La Piazza, Hyatt Regency Delhi — The Vault Arched Metal Gate

By Yash Khullar, Operations Lead, Delhi Brass · Technically reviewed by Vikram Khullar

As seen at · La Piazza, Hyatt Regency Delhi
The Vault stands at the entrance to La Piazza, the Italian restaurant at Hyatt Regency Delhi.

Project: The Vault — entrance gate for La Piazza, Hyatt Regency Delhi
Completed / installed: 1994, as La Piazza opened
Scope: design, fabrication, finishing and installation of a bespoke arched entrance gate
Materials and finishes: a combination of heavier and slender iron sections, with brass studs and detailing; hand-textured, dark patinated finish with warm brass accents
Size: two arched leaves, approximately 7 ft wide overall (3.5 ft + 3.5 ft), 10 ft high at the centre of the arch and 9 ft at the outer edges

Some pieces you read about; this one you can walk up to. The Vault is an arched, double-leaf iron and brass entrance gate that Delhi Brass designed, made and installed in 1994, when La Piazza opened at Hyatt Regency Delhi. The restaurant’s opening year is documented in Vogue India’s 25-year retrospective and a Hindustan Times account. More than three decades later, the gate remains at the entrance. Its unusual challenge for our workshop was to bring substantial structural iron, much finer ornamental ironwork and a precise floor-spring installation together in one pair of working doors.

The Vault at a glance

• Type: arched double-leaf entrance gate (two swinging leaves)
• Material: substantial iron members paired with slimmer iron bars and intricate ornamental elements, with brass studs and detailing
• Overall width: ~7 ft — two 3.5 ft leaves meeting at a central stile
• Height: 10 ft at the crown of the arch, 9 ft at the outer edges
• Finish: hand-textured mild steel in a dark patinated tone, warm brass accents
• Made / installed: 1994, for La Piazza’s opening — still in place in 2026

An arched gate drawn for a stone archway

The brief began with the opening. La Piazza’s entrance sits under a shallow segmental stone arch, so the gate had to follow that curve rather than fight it. The Vault was drawn as two symmetrical leaves that rise to meet the arch: 10 ft at the centre and stepping down to 9 ft at the edges, so the top rail traces the stonework above it. Across roughly 7 ft of opening, that curved top line is what makes the gate feel built for the doorway and not simply hung in it.

Within the frame, the design layers an open lattice of relatively thin iron bars, heavier members that give the tall leaves their visual weight, intricate scrollwork in the arched heads and a rhythm of brass studs and circular medallions. The slender bars preserve views into the restaurant; the thicker parts anchor the composition. Making those different scales of ironwork feel like one coherent gate was central to the job.

Heavy and fine ironwork in one gate

The Vault combines thick and thin iron sections rather than relying on one uniform bar size. Heavier elements carry the tall, arched outline and the strong horizontal bands. Finer ironwork gives the lattice and ornamental details their delicacy. The contrast is what allows a substantial entrance door to look intricate without becoming visually solid. Brass studs and bosses add points of warmth against the dark iron.

For the Delhi Brass workshop in 1994, the highly detailed pointed spike and finial work was new territory. Forming an intricate small element beside much heavier parts calls for control over proportion and clean junctions: too blunt and the detail loses its character; too slight and it disappears against the larger gate. The team executed it with the care that makes the top of the arch a focal point even now. It is an early example of the range of scales we bring to bespoke gates and railings today.

The details that carry it

Up close, the gate is a catalogue of hand-work. Rows of domed brass studs run along every major rail, catching light the way rivets do on old ironwork. In the middle band of each leaf sit bold wheel-and-cross medallions — circles quartered by a cross and centred with a brass boss — the motif that gives The Vault its name and its faintly fortified character. Between the bands, a delicate forged frieze of drooping fleur shapes softens the geometry of the lattice.

Finish and fabrication

The iron was worked to a lightly hammered, hand-textured surface — visible in the facets on the broader members — then finished in a dark, patinated tone. Brass details bring contrast to the lattice. At the junctions, the challenge was to keep the fine bars, decorative elements and thicker sections aligned without losing the hand-work in the surface. The particularly intricate spike was a new fabrication challenge for Delhi Brass at the time, and the team delivered it with precision. The leaves also had to meet cleanly at the centre and move properly with the floor-spring arrangement. This combination of handcraft and practical door engineering is part of what makes the piece enduring.

A floor-spring installation under the stone arch

The finished gate was installed on a floor spring beneath the stone arch, rather than hung on the heavy side hinges previously described here. This was another unfamiliar fixing detail for our team in 1994. A floor spring changes how the door is set out: the pivot position, the relationship to the floor and the clearances between the two leaves all have to be resolved so the substantial iron doors swing and return without fouling the surrounding opening. The curved crown also had to sit true below the stone arch while the leaves met neatly at the centre. Working through that unfamiliar installation successfully was as important as the ornamental fabrication.

More than three decades on

Installed in 1994 as La Piazza opened, The Vault has now stood at the restaurant entrance for more than three decades. The present-day photographs show the ironwork, patterned lattice, brass accents and delicate details still in place. Anyone visiting Hyatt Regency Delhi can see how the gate has aged in its working setting. For us, the lasting result is especially meaningful because both the intricate spike fabrication and floor-spring installation pushed the workshop into techniques it had not previously handled.

Frequently asked questions

What is an arched gate design?

An arched gate has a curved top rail that follows an arch rather than a flat, straight line. On The Vault the two leaves rise from 9 ft at the edges to 10 ft at the centre so the gate follows the stone archway above it.

Is a mild steel gate with brass durable?

Yes. Mild steel gives the strength and rigidity a large gate needs, while brass detailing adds warmth and ages gracefully. With suitable fabrication, finishing and maintenance, the combination can serve for decades — The Vault has been in place since 1994.

Where can I see The Vault?

It is installed at the entrance to La Piazza, the Italian restaurant at Hyatt Regency Delhi, Bhikaji Cama Place. Anyone visiting the hotel can see it in place.

Can Delhi Brass make a custom arched gate like this?

Yes. The Vault was made to order for a specific opening, and we design and fabricate bespoke gates in mild steel, brass and iron to suit your entrance. Share your opening size and a reference and we’ll take it from there.

Planning a gate like The Vault? Message our workshop on WhatsApp to discuss a bespoke arched gate. Architects and designers can work with us through the Trade Program; homeowners can start a piece via Custom Orders. See The Vault in the catalogue: The Vault gate, and browse more gates.