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Palmyra House Shortlisted for Sustainable Aga Khan Award

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One of the loveliest sustainable designs shortlisted for the 2010 Aga Khan Awards in Architecture is this two-storey weekend retreat by Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai Architects,  in the form of a pair of buildings in the cool coastal shade of a coconut plantation overlooking the sea.

The functions of the house are split into two buildings. Here the view from the drawing room across to the dining room, just a short refreshing swim away.

Named for the palm tree that built it, louvres around the entire house are made from the trunks of the Palmyra.

This charming weekend retreat is on coastal agricultural land facing the sea, near the fishing village of Nandgaon, south of Mumbai.

In the detailing and design throughout, there is evidence of collaboration between architect and the local craftsmen in the combination of traditional and tested techniques raised to a finer construction standard, for example in the use of plaster finish pigmented with sand from the site itself.

The structure is made of ain wood; local basalt was used to make boundary walls, plinths and paving.

The cool night air breezes right through the the structures’ louvres with no impediments. The siting itself, shaded by the coconut grove is further example of sustainable design.

A shower, open to the sky extends beyond the structure. Water for the house is harvested from three on-site wells, filtered and stored at the top of a water tower and fed by gravity to the house.

There surely is no more perfectly peaceful and contemplative place in the world to bathe than this.

The result of all the integrated sustainable measures is a quietly compelling project that is fully integrated into its landscape.

Source: Aga Khan Shortlisted Awards for 2010