Bricks and trees compose Telugu Medium — a two-storied gastronomical outpost in Hyderabad, India, designed by local practice Sona Reddy Studio. Crafted to serve authentic Andhra cuisine, native to the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the restaurant brings an aesthetic and experience that resonate with the piquance and spicyness of the food it offers. Brick domes, vaulted ceiling, a leafy exterior, and a pond in the middle of the space ‘celebrate the essence of the Deccan’ in a homely setting.

The 5200 sqft hospitality architecture is tucked in a quiet urban conclave in the city’s Jubilee Hills neighbourhood. Sporting openness right from its entrance, a portal slotted in a small section of a wall that guards an otherwise boundary-free gateway lets one into the restaurant space. Breezing through this portal one arrives at an alfresco waiting area, marked by a two-storied brick wall which is visible from the entrance. Local Karimnagar bricks are used to create a rhythmic exterior where rows of projecting bricks are superimposed on an exposed brick pattern. Affixed to the wall are large square-shaped concrete planters nurturing creepers that graze the wall.

A vestibule wrapped in brick leads into the interiors where distinct architectural elements carve a dual-level restaurant space. 13-ft high walls, a double height atrium anchored by a tranquil pond, pink lime plaster-washed walls, and brick molded ceiling define rows of seating.

The central core of the space is a combination of a pond with black limestone tiles and a load-bearing staircase finished in lime plaster and pink granite that harmonise with the overarching aesthetic. Large leaves of a banana tree stationed around the pond space swell upwards, lightly brushing against the walls of the first floor. The dining area is designed keeping in mind a collective idea of savouring food, thus an open-plan layout with settings of pared-back wooden tables and chairs dot the space.

The interiors boast of doing with the bare essentials. No jarring light fixtures, furnishing, or artefacts can be seen; instead beauty resonates in the way sunlight paints dappled shadows on walls, or rows of geometric windows with simple wooden framing capture little vignettes of the leafy outdoors enhance the flavours of the food served here. “The ceiling becomes a canvas of the crafted brick domes and vaults, interacting with silhouette lighting to create an ever-changing atmospheric ambiance,” states the design team at Sona Reddy Studio. “The interiors showcase brick-molded ceilings, scaling concrete columns, pink lime plaster-washed walls, and textured tandoor flooring, creating an uninterrupted composition that speaks to the soul of the Deccan.”

The profuse warmth of the interior dining space spills onto the northern edge of the site, where a combination of shaded and outdoor seating revel in sunshine filtering through the trees that are lined along the site’s periphery. Access to this space is also linked directly from the entrance.  Following a brick-paved floor, and ahead of a wall composed of curved brick fins and inset portals, the space appears as a natural extension of the interior scheme.

‘A collision of worlds’, as the design team describes it, Telugu Medium excels in delivering a distinct experience where, contrary to most restaurant designs in which design and décor play a central role, here a strong architecture vision with a visceral materiality does the job.

Previous restaurant designs published on STIR include a tropical modernist complex on a waterfront site in western Thailand conceived by IDIN Architects; a raw cave-like culinary space in Yamaguchi Prefecture by Junya Ishigami; and a soba restaurant that revived a crumbling home in Kyoto into an artisanal restaurant by Tada Masaharu of td-Atelier and Endo Shojiro of ENDO SHOJIRO DESIGN.

Project Details

Name of project: Telugu Medium
Location: Hyderabad, India
Clients- Anil Karnati, Malvika Rao, Rohith Medisetty
Architect: Sona Reddy Studio
Design Team: Sona Reddy, Anjali Miriyala, Jemy Joy
Typology: Hospitality
Area: 5,200 sqft
Project Manager: Sekhar Dornala
Structural Engineer: Mrinmayee Consultants
Landscape: VSLA
Lighting: SPK Valo
Consultants for Alternative Techniques: Thumb Impressions
Year of Completion: December, 2023