Excerpt: Taro by The Pinewood Studio is a Pan-Asian restaurant in Jubilee Hills whose landscape design redefines the idea of dining within nature. The project showcases a crafted journey that introduces rhythm, pause, and stillness through nature-inspired elements. Blending Asian garden philosophies with a contemporary aesthetic, it creates a sensorial escape where outdoor spaces claim equal importance as interiors.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Located in the bustling district of Jubilee Hills, TARO Hyderabad is a Pan-Asian restaurant whose landscape design redefines the idea of dining within nature. Its landscape is designed by Meghna Dulani and Shashwat Gehenwar, Co-founders of The Pinewood Studio. The landscape scheme is a crafted journey that introduces rhythm, pause, and stillness through nature-inspired elements. It blends the calming essence of Asian garden philosophies with a contemporary aesthetic.
“Its story began with a troubling observation,” recalls Meghna Dulani, “how in most homes and commercial spaces, outdoor areas are always an afterthought, relegated to secondary importance while interiors claimed all the attention and investment.” The core idea was to offer guests a sensorial escape from the noise of the city into a space of meditative calm. A key challenge for the project was its undulating topography. Creating a space that could seamlessly transition from cozy and calming for a family getting together to having the potential to come alive and feel peppy for younger crowds, required meticulous attention to details and levels. This vision aligned closely with interior designers Sripriya and Aditya Reddy, who had reached out to Meghna and Shashwat specifically to craft a landscape that would hold its own as part of the dining experience. Their collaborative approach ensured that the outdoors weren’t treated as an afterthought, but as a vital layer in TARO’s sensory and spatial narrative.
The landscape starts at the very threshold of the restaurant with a series of transitional outdoor spaces: decks, rills, and tropical foliage. A dense plantation palette comprising palms, ferns, heliconias, banana plants, and philodendrons forms the living architecture. The selection is both climatically appropriate and texturally rich. The plant layers offer not just shade and cooling, but also visual drama and softness to the built forms, providing a lush counterpoint to the materiality of concrete, stone, and steel. “This wasn’t just another restaurant,” admits Shashwat Gehenwar, “It was the manifestation of a philosophy that outdoor spaces deserve equal reverence, equal creativity, and equal investment as their indoor counterparts.”
The design borrows from the idea of layered courtyards and open verandas. Outdoor spaces are zoned into waiting alcoves, garden decks, and shaded nooks that allow for flexibility in seating and experience. These zones seamlessly merge with the restaurant interiors through sliding glass panels and planter edges. The crown jewel of the design is the sunroof: a pergola inspired by geometric patterns discovered during deep research into ethnic clothes, books, brand identities, and logos of Asian Heritage. It is crafted from mild steel, chosen for its durability, versatility, and affordability. Its design takes the advantage of the sun’s movements, creating an interesting pattern of light and shadow as the day progresses.
Material palette at Taro is a mix of natural stone and terrazzo flooring, IPE wood decking, Each surface texture was selected for their tactile and atmospheric value. The materials besides being tough, anti-skid and stain-proof had to create a visual interest. Cast-in-situ cement benches don’t just provide seating; they create intimate boundaries that transform open space into private sanctuaries. Each table offers views of the eclectic-styled contemporary bar, where Asian art forms and patterns have been lovingly hand-carved by local artisans. At night, concealed lighting enhances the materials, transforming pathways into soft trails of illumination.
“Taro is a complete experience,” recalls Meghna. “I vividly remember the day it opened, every visitor stopped to exclaim how fresh and different the place looked.” It represents more than a successful restaurant design: it embodies a new philosophy where outdoor spaces claim their rightful place as equals to interior design. In doing so, it demonstrates that when nature and architecture collaborate rather than compete, the result transcends both.
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