An architecture in which a feeling of transience or the passing of time is a part of the spatial experience. Acted as a stage or viewing deck, enabling the observation and celebration of nature's play and the embrace of change and growth.
The client brief called for the design of a second home in Alibaug, a small coastal town south of Mumbai. To begin, we sought to understand the purpose and necessity for a second home. In bustling cities such as Mumbai, individuals often find themselves trapped in a temporal vacuum, confined to indoor spaces and lacking awareness of the ever-changing passage of time, day, and season.
The beautiful site surrounded by a lake and fields, offered a unique opportunity to escape this feeling of being "stuck in time", so we aimed to enhance the experience by designing a home that truly captures this passage of time, celebrating its nuances.
The site's orientation along the East-West axis allowed for a division of the house into two bays. The eastern bay, oriented towards the lake, accommodated functions associated with the morning hours, while the western bay catered to social activities during the evening and night-time. This spatial arrangement optimally utilizes the site's natural elements to enhance the overall functionality and experiential qualities of the residence. The first floor was designed as a separate space for the kids, with a family room and their bedrooms.
In the architectural drawings, I sought to capture the essence of time's passage as well. The graphics for the elevations were inspired by a graphic designer and illustrator called Cruschiform. The plans creatively merged palettes representing both the seasonal changes and the warm/cold tones of day and night, creating a visually dynamic representation of the evolving atmosphere.
The design sought to be more than a structure—it aspired to become one with its surroundings, to honor and amplify the natural beauty that enfolds it. Every line and curve, every texture and hue, was chosen to echo the grace of the environment, creating a seamless dialogue between built and unbuilt. The result is a sanctuary of quiet elegance, where serenity reigns and every corner invite contemplation, drawing the eye outward to the landscape and inward to a sense of peace.
Once again, we turned to the poetry of materials—those that tell a story as they age, reflecting the rhythm of the seasons and embracing the passage of time. In this dance of permanence and transformation, we chose warm-tinted concrete for walls and floors, its patina deepening with each passing year. Complementing this are wooden doors and screens, their grain and texture a quiet witness to life unfolding. Together, these elements invite residents to grow with the building, sharing in its evolving beauty as it weaves into the fabric of their own journeys.
The interior moods harmonize with the seasons and day/night transitions through a thoughtfully curated palette of warm and cool tones in furniture and soft furnishings.
feel the shifting edges
go for a walk
barefoot.
walk so gently that your feet hear the histories of the ground beneath then.
inhale.
consider where the environment ends and you begin.
walk that line.
where is it?
on your skin? in your mouth? in your lungs? in your blood?
exhale.
is the co2 you?
breathe a trace of condensation on a glass surface.
touch it.
is it part of you? or of the world?
listen to the silences, absences, presences.
read the deep faultlines of geology and control.
ingest the atmospheric consequences of another era.
feel other entities, other places and other times -
life forms defy boundaries at every level.
Sumayya Vally