The Gurukul Learning Centre

A learning brief, answered as a destination

For its first stand-alone learning hub in India, the client envisioned a place that would inspire employees to travel to and remember, something closer to a mini-campus than a conventional conference and training wing. Vestian was commissioned to bring this vision to life within a tight, six-month timeline. The location: a full floor plate perched on the 20th floor of an office tower in Hyderabad’s HITEC City. From the outset, Vestian ran weekly co-creation workshops with a compact leadership cell, streamlining sign-offs and giving the design licence to stray from the firm’s global office kit while honouring core brand markers. The agreed-upon vision draws on the idea of a gurukul in the sky: a self-contained village whose heart is a tree-ring amphitheatre and whose “streets” weave craft, hospitality, and technology into one contiguous experience.

The amphitheatre tree

A circular forum anchors the plan. Stepped tiers in dholiya stone embrace a hand-sculpted concrete trunk; silk foliage crowns the “Tree of Knowledge.” The bowl seats town-hall addresses by day and informal gatherings after hours, while castor-mounted furniture clears quickly for a flat-floor lecture set-up.

Curved circulation, re-shaping rooms

From the tree, broad, curved bands, replacing conventional corridors, guide visitors through the floor’s three zones. On the quieter side lie six identical training rooms featuring operable acoustic partitions that can retract to form a single 278-seat hall. The ceiling coffers conceal projectors and other presentation equipment, keeping the view uncluttered. The opposite edge hosts the social programme, including a reception, a 20-seat boardroom, and a 92-seat cafeteria, so every arrival is greeted with hospitality from the start.

A tapestry of Indian craft

Learners arrive from every corner of the country, so the designers pursued the concept of tapestry placemaking over a single regional style. Visitors step across a brass Surya-Namaskar disc and lotus pool, then pass beneath a parametrically modelled terracotta arcade with a soffit that ripples like a potter’s wheel. Meeting huts are crowned with Mangalore-tile roofs and ceilings are woven from bamboo and rattan mats sourced from Nagaland. Corridor panels double as boards for carrom, chaupar, and other traditional Indian street games, while walls finished in earth-toned GRC evoke the textures of rammed earth without the weight of solid clay.

Rangoli-inspired patterns border key spaces, weaving colour and cultural symbolism throughout. The executive lounge is a deliberate homage to the grandeur of Indian palaces, resembling a mahal with hand-painted wall art that reflects royal aesthetics. Carefully curated artefacts from across India, like antique woodwork doors and Gond art installations, populate meeting rooms, lounges and corridors, offering tangible links to the country’s craft heritage. Handpicked Indian-origin fabrics such as kalamkari and ikat adorn furniture, deepening this narrative.

Throughout the spaces, a language of parametrism with the use of curves and arches blends modern technology with traditional forms, shaping an organic ambience that bridges past and present. To realise the authenticity of this craft palette within a tight six-and-a-half-month schedule, construction phases for curved brickwork, terracotta elements, and woven rattan ceilings were scheduled in lock-step with services. This enabled specialist craftspeople to work in parallel, ensuring the handover was met without compromising the quality or authenticity of the artisanal details.

Technology, kept discreet

The client’s broadcast requirements were met without visual overload: projectors recess into ceiling pockets, and AV infrastructure sits behind perforated baffles that read as craft detail. A games corridor separates the training suite from the social edge, while two wellness rooms and a mother’s room provide quieter refuges, reinforcing the brief’s emphasis on well-being and inclusivity.