Weekend Home at Maale
Set amidst the Sahayadris, the Weekend home at Maale sought to explore architecture in a hilly terrain for a limitless open space. The context presented an enchanting site with a 100 acres farmland. For the best viewpoint, a spot of an acre was chosen carefully – with Mulshi Dam backwaters at front and a hill at the rear. An attempt to create enclosures within nature by blurring the boundaries in the built-scape, the design weaves through spaces that redefine the idea of courtyards. Perceived as an unconfined set of spaces; an exposed brick wall winds through the three major independent built units: a pavilion, library, and a bedroom.
Concept : Conventional Built & Open Relationship: Spaces are defined by their boundaries. One gets a definite sense of entering by crossing into the enclosure. Thus becoming a spectator to the outside. (Illustration 1)
Inserting Green In Builtscape: Spaces like courtyard houses effectively bring nature within the enclosure. In this case, the open space inside serves as a connection between zones of the enclosure while being a separate entity from the landscape outside. (illustration 2)
Built Interspersed In Open: The contours of Maale were a blank canvas for us to paint our idea into. A design that does not abide by the concept of boundaries. (illustration 3)
Establishing relationships within The Environs: The site engages a pavilion, the main celebration area, and an elevated bedroom and library unit. To step into this weekend, home is to step outside of our conventional idea of a house. A space unbound allows one to navigate within open spaces. (illustration 4)
A continuous exposed brick wall leads one right through the entrance like a thread that weaves the independent built forms while revealing glimpses of limitless open space. (Illustration 5)
Purity In Material Exploration: Staying true to nature became the key determinant in pursuing a purist approach through material expression. Composite structures (Exposed R.C.C., Steel and Glass, basalt masonry, free-standing exposed brick walls) were devised to explore this idea further.
Structural Exploration: The main entity of the slab is a beamless and column free of 135.28 sq. m. with an overhang of three meters on all sides, giving a buoyant effect. The slab tapers upwards along the projection, dispensing a visual lightness to the structure.
Reminiscent of ‘Yugen’: a Japanese concept about a deep awareness of the universe triggered by the profound emotional response to the spatial environment.
