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Architecture

2019

Photographer : Edmund Sumner, Randhir Singh

The 30-year-old house, nestled in the palm grove by the beach, has been transformed to meet the new demands of the residents and revitalized to integrate its surroundings while retaining the original structural footprint.

The house is reduced down to the structure, and walls have been strategically negated or built up to provide the residents with an optimum combination of privacy and flexibility of space. The new openings are derived from the widths of the window panels of the adjacent house, which underwent a similar process of transformation, thus reusing the wooden frames.

Efficient organisation and separation of spaces has opened up the layout internally and provides more connectivity. Backless bookshelves and a wide desk seems to divide the dining and living areas but remains accessible from both spaces.

Smaller outdoor areas between the house and the compound wall that remained neglected have been utilised to house a powder bathroom with an outdoor shower area. The staircase, now spanning over this bathroom, leads to the bedroom above. The first floor that was once only a bedroom and verandah, now extends out in all directions as a wooden deck. The swimming pool, plantations around it and the beach make for a striking view from the deck, through and over the trees around. The addition of the steel framework for the deck takes support from the original RCC structure. Beautifully filtered natural light dramatizes the outdoor dining verandah below.

Alibag,Maharashtra,India

Architects	:	Architecture BRIO
Area	:	1938 sq. ft.
Year	:	2019
Website	:	https://www.instagram.com/architecturebrio/

Exterior view of House in the Palms by Architecture BRIO

Verandah of House in the Palms by Architecture BRIO

The extension not only adds to the house in terms of program, but integrates it with the surroundings, allowing the residents to immerse in its setting. Through these interventions, the house has metamorphosed from a heavy structure to a much lighter one and has come to be more permeable. The roof of the deck acts as an extension to the existing pitched ceiling slab of the bedroom. It carries rainwater out through its internal channels till the spouts. The rainwater chains from the spouts make their way into the catch basins hidden below gravel, merging with the softscape around the house.

Verandah of House in the Palms by Architecture BRIO

Prefabricated Steel Verandah of House in the Palms by Architecture BRIO

The house for two has been opened up to the surrounding lawn by replacing imposing walls around the dining area. Collapsible doors and fenestrations have been extended to form doorways.

An intimate garden surrounding the living room is created with existing palm trees, a hot tub, and a wooden deck under the trees to lounge on. The garden is compounded by locally available basalt stone to separate it from the adjoining main gate. The use of bare and natural materials echoes the beauty of the site.