Palm Courtyard House|Dada & Partners

The residence was to be designed for a couple and two daughters, which provided generous comfort and luxury, yet sat in the tranquil landscape of almost three acres. As the site is shared between two other houses already built, designing the home in a manner that enjoys the landscape whilst having privacy was paramount. A prime component of the design was a soaring fishtail palm tree that stood disregarded behind the old structure where the new house was to be constructed as if demanding to be part of this family. This led to the inclusion of the tree in the new home, hence naming the house ‘CARYOTA’.

The project is developed in three levels around the Caryota palm courtyard. The formal living, the bar lounge, family area and dining on the ground floor open up to this internal court with largely glazed sliders effectively merging the house and the courtyard, enjoying the feature tree. Interestingly, the court is not visible as one enters the formal foyer, and reveals itself only as one walks around, giving a sense of revelation. The open to sky courtyard creates an efficient airflow providing a comfortable microclimate that influences all the spaces of the house.

The entrance to the home is along a cascading water feature that runs the length of the stepped entry court and wraps the living room that sits elevated over the infinity edge accentuating a floating effect. One of the steps cantilevers over the water surface providing a perfect pad for a sculpture. On the first level are the bedrooms, approached through a gallery that circumferences the internal courtyard with views giving a pivotal anchor to the first floor.

A twelve feet wide window of the master bedroom faces the court with a spectacular view of the palm tree, making the court feel part of the bedroom itself. In the lower ground level are the entertainment areas and a spectacular indoor pool. A sunken court forms the focus to both these zones. It acts as a perfect outdoor sit out to the lower lounge cum study. The combination of the white wall, glass, and charcoal grey sheet cladding accentuates the minimalistic architecture that the clients requested for.