Studio Nishita Kamdar: This farm is owned by a couple in their mid 50’s as a second home. The users of this farmhouse wanted the space to offer them the exact pause and solace that their hectic lives lacked in the city.
FACTS
Location - Karjat, Maharashtra Area - 5500 sq ft (bungalow only) Cost of Construction - Rs 2,00,00,000
Context - The site is located between an agricultural land in the midst of Karjat. Towards one side is the main highway of Karjat and towards the other edge the plot is bounded by other private plots. The area gets heavy rainfall during the monsoons which last for around 5 months
DESIGN INTERPRETATION
The primary design intent was to offer the users unobstructed views of the sprawling farm from any location in the house.The romantic idea of waking up to see your farm, or sipping on hot tea whilst lounging in your living room watching your cows graze have birds chirping above you while you have your dinner cooked with your own hand plucked vegetables. We wanted the clients to live an orchestrated festyle built on their fantasies.
We created a layout depending on the sequence of usage : living dining room , common verandah and then the bedrooms were pushed towards the side to give privacy. All these blocks were designed overlook- ing a large mango tree existing on site.
The plan is a linear 100ft long factory box which almost looks like a slim box nestled between the large shade of trees that existed on site. The house is open from both sides, thus no side becoming a typical front or backspace.
The services and other utlities have all been secluded towards the south side and camoflaged behind a row of large banana trees.
SHELL
Roof - A large pitched roof consisting of Steel rafters supported on waif thin Steel columns. The infil between the Steel rafters is naturally polishedseasoned old teak wood batons which is then layered with a bitumen layer, an insulation layer and finally a shingle layer.
Plinth- The entire 5500sq ft plinth is covered in a leather finished granite stone. Inlays in Grey stone or a handmade cement tile give relief andhelp define functions on the floor plate. The continuation of one material as flooring gives an illusion of a large floorplate. The plinth is extended beyond the wall line to flow and connect to other spaces.
Walls- To maximise the visibility from one end to the other , solid walls have been replaced with large Mild Steel framed glass doors which pivot 90 degrees to open up completely and expose the columns. One can seamlessly view from the east end all the way to the other end of the house.
The simplicity and the beauty of the shell layers itself form the design language of the farmhouse. The rest of the furniture has been kept muted. The doors are made from reclaimed and leftover teak wood batons of the roofing. Accent brick walls and simple pendant lights are used to create warmth in the space.
Sectionally the spaces flow into larger plinths outside the main living areas to form extended spill out zones. The overall height has been modulated to 15 feet to keep the scale more relatable to the surroundings
