Villa Familia is a tropical biophilic getaway in a gated Parsi neighborhood in Lonavala, India. The family’s brief was to create a generational home nurturing togetherness, balancing intimacy with openness. The home has a dual personality, externally a modern architectural figurine punctuated with greens, while internally adorned with ancestral Parsi traditions and heirlooms. The house seeks a dialogue between landscape and built form, wherein the verandahs and balconies become pivotal transient spaces in the tropics. Unlike a monolith, the home unfolds as three distinct masses, woven by delicate passages. These passages are not merely corridors but breathing voids, bringing in light and air, framing picture-perfect views of immediate greens.
unTAG
The journey through Villa Familia is a sequence of discoveries. The living is imagined as a threshold between two courts, layered by its verandahs, visually connecting the indoors with the outdoors, blurring boundaries between built and unbuilt. The spiral stair becomes a sculptural centerpiece. Crafted in metal and wood, it is a function infused with poetry.
The five ensuite bedrooms are spread across the three volumes, each framing a specific vantage. Lower ones open directly into gardens, while the upper ones, with higher sloping ceilings, frame views of the Tungarli hills. The kitchen extends into a homegrown organic garden, making the act of cooking an extension of its landscape. The poolscape with a backdrop of brick jali, layered with greens, is certainly the family’s favored gathering spot.
Lonavala is defined by its heavy monsoons, pleasant winters, and harsh summers. The architecture embraces this climatic condition. A truncated sloping roof becomes the home’s most recognizable silhouette, directing rain gracefully while also creating a sculptural identity. Deep verandahs and shaded overhangs extend this logic, protecting the body of the house from harsh summer heat as well as the rains while inviting filtered light and breeze.
Openings carefully placed for cross-breezes, ceiling heights that allow hot air to rise, and intermittent green buffers ensure that the house remains thermally comfortable throughout the year, reducing dependence on mechanical systems, rather fostering an ambient microclimate in tune with its natural environment.
The project celebrates Indianness through its materiality. The façade exposed to the elements is layered with hardy Shahabad stone, a choice both aesthetic and ecological. Floors in Shahabad and Kotah stone in curated patterns, sizes, and textures promise time-tested, hardy elegance. The Villa’s key asset is its biophilic core, its green planters transforming the facades into a living skin, evolving with seasons.
These greens soften the scale of the home with Parsi traditions, act as visual and dust filters, and become privacy buffers. Planted with various native & tropical species, these green inserts augment visual and olfactory senses, creating a sensory experience that is immersive and layered, additionally weaving an ecological web for birds and butterflies.
Villa Familia honors togetherness, memory, and continuity, while respecting its ecological setting. In doing so, it becomes not just a house but a living sanctuary – a home with Parsi traditions where time slows, where seasons are felt, and where architecture and landscape coalesce.
Fact File
Designed by: unTAG
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: Villa Familia
Location: Lonavala
Year Built: 2025
Built-up Area: 7500 sqft
Principal Architects: Gauri Satam & Tejesh Patil
Team Design Credits: Vibhu Viraj & Kavya Shah
Photograph Courtesy: Pranit Bora Studio
Engineering & Consulting > Structural: Parag Parandekar
General Contractor: Aviv Associates , JV Interiors
Landscape Architecture: unTAG Architecture and Interiors
Engineering & Consulting > Other: Satish Thorve
Manufacturers: Asian Paints, ECRA Fenestrations, GRAVA Stones, Jaquar Bath fittings, TRG Roofing Solutions
Source: Archdaily
Firm’s Website Link: unTAG
Firm’s Instagram Link: unTAG
For Similar Project >>> Bridge House: Where Architecture Connects Land and Light
Layers don’t just sit here; they breathe, shift, and whisper through light. The Screen, set in the sun-drenched fabric of Solapur, Maharashtra, isn’t trying to scream luxury. It doesn’t need to. It moves quieter than that, more composed, more intentional, like a pause button carved into the chaos of the city. Spread across 4,125 sq. […]
This project is located in Ben Tre, Vietnam, and was completed in 2021. With a total area of 430m2, the project set within concrete vaults includes 3 bedrooms and one living room, each with a view of the nearby river. Concrete Vaults Form The Main Identity Of This Vietnamese Home | VTN Architects The ground […]
We conceive EMA not as a conventional architectural object, but as a living continuum of memory, ecology, and craft. Located in Malappuram, Kerala, the 1,700 sq. ft. residence, designed with thermal comfort draws from vernacular wisdom and the philosophy of the Kaavu—the sacred grove—where humans, nature, and other living beings coexist without hierarchy. Within this […]
Set within the lush landscapes of Bharanikavu in Kollam, Arcade – a single storey residence that blends tropical modern architecture with colonial and traditional elements. Designed for a businessman, his wife (a teacher) and their two daughters, this house showcases a shared interest for elegance rooted in familiarity. This Single Storey Home Sits Amidst Lush […]
Noah’s Ark is a contemporary residence designed as a calm and welcoming home with a clear planning. The client’s brief was to create a home that felt simple, warm, and timeless without becoming overly minimal or impersonal. Noah’s Ark responds by blending clear planning, honest materials, and personal elements, resulting in a house that is […]
Located in HMT Layout, Bangalore, Isha_Srinidhi Nilaya stands as a multi-generational home designed on a compact 60×40 ft (2400 sq. ft) East facing plot, with a total built-up area of 8000 sq. ft. East Facing a lush public park, the residence responds to its urban setting through a layered design that balances privacy with a […]
Nestled within a 30×40 ft plot is the compact house design in Banashankari 6th Stage, Bengaluru. This residence for the Ellappans, reimagines traditional Indian living in a contemporary, spatially dynamic form. Designed for a family of three- Mr. Ellappan, his wife, and their teenage son- the house expresses a deep connection to vernacular roots while […]
Timeless architectural features, such as courtyards, are always associated with bringing the naturally public forms to the world’s heart, building the most peaceful, secluded outdoor areas. These outdoor spaces maximize the living experience with their private space feature, which gives one the option for leisurely relaxation, recreation, or gardening. Furthermore, it has also been a […]
Architecture font choices go beyond style—they shape how your work is perceived. From portfolios to presentations, the right architecture font instantly communicates clarity, precision, and personality. As architects, we design not just with space but with every detail, including typography. Selecting a strong architecture font shows your commitment to visual storytelling and design consistency. In […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]