimeter. The curved brick fins interject the dominance of these linear profiles, stirring a feeling of dynamism. These finned sections hold windows within, creating inset portals that frame views of the outside from within.

One saunters into the venue via an open vestibule wrapped in brick, with the entrance framed by a wood and glass door reminiscent of an era bygone. Inside, the dual-levelled restaurant assumes an open floor plan, marked by colossal 13-feet-high walls and a double-height atrium that draws in generous daylight. “The experience of the indoors is meant to kindle a moment of pause, allowing one to surrender to the volume and the immersive design vocabulary. The interiors are an uninterrupted composition of the brick-moulded ceilings, scaling concrete columns, pink lime plaster-washed walls, and the textured tandur flooring,” illustrates the Principal Architect.

One’s gaze is instinctively led towards the roof, a painstakingly crafted medley of brick domes and vaults that lyrically adorn the roofscape. These elements wholly drape the ceiling’s underside and create ever-changing forms, further highlighted through the interplay of indirect silhouette lighting that claims the atmosphere. At Telugu Medium, the furniture resonates strongly with the DNA of the space — a mishmash of timeless, simple, and evocative pieces that are a modern take on dining furniture across most South Indian homes.

Sleek and modest wood tables are accompanied by an assortment of chairs (with varying backrests in wood and wicker) upholstered in traditional Indian textiles. Though primarily raw and unornamented, the walls are crowned by only one decorative feature. A sinuous, wooden installation mimicking the form of a strand of jasmine flowers (Mallepūvu), an ingrained symbol of prosperity and auspiciousness in Southern Indian culture.

Occupying the heart of the blueprint is the internal staircase, a crown jewel which soars into the double-height volume of the atrium. Designed in brick, the stairways are supported upon load-bearing, sweeping arches while lending it a sculpturesque quality. In addition, these brick-lined arches have been infilled with fluted glass, adding a membrane of privacy while allowing light to penetrate.

“The volume of the stairwell seems to be in a constant state of transformation as strobes of sunlight rain in through the skylight. Casting fleeting shadows, the light puddles over the pink granite treads, making the staircase feel like a sentient part of the structure,” observes Sona.  

On the ground level, the staircase is bounded by the pond and bar counter on either side, marking the nucleus of the layout. The salmon, lime-plastered bar counter has been cast in-situ, rising as a part of the space, neatly tucked within the span of two structural columns. The bar’s fascia is covered in locally-sourced pink granite, lending it a speckled finish that shall age gracefully through the years. “The rectangular pond’s floor has been carpeted in a matrix of square, black limestone tiles, lending the water a deep tint. Fringed by a patch of greens, the pond doubles as a focal feature on this level and as one peers down while journeying between the two levels. The gurgling water creates tranquil white noise that blends into the restaurant’s ambience,” avers Reddy.  

An array of wood and glass doors towards the rear of the blueprint marks a subtle transition between the inside and outside, leading into the outdoor seating area on the ground level. The furniture combines black metal and pink marble, nodding to the materiality that is a concoction of the new and traditional. Further down, a brick wall separates the kitchen and seating area, creating a stunning backdrop to the dining experience. An expansive concrete bench traces the wall’s edge, creating nooks to host large gatherings. The floor plan harbours more seating on the upper level and an informal terrace extension. Concentrated along one side of this floor, the administrative spaces of the restaurant have been tucked away, out of sight, yet completely accessible to the staff.

“At Telugu Medium, our efforts are channelled towards celebrating the versatility and potential vernacular design and locally-sourced materials bring with them to a space. The venue is an ode to the cuisine, and the people who come together to witness rusticity and contemporary design influences become one,” smiles the Architect. Telugu Medium explores the simplicity of indigenous materials and weaves them poetically into a space that bears the semblance of a home in one of the plushest parts of the city. A soulfully-orchestrated collision of worlds, creating an experience that transcends what meets the eye.