Deesa, Gujarat  |  2023 

The orchard sits near the foot of the Aravalli Range in western India, surrounded by potato farms. With a raised deck, a few choice cuts and a linear plan that bends around corners, the house delicately navigates a grid of mango trees while its vistas peak down the rows for glimpses of the first stone of the mountains.

To create a living space that sits lightly between mango trees in an orchard on a working farm, and to balance the realities of growing and the beauty of the site, the elevated structure floats eight feet above the ground, and the house is placed in gaps left where trees had not survived, with a canted roof that protects its residents from the harsh sun, and a rich interior that views the lush green canopies from all its sides.

A structural steel deck laid with wooden planks extends around the house, perforated by wide circular cutouts for mango trees that grow up through the space, protecting the residents. A pool playfully juts off into the trees, while one cutout conceals a spiraling stair that reaches down to the ground. Below the floating deck, strips of light reach the cool, shaded ground below, and a series of sunken rooms, plastered in a traditional marble dust ”gutai” plaster, selectively draw in light, which is amplified across bright white marble floors and the sheen of the plaster, without drawing in its harsh heat. The heavy, lower portion of the house keeps residents cool in the hot afternoons, while the upper pavilion cools quickly once the sun lowers in the evening, allowing the space to open and extend into the protective vegetation that surrounds it.

The balance of the project puts to use every bit of material wastage, converting stone slivers into pathways and plinths, and drawing on leftover wood to develop interior panelling details, and to facilitate improvements in the barns and sheds for crop harvesting.

Photography credits: The Space Tracing Company

Design Team: Melissa Smith, Sachin Bandukwala, Megha Jhawar, Mudit Tikmani, Vishant Solanki               

Structural Consultancy: StrucArt Design Consultancy

MEP Consultancy: -

Contractor: Mohan Prajapati

Carpentry: Mukesh Mevada