A dialogue with nature:
Nestled into the verdant mountains in Idukki, perched over 53 cents of land overlooking the Malankara reservoir, the “Villa Glory” is a slice of paradise in disguise tucked into these gently sloping terrains. Far from the hustle of the city, the villa is a weekend retreat designed for a businessman from Idukki and his family. The 5250 sq.ft villa is an elegant manifestation of the client’s vision for a cosy, subtle yet spacious and opulent abode.
“Our primary design focus was to utilize the maximum potential of the site with minimal alterations to the sloping terrain with a sustainable approach along with securing the unobstructed beautiful mountainscape from all the levels.” - Ar. Sebastian Jose, Principal Architect
Site and Terrain:
The conscious decision to design with minimum distortion to the site meant the house would need to be spread out along numerous levels. Thus, multiple planes were added along the sloping terrain and the split levels developed in turn helped in delivering adequate head rooms for these successive floors.
The public, the private and the nature corridor:
Set in the highest contour of the site, and gradually diverging down along the slopes, the structure was visualized as cubes floating along the terrain, gently embracing it. The design further developed around the two larger volumes, each for public and private spaces, and a relatively smaller volume in between, demarcating the semi-private areas within the design.
The public block is occupied by the drawing-room on one side and the private block occupied by the family room and bedrooms on the other, are bridged together by the semi-private block comprising the stairway and dining space.
With a central wall on one side and openings that span in height and width of walls on opposite sides, this semi-private area acts as a nature corridor, connecting the front yard with the backyard channelling in the fresh air.
The Design ‘element’:
The rust-coloured central wall placed along the edge of the semi-private spaces becomes a cardinal feature of the house. It stands out as a prominent design feature throughout the monotonous exterior. Extending laterally into the house throughout its length, the wall not only acts as an aesthetic feature but also as a visual barrier extending vertically upwards.
The Enclosure Within:
In between the formal and informal living areas, the linear C-shaped open space behind the central wall has a large pool neatly tucked away from the public eyes. The two double-height walls extending along with the pool, besides creating a sense of enclosure, softly assimilate the exterior landscape into the designed environment.
Material and Colour Palette
The whole house sneaks in a subtle charm caressed with a verdant hue. The thought to bring in nature, eliminating the inner clutter by avoiding the unwanted need for heavily ornamented interiors, helped us derive the neutral interior palette. In mere words, the idea was to keep it simple, avoiding chaos.
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in Design:
The deep overhangs that double up as balconies and terraces jutting out of the volume play a predominant role in insulating the inner core. While keeping out the intense sun and the harsh rains throughout the year, these buffer spaces create wide verandas with unobstructed views.
With the desire to finely weave the building into the landscape, the balconies are lined with an array of greens to hide the sharp edges of the structure from plain sight.
With the introduction of multiple levels and deep balconies, we were left with substantial terrace areas. The decision to convert them into organic gardens came out of the desire to propose a sustainable, energy-efficient solution.
It served a dual purpose: a functional one to provide further thermal insulation for the structure, thereby reducing the thermal heat gain and an aesthetic one to mirror the landscape of the setting.
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