HOUSE IN THe NILGIRIS

The house is located in the Nilgiris region, southern India. The site is on a ridge surrounded by tea plantations, forests & valleys.

Our brief was to build a retirement home for two brothers and their families. Our exploration is rooted in the idea of what makes a house a dwelling, a special place, an inhasbited space? What is the feeling of a hill station home?

INSPIRATION

What does Bachelard mean? My reading –

Day dreaming is a kind of fantasy; it is a constructed reality that is different from the existing one. The way you inhabit a house triggers emotions & memories that take root in your subconscious - window corner, round dinner table, and becomes present in your dream, house becomes integral to your dreams. There is an inside outside relationship - You live in a house that lives in you

The garden runs along the front edge of the house. The central living area with the courtyard walls to the back and large glass panels in front feels like a bay, a protected area from which you can experience the vastness of the landscape.

Steel has better durability than wood in the very wet and cold climate. Inside a steel building we experience pure function, it produces a visible order. The natural stone flooring in common areas creates a softer transition between the garden and the house.