The Orchard House is a weekend retreat for a family in Pune. A sprawling orchard flanked by hills on the southern side and offering a panoramic view of the backwater and distant hills on the northern side serves as the setting.
Editor’s Note: “Sitting atop a contoured site, this retreat home in Pune offers commanding views of the estate and the landscape. Inspired by the neo-vernacular architectural style, the residence seamlessly blends contemporary design concepts with a tropical aesthetic. Its exterior, characterized by a rugged stone wall, merges harmoniously with the carefully curated interiors. Crowned by a Mangalore tile sloping roof, the dwelling exudes an ambience of tranquillity and nostalgia, inviting a sense of comfort and serenity.” ~Simran Khare
The Orchard House Is A Weekend Retreat For A Family In Pune | Ipsa Design Consultants
The house sits on the highest point in the orchard, offering commanding views of the estate and the landscape beyond.
The house experiments with neo-vernacular style, expressing contemporary design ideas in a tropical design vocabulary.
The design brief given by the clients was minimal. A common living –dining –kitchen area, three bedrooms and a store for farm produce. The design interprets these programmatic spaces as communal and individual spaces.
The central volume of the building consists of common areas like the living, dining, and kitchen. An expansive, sloping roof covered in Mangalore clay tiles caps this double-height volume.
The bedrooms are the individual spaces plugged into the main central volume. Architectural elements like passages, stairways, or bridges accentuate and intersperse the transition from communal to individual spaces.
The dichotomy of communal and individual is expressed in the massing of the building. The house sits on a contoured site, so the natural ground level is used to segregate the communal and individual spaces at various levels.
The structure is load-bearing with composite basalt stone and red brick masonry walls that run parallel in the north-south direction.
The walls in between the parallel composite walls are red brick walls that run in an east-west direction. These walls have deeply recessed and large openings.
This enables the house to draw light, wind, and views of the hills to the south and the orchard and backwaters to the north.
The building borrows heavily from the architectural vocabulary of the region it sits in. The square rubble masonry walls, hipped roof, timber doors, window frames, and shutters, to name a few.
Most of the wooden elements, like the door and window frames, shutters, and even the furniture items, have been reused or repurposed from the previous house the clients owned.
The building integrates with the landscape through terraced patios and lawns. The cobbled pathways, the canopy of existing trees, and the monumental stone walls impart a nostalgic yet eternal charm reminiscent of mediaeval castles.
Fact File
Designed by: Ipsa Design Consultants
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: The Orchard House
Location: Pune
Year Built: 2024
Duration of the project: 4 Years
Plot Area: 1.5 Acre
Built-up Area: 2500 Sq.ft
Principal Architect: Ar. Ajay Mane
Team Design Credits: Ar. Pradnya Diwan & Ar. Rutuparna Diwan
Photograph Courtesy: Shoot My Space
Site Enginner: Sandip Pawli
Civil: Sandip Rangdal
Products / Materials / Vendors: Wallcovering / Cladding – Brick Tiles –AJ Multi-Tech , Aurangabad / Lighting – White Teak Company, Hybec, Vishwadeep Enterprises / Sanitaryware – Jaquar / Furniture –Afday / Flooring –Rangoli Cera, Pune / Paint – Asian Paints
Firm’s Instagram Link: Ipsa Design Consultants
For Similar Project >>> A Striking Brick House with Hints of Traditional Design and Essence of Reformed Living
“Even within the smallest green lies all the purity and freshness of Eden.” This idea became the seed for Eden Moss, a home nestled in an ecological environment and imagined as a breath of freshness, evoking the scent of mud after rain, and seamlessly intertwined with nature while still embracing comfort and contextual charm. Nestled […]
In Tiruppur’s industrial heartland, where the rhythm of textile mills sets the tone, the layered architecture in this Villa offers a quiet counterpoint. Shaped by stillness, proportion, and cultural memory, the home reflects the clients’ vision for a contemplative retreat. Set on a square plot within a gridded residential layout, the residence embraces architectural restraint […]
Nestled in what was once a coconut orchard, Sanctum serves as a sanctuary for a retired couple. Their daughter & a feline companion join them to offer a tranquil environment for everyday goings-on. The site is a 60’ x 90’ portion of land with six coconut trees. Two teak wood & silver oak trees, each […]
Tucked into the calm, tree-lined lanes of Nagarbhavi in Bangalore, Avani Residence rises as a poetic response to the chaos of the city, a vertical sanctuary where light dances, materials breathe, and space unfolds in gentle rhythms. Designed by Archemist Architects for a family of four, the residence is a nuanced interplay between constraint and […]
The designers envision Asterix Café as a flagship destination that challenges café design conventions. While coffee culture often associates with warm, pastel tones, Asterix dares to be different by embracing darkness as its defining aesthetic. Designed by UrbanNest Design Studio, the bespoke cafe is a bold experiment in creating a multi-functional, community centric space where […]
Adorn, a home filled with earthen design and the laughter of a family of four, nestles in the peaceful neighborhood of Selvapuram, Coimbatore. “On one side, it shares boundaries with cozy family homes; meanwhile, the other side opens to expansive fields dotted with tall trees.” The fresh air scented with greenery sets a calming atmosphere […]
Situated in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Anandvan residence beautifully embodies biophilic design, fostering a deep connection with nature through its thoughtful integration of outdoor and indoor spaces through open courtyards. Open Courtyards And A Biophilic Design Connect The Outdoors With The Indoors | R+R Architects Location The location and surroundings played a significant role in determining the […]
What if the simplest object in your home could turn into a design icon? Tectona Grandis Furniture and The Architects’ Diary come together to introduce the Chair Affair. This is India’s first-of-its-kind furniture design competition that dares architects and designers across India to rethink the most essential piece of furniture – the Chair. Beyond function, […]
In a calm and serene residential area of Mysore, a 10,000 sq. ft. site with mature mango and coconut trees set the stage for Eden Kindergarten school. One half of the land was already occupied by an existing block, while the other half was shaded by the canopy of old trees. Instead of altering this […]
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 […]