Conceived as a high-energy bar and restaurant within Hyderabad’s bustling IT hub, Postcard reinterprets the city’s material heritage through a modern lens. Basalt stone emerges as a defining material, echoing the bold geometry of traditional Ikat textiles across feature walls, where its natural texture is punctuated with warm copper inlays. Beaten copper further enriches the space at the live kitchen counter, introducing a handcrafted sheen that contrasts with the stone’s rawness.
Underfoot, a green micro-topping floor creates a seamless, monolithic surface that visually unifies indoor and outdoor zones, reinforcing the bar and restaurant’s fluid, transformable nature. Overhead, a dark grey veneered ceiling conceals services, while high-performance acoustic panels with an NRC of 0.9 ensure sound clarity amid the lively atmosphere. Above the bar, a 40 mm thick sculptural plywood ceiling, inspired by the eaves of Islamic architecture, integrates LED lighting that responds to music, adding rhythm and movement to the material narrative.
Locally sourced materials, natural veneers, and artisan-made metalwork reduce environmental impact while ensuring longevity and graceful aging. Sliding verandas dissolve the boundary between indoors and outdoors, allowing the space to merge into one during the monsoon and winter seasons.
23 DEGREES DESIGN SHIFT, HYDERABAD
Named after the Earth’s 23 degree axial tilt that governs seasons, light and life, 23 Degrees Design Shift (23 DDS) draws inspiration from this intrinsic order of nature and the cosmos. The architecture and design studio works with expansive, context driven ideas rooted in the living world. Its name and symbolism shape the practice’s approach, fostering clarity, consciousness and a deep sensitivity to environment, place and process in every project.
AR SRIKANTH REDDY (Co-founder & Partner)
AR NEELESH KUMAR (Co-founder & Partner)
AR RAGHURAM (Partner)
PROJECT DETAILS
Project name: Postcard
Location: Hyderabad, Telangana
Typology: Hospitality
Completion: 2024
Studio: 23 Degrees Design Shift, Hyderabad
Principal Architects: Ar Srikanth Reddy, Ar Neelesh Kumar and Ar Raghuram
Photo Credits: Vivek Eadara