Located on the 12th floor of an apartment building, two large terraces—Under-utilised and spatially undefined—have been reimagined as a layered tropical retreat. The project transforms these expansive surfaces into personal, articulated spaces in response to the challenge of scale and openness.
Studio WILD
Through thoughtful massing, layered planting, and subtle level variations, the landscape acts as the primary spatial device—structuring movement, framing views, and creating moments of pause. Conceived as a series of interconnected micro-environments in an apartment building, the terraces are designed to unfold as a tropical refuge attuned to conversation, solitude, and the shifting rhythms of the day.
Central to the project brief was the incorporation of the client’s nostalgic elements like intricately carved wooden doors and columns from the their ancestral home in Mangalore.
Rather than treating them as artefacts, the design reinterprets these pieces with a contemporary touch, allowing nostalgia to be interpreted into spaces for rest and gathering.
The architects designed the smaller terrace to be more private and intimate. Here, a built-in bench with an integrated planter, built in situ, creates a quiet setting for morning tea or evening coffee, overlooking the pool.
Along the pool edge of the apartment building, they carefully composed a “nostalgia wall” using clients’ ancestral home doors and frames into a composed backdrop, softened by layers of planting.
On this terrace, the architects introduced large suspended planters with cascading ferns to mediate scale while subtly screening views from the apartment above. They innovatively detailed the system —integrating lighting and irrigation within a framework of SS cables, softened by jute rope cladding to align with the material palette.
On the larger terrace, an L-shaped planter and bench tracing along the periphery, anchors the plan while guiding circulation. More than just a planter, it acts as a datum—stitching together the bar nook, a contemplative corner against a softened wall, and an open dining area that extends towards the city views beyond.
Planting plays a key role in this transformation—not as ornamental add-on, but as a space making element. The architects designed the scale and composition of planting to shape privacy, define zones, and modulate microclimate.
The designers deliberately restrained the planting palette yet kept it texturally rich, drawing from tropical species with bold, architectural foliage. Layers of Strelitzia, Philodendron, and palms establish a dense green backdrop that screens the edges while allowing visual permeability. In the foreground, ferns, drooping species, and mid-height shrubs spill over, softening built edges and dissolving rigid lines. The result is a nuanced gradient—from upright verticals to cascading textures—bringing depth to a compact footprint.
Material wise, the palette remains muted and tactile, allowing vegetation to take precedence. The architects conceived lighting as an extension of this material language. By day, filtered light moves through foliage and pergola elements, creating a shifting chiaroscuro. By night, the atmosphere deepens: warm pendant lights hover like lanterns, concealed linear lighting traces edges and steps, and uplighting transforms plants into sculptural silhouettes.
Fact File
Designed by: Studio WILD
Project Type: Landscape Architecture Design
Project Name: A tropical Refuge
Location: Pune
Year Built: 2024
Duration of the project: 1 Year
Project Size: 2000 Sq.ft
Project Cost:18-20 Lakhs
Principal Architect: Ar. Madhura Dasnurkar
Team Design Credits: Ar. Madhura Dasnurkar & Ar. Raakesh Gandhi
Photograph Courtesy: Ar. Gajendra Mandrekar
Interior Designers: AMA design studio ( Apartment and Bar Interiors)
Products / Materials / Vendors: Wallcovering / Cladding – Woodium, Itaca tiles, Sandstone (Stone studio) Stonecrete (Vyara) / Construction Materials – AAC blocks, MS fabrication / Lighting – Hybec, Harbere / Furniture –Wooden / Flooring – Stonecrete (Vyara), Tiles (Simpolo) / Paint – Asian Paints Artefacts – Pots (Plant People)
Firm’s Instagram Link: Studio WILD
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