Hornbill House

TN, India

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Hornbill House

TN, India

Firm

Biome Environmental

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2009

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET

Undisclosed

Hornbill house, is located at O'land estate, a tea and coffee plantation, in the Nilgiris mountains in Tamilnadu, India. The estate is an “end of the road property”, bordering forest lands and commanding spectacular views. The estate had an existing bungalow which needed renovation and the brief called for an additional 8 bungalows to be built on this 135 acre estate which would then be rented out as farm stays. Out of these nine buildings, three have been realized.

The submitted proposal suggested to spread out the 9 bungalows over the estate with the idea to provide privacy to the guests, and offer a new and varied experience to a returning guest. The estate already had motor-able roads and usable footpaths within and these were used to reach the different locations with ease. The building sites were chosen based on the views, easy access to a road or footpath, and terrain.

The Hornbill house is located on an old drying yard sitting on the edge of a water fall. The house opens onto the views of this water fall, a valley with a backdrop of layers of mountains in different hues of blue of the sky, and green of the tea gardens, thereby integrating each of these views strategically from a different direction from within the house. All the rooms have predominant view of one of these features, while having a glimpse of the rest.

The walls are composite, of stone on the outside and mud bricks on the inside. The exterior stone walls blends with the rock face near to which the building is located and appears rooted to it's surroundings whereas the inner mud walls provide a feel of warmth and shelter. The striking roof of the villa invokes a sense of flight that one feels while gazing at the views of the valley and hills from within the building.