GA design

Planned with a brief of maximizing the view of the valley and enabling a nexus with the environment, this villa for a family of four has been built on a plot of land that is deeply contoured with a steep slope towards the valley. With stupendous views – where earth, water and the environment amalgamate to demonstrate nature’s phenomenon – the villa has been planned with most of the rooms optimizing the view.  The natural contours of the site have been used effectively while exploiting the view of the mountains to create an infinity swimming pool that manifests itself as the core of the villa. The area under the pool serves as a leisure zone for the house, a semi-public area where games and an entertainment area are functionally located, and opens out into a lush green garden.

​

​Moulded with simplistic zonal principles of home design, the more public zones of the house such as the living area, guest room, kitchen, common guest room and the spa and Jacuzzi are all located on the ground floor. The first floor has 3 bedrooms, while the lower ground houses the entertainment and games area. The rooms on the ground floor and the first are all connected by a linear passage on the horizontal axis, which becomes the core of the spatial planning, driving the layout and the volumes of the built form. A glass and wooden screen separates the living room on one side and has a 40-feet opening on the other side, facing the valley and providing panoramic views. The language of the furniture here follows a modern aesthetic with leather furniture, travertine marble table tops and a blue granite dining table top. An interesting exotic Brazilian granite forms a feature wall in the living room. The master bedroom has a 13 feet cantilever, which provides shade to the outdoor sitting beneath.

​Keeping in mind that Khandala is an area of heavy rainfall, the house has been constructed in brick and concrete. The walls are 9 inches thick to protect the building from heavy rainfall. Large overhangs - which also serve as decks - protect the inner walls of the house from the heavy rains and the sharp sun during summers. The usage of the Flat Slab construction technique has ensured a seamless aesthetic, further augmenting the sense of openness and resulting in a visual connect with the outside greens.

​

​The design language of the villa is modern contemporary. Both the exterior and interior walls are white, with white Lhasa marble flooring. The whiteness of the villa and the seamless slabs without beams create a beautiful visual contrast with the lush green foliage outside. The highlight of the villa is the infinity pool, which creates a breath-taking vista from the living area. An alluring view of the mountains is framed by a large portal thirty feet in height, partially covering the outdoor seating.