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Welcome Home Greenery

The healing power of natural greens is being increasingly integrated into the very fabric of envisioned designs by architects, as a way to provide openness, refreshing aesthetics and the psychological benefits of being closer to nature magnificently. Here are six homes that have creatively integrated plants indoors, in a way that organically transforms a manmade structure by infusing it with life and nature’s charm.

Research: Arushi Chaturvedi

Project: Apartment 901 Firm: Shroffleon Lead Architects: Kayzad Shroff and Maria Leon Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra Images: Photographix India

The client brief was simple, to convert a five bedroom apartment into a lavish three bedroom apartment, in addition to the conversion of an open terrace into an intimate den. While accommodating specifically the clients request of an enclosed den, we attempted to retain the atmosphere of being in the outdoors through elements such as wooden decking, plants in the form of a green wall and windows that open up completely, blurring the insides with the outdoors. Within each room, there is a material, texture or colour that was the result of an in-depth research and development between us, the client and the fabricator. And therefore in the den, we have an indoor green wall, in addition to a water body.

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Project: The Long House Firm: Dhananjay Shinde Design Studio Lead Architect: Dhananjay Shinde Location: Nashik, Maharashtra Images: Hemant Patil A 5000 sq.ft. house located in a small town for a traditional business family, the main feature of this design is a long passage which has a green court on one side and the rooms on the other. The court wall becomes an art wall as different light patterns are created from sunrise to sunset. This certainly reflects in the quality of light and ventilation throughout the year. The design was thus conceptualized and evolved as a harmonious blend of the outside with the inside. An abundance of natural light was poured in through skylights wherever possible.

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Project: Jungalow Firm Neogenesis+Studi0261 Principal Architects: Chinmay Laiwala Jigar Asarawala Tarika Asarawala Design Team: Gopal Suthar Umesh Anghan Location: Sura Gujarat Images: Ishita Sitwala The project aimed to create an economically modest built form for an agriculturist and his family. Abstraction of urban farming could be seen in both exterior and interior spaces. The design uses the natural light and the built form to its advantage. The heart of the structure is the double heighted courtyard which is embellished with creepers and climbers. The green curtain cuts the direct entry of west sunlight inside the house and creates a buffer. The view from the spaces offers a glance of voluminous courtyard. Circular windows in bedroom, out-looking the landscape serves as a natural picture frame. The basic building materials are kept to its natural form and texture to comprehend the naturality of flora. The biophilia design turns the house inside out embarrassing greens while giving soft touch through the use of natural materials in its pure form.

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Project: The Skewed House Firm: Studio Lagom Principal Architect: Hardik Shah Design Team: Sweta Gajiwala Doriwala and Kruti Sheta-Patel Location: Sura Gujarat Images: Photographix India Natural objects, shapes, and processes have often acted as a source of inspiration throughout the history of architecture. But we believe that nature itself has to be treated as an integral element in architecture. Rather than surrounding the building by greens, we try to infuse it itself within the design. It brings life as well as colour to that mundane space. Apart from that natural elements like water features including the spouts, flowering plants etc. can grab the attention of an individual as it evokes the senses. Rather than a fixed artwork on a plain wall, just by adding the element of light and shadow, a dynamic artwork can be created, which keeps on changing throughout the day. We believe to strike the right balance between less and more in architecture, and the design which resonates with nature.

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Project: The Far Site House Firm: TechnoArchitecture Principal Architect: Rajesh Shivaram Design Team: Rajesh Shivaram, Rupali, Megha, Yashaswini Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka Images: Shamanth Patil

The Far Site House is the result of a harmonic set of volumes intertwined with each; other than also producing a mosaic of light and shadow, transparency, and opacity, where internal and external spaces inter as one environment. At the heart of The Far Site House, is a connection to nature. The signature features like the waterbody, and the landscape bring a sense of ease and tranquility. Almost all areas of the house have visual access to the garden, which provides a pleasing focal point for a home, enhancing the feeling of being with nature.

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Project: The Plane House Firm: Spacefiction Studio Principal Architects: Baba Sashank Vindhya Guduru Design Team: Santhosh Kandanala Location: Hyderabad Telangana Images: Monika Sathe Photography

A large housing development looks directly into the long east boundary of the plot. All the rooms facing road side are finished with a series of concrete planes that act as shields from the prying eyes of the neighbors and the traffic of the abutting road. These shielding planes themselves arrange around an open water body, such that most spaces could look into it while maintaining privacy. The concrete planes are grit finished with two shades to break the scale and topped with steel grey granite coping. Large projection boxes jut out of these planes, at the corner of the rooms on the first floor; which act as small, private indoor balconies. TIHG