house in the hills kodaikanal india by meenakshi srinivasan from india

The house is in Kodaikanal, a small town in the hills in the south of India. Kodaikanal finds itself as a retreat for affluent city dwellers that have a second home here.

Though, generally the landscape of Kodaikanal is lush with tall trees and views that take your breath away, the site on the contrary, being part of an unkempt pear orchard was a bit harsh as far as the fauna was concerned. Further, the site looks on to a similar hill also with a number of scattered dwellings.

The approach to the site is from the lower north end. The site slopes uphill towards the south, beyond which is the forest. The neighbouring houses are built at the lower end, and closer to the road, the rear being left untouched and unused. The house is located uphill and by doing so the forest becomes the primary view and the southern orientation brings sunlight and warmth into the house through the day. Further, The neighbouring properties being unused at this end would ensure privacy and also increase the landscape visually.

The client is a single, middle-aged lady. Her lifestyle greatly influenced the spaces that were created for her. Her arthritis being an impediment to easy mobility, the drop off, entry and the principal areas of the house are all at the upper level with an immediate connection to the rear landscape.The slope of the hill allowed for a lower level to be tucked beneath accommodating the guest bedrooms and a lounge with access to and from the landscape at the lower level. An insulating passage between the retained earth and the interior wall is used to accommodate the services and heaters which are easily accessible for maintenance. The planning therefore almost naturally came out of the client’s needs, the topography of the site, and a solution to extract the maximum potential of the site in spite of its limitations.

The arrival was kept minimal and the idea was not to give away what awaited you once you entered. The entry is into a water-court, where you start to get a peep into the landscape and the interior spaces which in essence have been designed to merge as one space.

The massing reflects the interior spaces. There are two wings connected by a vestibule. One wing is the transparent living dining area with the floating roof. The core which consists of the kitchen and other utility areas is a box within this transparent wing. The staircase connects this level to the lounge below which has the 2 guest rooms on either side .This connection is reflected in the massing or the architecture by the exposed concrete wall that ties the two levels. Selective views are framed by long vertical slits in the RC wall. The other wing is the master suite reflected in volume as a solid rectangular box. One end contains the sleeping area and sits on the landscape facing the forest. The other end contains a lounge for reading and television viewing and floats over the lower part of the hill. A timber screen that envelops the lounge provides privacy and yet allows a partial view of the hill across, the lights from the dwellings there giving a sense of safety and comfort at night.
The master bath is between the sleeping area and the lounge opens onto the landscape.

Materials that can be left is their natural state and blend with the landscape like local stone, exposed concrete and timber have been used.

The intention for the landscape was to just keep it natural so that it blends into the forest beyond. So the under growth and shrubs were removed, the pear and other trees were retained and the grass was allowed to grow.

Nearly all of the furniture is designed for the house and hand crafted by a local carpenter. The accessories picked, bring in accents from the region.

Though the building type is very different to what the contractor and engineers are used to the team trusted in the design and drawings and executed the same to every detail. That includes the client who had the same trust in the design and watched the spaces built for her, her needs and her site.